An Introduction to Glyndebourne

ORIGINAL

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BE PART OF AN E X TR AORDINARY PERFORMANCE

Come to Glyndebourne.

JAMES BELLORINI

Head here – for half a day you’ll be a world away – and experience opera the way we do it. Electrifying, real, intense emotion in extreme close up. All happening in one of the most evocative and beautiful spots in the country.

The stories at Glyndebourne begin long before the curtain goes up, and end long after it has come down. And we’d love you to play a part.

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JAMES BELLORINI

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NOTHING EL SE COMES CLOSE When John Christie founded the Festival in 1934 it was daring and original. It still is.

Running from May to August every year, we’re happily an hour away from the distractions of London in the glorious Sussex countryside.

Even for an opera house, we’re very different.

We set extremely high standards, our indoor 1,200seat state-of-the-art theatre putting you unusually and vividly close to the performers.

Our productions are ground-breaking, award-winning and extraordinary. All of which gives the place the vitality, wit and innovative buzz of a true original.

Regular theatregoer but never been to an opera?

Been to every variety of gig there is?

Enjoy the thrill of Secret Cinema and looking for a similar live kick?

We offer an experience like no other.

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THE ART OF PERFECTION The art you watch on stage involves a great many artisan skills behind it.

And while what you see on stage might only be for a few hours, there is a full-time, year round community nurturing and perfecting those skills.

Our stage sets are designed and constructed by the country’s best craftspeople.

It’s a living mix of tradition and progress.

Which in a way sums up opera itself.

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MIKE HOBAN/THE HOBAN GRAVETT ARCHIVE

Props, costumes and wigs are hand-made on site.

Some with cutting edge techniques, others with crafts Mozart might recognise. All with the same attention to detail and quest for perfection you’ll see from every performer at every performance.

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DRESSING FOR THE PART Our founder John Christie encouraged the wearing of formal dress to show respect to the singers and musicians.

Fashions and attitudes to dress have changed since 1934 when we started. But the opportunity to look gorgeous never goes out of date.

Today, our audiences enjoy combining the thrill of dressing up with a chance to be different for a day.

We love to see formal or vintage attire or the height of contemporary fashion. We even supply audience dressing rooms.

JAMES BELLORINI

Which is why so many people arriving here from work see taking the time to change and dress for the part as a way of unwinding. A moment to clear their heads and prepare for a very special occasion.

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SAVOURING THE MOMENT

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Being in the South Downs means we get to enjoy one of the most iconic landscapes in Britain from our 12 acres of gardens. It’s also a great place for a picnic. Which is why our interval lasts for 90 minutes.

We’re very happy that you bring your own picnic – many do. Or order one and pick it up when you arrive.

RICHARD JINMAN

Prefer the great indoors? Leith’s at Glyndebourne run our three on-site restaurants – where your dining experience can range from a relaxed afternoon tea to sumptuous fine dining.

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SONG OF THE E ARTH

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We live, work and perform in an extraordinarily beautiful part of the earth and we want it to stay that way. So, we strive to make all our activities carbon-neutral.

We provide free buses helping to keep some cars off the road and charging points for electric cars.

Most dramatically, we installed our own wind turbine in 2011, making us one of the few arts organisations in Europe to do so.

We think it’s a stunning piece of engineering, almost sculptural. Not everyone agrees. But we run our entire Festival from it, not taking any power from the grid.

BILL HUNTER

You really can’t argue with the beauty of that.

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ART ALL AROUND The stage at Glyndebourne extends far beyond our opera house. Innovative and striking art exhibitions in the grounds and galleries are part and parcel of everyone’s Festival visit.

We’re now collaborating with White Cube in a partnership to present the work of acclaimed international artists to our audience. Mirroring what we do on stage.

This year Georg Baselitz inaugurates the project.

Painter, printmaker, sculptor and draughtsman, his work has been consistently challenging the mainstream for over 50 years.

ANDREW LAWSON

Typical Glyndebourne.

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JOIN US IN 201 5 Our operas tell extraordinary stories with a heady mix of talent, imagination and intense emotion.

Festival 2015 – on stage this summer...

Poliuto 21 May–15 July Donizetti’s grand opera with a human love story at its heart Persecuted and punished for his religious conversion, Poliuto’s courage is so moving that his wife, though in love with another man, follows him to his tragic fate.

Carmen 23 May–11 July Passions blaze in the heat of Seville as one man’s obsession leads to tragedy Outlaw Carmen’s final rejection of Don José in favour of Escamillo, the toreador she has taken as her lover, pushes him over the edge into a jealous rage in Bizet’s trail-blazing opera.

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Die Entführung aus dem Serail [The Abduction from the Seraglio] 13 June–10 August Mozart’s take on the glittering Orient – a stirring tale of abduction, escape and forgiveness Attempting to rescue his beloved from the harem of a Turkish despot, one man falls instead to the mercy of his nemesis, and in the face of death is humbled.

The Rape of Lucretia 5 July–19 August Fiona Shaw’s award-winning production of Britten’s dark masterpiece Lucretia is a model of fidelity among Roman wives until Tarquinius, provoked by his army comrades, gallops back to Rome to ruin her virtue, with devastating consequences.

Saul 23 July–29 August Compelling psychological drama – a king’s vanity leads him into madness With a musical score of heart-breaking beauty and intensity, Handel’s Saul takes us into a nightmare world of madness and despair exploring the first King of Israel’s love and loathing of his eventual successor, David.

Ravel Double Bill 8–30 August Two sparkling miniatures L’heure espagnole is a sassy and funny sex farce; while L’enfant et les sortilèges is a touching morality tale in which fantastical animals, furniture and crockery all come to life to teach a small child about kindness.

SIMON ANAND

Tickets £40–£250 For full performance details visit glyndebourne.com/original

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SIMON LAUNDON

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THE RE AL THING Many visitors say the first thing they wish for at the end of every performance here, is for it to start all over again.

Because there is no other experience like opera, and no place like Glyndebourne in which to hear it.

Booking now open GLYNDEBOURNE.COM /ORIGINAL

DESIGN: NED CAMPBELL; WORDS: ANDY YORK. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Booking now open

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