The Glyndebourne Prom: Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with a young cast on superb form

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Huw Montague Rendall, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro: Tommaso Barea, Johann Wallroth, Huw Montague Rendall, Louise Alder, Adèle Charvet, director: Mariame Clément/Talia Stern, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conductor: Riccardo Minasi, Glyndebourne Festival Opera; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 27 August 2025

An economical staging mixed comedy, tragedy and politics that allowed a cast mixing youth and experience to create one of the most satisfying performances of the opera I have seen in a long time

Mariame Clément's production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro debuted this summer at Glyndebourne and following a successful two month run, the performers came to rest at the Royal Albert Hall for the Glyndebourne Festival's annual visit to the BBC Proms. On 27 August 2025, Riccardo Minasi conducted the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment with the Glyndebourne Chorus. Tommaso Barea was Figaro, Johanna Wallroth was Susanna, Huw Montague Rendall was the Count, Louise Alder was the Countess, Alessandro Corbelli was Bartolo, Madeleine Shaw was Marcellina, and Adèle Charvet was Cherubino. The semi-staging was directed by Talia Stern based on Mariame Clément's production at Glyndebourne.

The Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment was pressed towards the rear of the stage, making extensive use of the risers which created a substantial acting area, though as is usual with these Glyndebourne Proms, there was little opportunity for eye contact between conductor Riccardo Minasi and his cast.

The set, such as it was, consisted of two doors which were made extensive use of, plus sundry elements of set dressing moved around by stage crew - chairs, tables, a screen for the Countess to change behind in Act Two and the bath for the Count in Act Three.

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Louise Alder, Pippa Barton - Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Clément's production used a traditional, 18th century setting which meant that costumes (designer Julia Hansen) and action all gave a clear presentation of the hierarchy in the palace. Unlike the festival's previous 1960s-set production directed by Michael Grandage, the notion of droit de Seigneur was a clear and present danger here, forming a strong political thread throughout the action. Stern's boiling down of the original production used the limited resources (two doors, a chair, a sheet, a screen) to maximum effect so that the farcical elements were wittily done without too much suspension of disbelief.

All-consuming: Kateřina Kněžíková's account of the title role lights up Damiano Michieletto's overly conceptual production of Janáček's Káťa Kabanová at Glyndebourne

Janáček: Káťa Kabanová - Kateřina Kněžíková - Glyndeburne (Photo: Richard Hubert Smith)

Janáček: Káťa Kabanová; Kateřina Kněžíková, Nicky Spence, Rachael Wilson, Sam Furness, Susan Bickley, John Tomlinson, director: Damiano Michieletto/Eleanora Gravagnola, London Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor: Robin Ticciati; Glyndebourne Opera
Reviewed 3 August 2025

For all the ideas that director Damiano Michieletto threw at the work, it was in the pit and in the singing that the real drama happened, centred on an all-consuming performance from Kateřina Kněžíková in the title role

From the late 1980s onwards, productions of Janáček's works at Glyndebourne were associated with the director Nikolaus Lehnhoff but this changed in 2021 when Damiano Michieletto directed a new production of Janáček's Káťa Kabanová. On 3 August 2025 the production returned to Glyndebourne for its first revival, with Eleonora Gravagnola as revival director. Robin Ticciati conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Kateřina Kněžíková returning to the title role, plus Sam Furness as Kudrjáš, Sarah Pring as Glaša, John Tomlinson as Dikoj, Nicky Spence as Boris, Rachel Roper as Fekluša, Susan Bickley as Kabanicha, Jaroslav Březina as Tichon, Rachael Wilson as Varvara, and Charles Cunliffe as Kuligin. Designs were by Paolo Fantin and costumes by Carla Teti.

I never saw the 2021 production, but it seems to have undergone some adjustment in the intervening years. Gone are the dancers and the choreographer, whilst the angel that haunts the stage has changed from man to woman with a significant costume change.

From Handel to Verdi & beyond: I chat to soprano Soraya Mafi about singing in Handel's Saul at Glyndebourne, & expanding into bel canto & Bernstein

Handel: Saul - Soraya Mafi - Glyndebourne Opera (Photo: Glyndebourne/ASH)

Soprano Soraya Mafi is currently singing the role of Michal in Handel's Saul at Glyndebourne in the 2025 revival of the 2015 production by Barrie Kosky which can rightly be called iconic [see my review]. Soraya returns to Handel next year when she makes her debut at the Komische Oper, Berlin in Belshazzar. Before then she will be performing the role of Cunegonde in Bernstein's Candide with Welsh National Opera this Autumn as well as premiering a new song cycle by Emily Hazrati at the Oxford International Song Festival. I chatted to Soraya recently, in a break between performances of Saul.

Soraya first appeared on these pages when studying at the Royal College of Music where in 2012 she was in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea, with Louise Alder as Poppea [see my review] then in 2013 she was Arianna in Handel's Arianna in Creta [see my review] in collaboration with the London Handel Festival. Since then we have seen her as Mabel in G&S's The Pirates of Penzance at English National Opera [see my review], Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare in English Touring Opera's brave staging of the uncut opera [see my review], Titania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at ENO [see my review], Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel at Grange Park Opera [see my review], Amor in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice at ENO [see my review], and Morgana in Handel's Alcina at Glyndebourne [see my review], as well as in recital at Wigmore Hall [see my review].

