The drive to build a new opera house at Glyndebourne came from Sir George
Christie, then Chairman of Glyndebourne, who raised £34m in private funding
to pay for the project. The building was designed by Michael Hopkins and
Partners and has won many awards for the quality of the architecture and
the craftsmanship of its component parts. Despite being larger than the
previous theatre, the auditorium retained a sense of intimacy, and
delivered a vastly improved acoustic.
The new opera house opened on 28 May 1994 with a performance of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, the same opera that opened the very first
Glyndebourne Festival in 1934. It was the first purpose-built opera house
to be constructed in the UK since Glyndebourne founder John Christie built
the original Glyndebourne theatre in the 1930s.
25 years on, Glyndebourne will soon unveil the largest building project it
has undertaken since the opera house, a new state-of-the-art production hub
designed by Nicholas Hare Architects. It will be home to Glyndebourne’s
expert props, sets, costumes, wigs, and making departments, as well as a
new rehearsal studio and music practice rooms.
The production hub opens in the run-up to Glyndebourne Festival 2019, a
season that gathers together some classic operatic fairy tales. Highlights
include a rare opportunity to see a fully staged production of Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, a fresh and playful new production of
Mozart’s Die Zauberflˆte and the Festival debut of Glyndebourne’s
first-ever production of Massenet’s Cendrillon, directed by Fiona
Shaw.
The season is completed with revivals of three popular productions from
Glyndebourne’s recent history: Melly Still’s evocative production of
Dvo?·k’s Rusalka, Robert Carsen’s irreverent take on Handel’sRinaldo and Annabel Arden’s stylish staging of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.
The Festival can once again be enjoyed on stage, on screen and online.
Three of the season’s productions will be screened in cinemas UK-wide and
broadcast free online in partnership with the Telegraph Media Group.
Off-stage, visitors to this year’s Glyndebourne Festival can enjoy displays
of art and sculpture, including the first major works by Nicholas Hare, the
architect behind the new production hub, who has become a sculptor
following his recent retirement. His three large-scale works, sculpted in
Cor-Ten rusted steel, will be on display in the Glyndebourne gardens
throughout the summer.
In addition, an expanded gallery space within the opera house is being
relaunched as Gallery ‘94. This will house an exhibition on the theme of
‘Between Worlds’, featuring work by eleven different artists that draws on
the architecture and topography of Glyndebourne, to mark the 25th
anniversary of the opera house.
Public booking for Glyndebourne Festival 2019 opens online on Sunday 3
March. For more information visit
glyndebourne.com.
Glyndebourne Festival 2019 runs from 18 May – 25 August 2019
New productions
Hector Berlioz: La damnation de Faust
13 performances between 18 May – 10 July 2019
Glyndebourne’s debut production of La damnation de Faust is a rare
opportunity to see this extraordinary work fully staged – the perfect way
to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. Directed by Richard
Jones, the cast is led by top British tenor Allan Clayton, making a role
debut as Faust, alongside Christopher Purves as his nemesis,
MÈphistophÈlËs. Glyndebourne’s Music Director Robin Ticciati, a passionate
champion of Berlioz, conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jules Massenet Cendrillon
14 performances between 8 June – 2 August 2019
One of the greatest operatic fairy tales, Massenet’s Cendrillon
makes its Festival debut in Fiona Shaw’s thoughtful contemporary updating.
John Wilson will make his first appearance at the Glyndebourne Festival
conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a cast led by Glyndebourne
favourites Danielle de Niese as Cendrillon and Kate Lindsey as Prince
Charming.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflˆte
15 performances between 18 July – 24 August 2019
Mozart’s most magical comedy returns to Glyndebourne for the first time in
over a decade in a new production by the renowned directing / design duo
Barbe & Doucet that promises to take a fresh and playful look at the
opera’s troublesome gender politics. Leading British bass Brindley Sherratt
stars as Sarastro alongside exciting young singers including Caroline
Wettergreen, Sofia Fomina and Bjˆrn B¸rger. Antonello Manacorda conducts
the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Revivals
Gioachino Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia
15 performances between 19 May – 14 July 2019
Opera’s greatest comedy returns to the Glyndebourne Festival in Annabel
Arden’s stylish, surreal production, first staged in 2016. Venezuelan
conductor Rafael Payare conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
AntonÌn Dvo?·k Rusalka
12 performances between 29 June – 21 August 2019
A heartbreaking fairy tale of love and loss comes vividly to life in Melly
Still’s evocative production. Glyndebourne’s Music Director Robin Ticciati
conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with soprano Sally Matthews as
the nymph who loses all for love. Canadian mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is
the witch Jeûibaba who takes it from her.
George Frideric Handel Rinaldo
8 performances between 8 – 25 August 2019
Robert Carsen’s witty and irreverent production of Handel’s Rinaldo returns to Glyndebourne with an all-new cast. American
mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong takes the title role with fast-rising young
countertenor Jakub JÛzef Orli?ski as Eustazio and Italian soprano Giulia
Semenzato as Almirena. Baroque specialist Maxim Emelyanychev conducts the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
image=http://www.operatoday.com/Glyndebourne.jpg
Glyndebourne celebrates 25 years of its award-winning opera house in 2019
The drive to build a new opera house at Glyndebourne came from Sir George
Christie, then Chairman of Glyndebourne, who raised £34m in private funding
to pay for the project. The building was designed by Michael Hopkins and
Partners and has won many awards for the quality of the architecture and
the craftsmanship of its component parts. Despite being larger than the
previous theatre, the auditorium retained a sense of intimacy, and
delivered a vastly improved acoustic.
The new opera house opened on 28 May 1994 with a performance of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, the same opera that opened the very first
Glyndebourne Festival in 1934. It was the first purpose-built opera house
to be constructed in the UK since Glyndebourne founder John Christie built
the original Glyndebourne theatre in the 1930s.
25 years on, Glyndebourne will soon unveil the largest building project it
has undertaken since the opera house, a new state-of-the-art production hub
designed by Nicholas Hare Architects. It will be home to Glyndebourne’s
expert props, sets, costumes, wigs, and making departments, as well as a
new rehearsal studio and music practice rooms.
The production hub opens in the run-up to Glyndebourne Festival 2019, a
season that gathers together some classic operatic fairy tales. Highlights
include a rare opportunity to see a fully staged production of Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, a fresh and playful new production of
Mozart’s Die Zauberflˆte and the Festival debut of Glyndebourne’s
first-ever production of Massenet’s Cendrillon, directed by Fiona
Shaw.
The season is completed with revivals of three popular productions from
Glyndebourne’s recent history: Melly Still’s evocative production of
Dvo?·k’s Rusalka, Robert Carsen’s irreverent take on Handel’sRinaldo and Annabel Arden’s stylish staging of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.
The Festival can once again be enjoyed on stage, on screen and online.
Three of the season’s productions will be screened in cinemas UK-wide and
broadcast free online in partnership with the Telegraph Media Group.
Off-stage, visitors to this year’s Glyndebourne Festival can enjoy displays
of art and sculpture, including the first major works by Nicholas Hare, the
architect behind the new production hub, who has become a sculptor
following his recent retirement. His three large-scale works, sculpted in
Cor-Ten rusted steel, will be on display in the Glyndebourne gardens
throughout the summer.
In addition, an expanded gallery space within the opera house is being
relaunched as Gallery ‘94. This will house an exhibition on the theme of
‘Between Worlds’, featuring work by eleven different artists that draws on
the architecture and topography of Glyndebourne, to mark the 25th
anniversary of the opera house.
Public booking for Glyndebourne Festival 2019 opens online on Sunday 3
March. For more information visit
glyndebourne.com.
Glyndebourne Festival 2019 runs from 18 May – 25 August 2019
New productions
Hector Berlioz: La damnation de Faust
13 performances between 18 May – 10 July 2019
Glyndebourne’s debut production of La damnation de Faust is a rare
opportunity to see this extraordinary work fully staged – the perfect way
to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. Directed by Richard
Jones, the cast is led by top British tenor Allan Clayton, making a role
debut as Faust, alongside Christopher Purves as his nemesis,
MÈphistophÈlËs. Glyndebourne’s Music Director Robin Ticciati, a passionate
champion of Berlioz, conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jules Massenet Cendrillon
14 performances between 8 June – 2 August 2019
One of the greatest operatic fairy tales, Massenet’s Cendrillon
makes its Festival debut in Fiona Shaw’s thoughtful contemporary updating.
John Wilson will make his first appearance at the Glyndebourne Festival
conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a cast led by Glyndebourne
favourites Danielle de Niese as Cendrillon and Kate Lindsey as Prince
Charming.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflˆte
15 performances between 18 July – 24 August 2019
Mozart’s most magical comedy returns to Glyndebourne for the first time in
over a decade in a new production by the renowned directing / design duo
Barbe & Doucet that promises to take a fresh and playful look at the
opera’s troublesome gender politics. Leading British bass Brindley Sherratt
stars as Sarastro alongside exciting young singers including Caroline
Wettergreen, Sofia Fomina and Bjˆrn B¸rger. Antonello Manacorda conducts
the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Revivals
Gioachino Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia
15 performances between 19 May – 14 July 2019
Opera’s greatest comedy returns to the Glyndebourne Festival in Annabel
Arden’s stylish, surreal production, first staged in 2016. Venezuelan
conductor Rafael Payare conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
AntonÌn Dvo?·k Rusalka
12 performances between 29 June – 21 August 2019
A heartbreaking fairy tale of love and loss comes vividly to life in Melly
Still’s evocative production. Glyndebourne’s Music Director Robin Ticciati
conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with soprano Sally Matthews as
the nymph who loses all for love. Canadian mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is
the witch Jeûibaba who takes it from her.
George Frideric Handel Rinaldo
8 performances between 8 – 25 August 2019
Robert Carsen’s witty and irreverent production of Handel’s Rinaldo returns to Glyndebourne with an all-new cast. American
mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong takes the title role with fast-rising young
countertenor Jakub JÛzef Orli?ski as Eustazio and Italian soprano Giulia
Semenzato as Almirena. Baroque specialist Maxim Emelyanychev conducts the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
image=http://www.operatoday.com/Glyndebourne.jpg