Performing in Saul at Glyndebourne has been an intense and physically demanding experience she has found. She needs to be on full all the time, the stage is raked and her role is very active, she describes her character, Michal as very bouncy. All of which means that it is aerobically challenging. But she is also finding the performances inspiring, working with Iestyn Davies and Christopher Purves (both of whom are returning to the roles they created in 2015) and finding them coming back to the roles with the same level of dedication. She finds the performances fresh and exciting.

Handel: Alcina - Soraya Mafi, Samantha Hankey, James Cleverton - Glyndebourne Opera. 2022 (Photo Tristram Kenton)

Uprising! Director Sinéad O’Neill on Glyndebourne's new community opera written by Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis

Can one person make a difference? Horrified by the climate crisis, teenager Lola decides that she must fight for the future. Composer Jonathan Dove and writer April De Angelis' new opera looks at the state of the world through the eyes of the young. 

The work is premiered at Glyndebourne opening on 28 February, featuring a cast of professionals including Ffion Edwards (who recently sang the title role in Rimsky Korsakov's The Snow Maiden with English Touring Opera, see my interview with Ffion), Madeleine Shawe, Julieth Lozano Rolong, and Ross Ramgobin, and the Glyndebourne Sinfonia alongside Glyndebourne Youth Opera, a community chorus and young instrumentalists from Brighton & East Sussex Youth Orchestra and Brighton & Hove Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Andrew Gourlay.

Here, the work's director, Sinéad O’Neill introduces the project. Sinéad founded Cambridge City Opera to create original music theatre for new audiences. She co-created Pay the Piper with composers Ailie Robertson, Cecilia Livingston, Ninfea Crutwell-Reade and Anna Appleby and writer Hazel Gould for Glyndebourne Youth Opera (2022), and with long-time collaborator, composer Matt Rogers, she  has created Amor Mundi (conceived and written by Zsuzsanna Ardó), The Raven, On the Axis of this World and And London Burned.

Uprising is set to premiere at Glyndebourne in 2025. Could you share some insights into the inspiration behind this production and how the storyline developed?

In 2020, a man called Jim Potter received a terminal diagnosis. He lay awake at night thinking about the world and his place in it, and he was inspired to commission a new opera. He wanted it to be about young people, and about the climate crisis. The seeds Jim planted in those dark days grew into Uprising. Jim and his wife Hilary worked closely with composer Jonathan Dove and writer April De Angelis to combine a rigorous understanding of climate change and a direct, emotional engagement with one girl's drive to change the world.

Prom 52: Intelligent, vivid & satisfying account of Bizet's Carmen from Rihab Chaied, Evan LeRoy Johnson & Anja Bihlmaier at Glyndebourne's visit to the BBC Proms

Bizet: Carmen - Rihab Chaieb, Evan LeRoy Johnson, Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier - Glyndebourne Festival at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Bizet: Carmen; Rihab Chaied, Evan LeRoy Johnson, Lukasz Goliński, Janai Brugger, director: Diane Paulus/Adam Torrance, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier; Glyndebourne Festival at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 29 August 2024

Strong cast, a stripped down yet intelligent production and superb conducting lead to a profoundly involving and musically satisfying performance

Glyndebourne Opera has been performing Bizet's Carmen this Summer in a new production by Diane Paulus, with the lead roles double cast and with two conductors. Following the end of the run, the company brought the production to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 29 August 2024. Anja Bihlmaier (the recently announce principal guest conductor with the BBC Philharmonic, who conducted the August performances at Glyndebourne) was the conductor with a cast that mixed the first cast Carmen, Rihab Chaieb [whom we saw as Charlotte in Zurich Opera's production of Massenet's Werther earlier this year, see my review], and the other principals from the second cast with Evan LeRoy Johnson as Don Jose, Lukasz Goliński as Escamillo and Janai Brugger as Micaëla, plus Dingle Yandell as Zuniga, Thomas Mole as Moralès, Elisabeth Boudreault as Frasquita, Kezia Bienek as Mercédès, Loïc Félix as Le Dancaïre, and François Piolino as Le Remendado, with the Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Youth Opera and members of Trinity Boys Choir. Adam Torrance directed, based on Diane Paulus' production for the Glyndebourne Festival.

For all its extreme popularity, Carmen presents a series of challenges, the Spanish-isms and Opéra Comique element cannot be ignored and directorial decisions have to be made. But more than that, too often productions concentrate on what we might call the socialogical elements, creating intense drama at the expense of the whole. For all the difficulty of the work's reception, Carmen is a carefully crafted drama that mixes tragedy with comedy and poignant moments, along with the need to entertain.

Bizet: Carmen - Lukasz Golinski, Dingle Yandell, Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier - Glyndebourne Festival at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Reading reviews of Diane Paulus' original productionn and seeing Adam Torrance's semi-staging based on it, what impressed was the way that we had all the features from the libretto, without any adjustments. Torrance gave us a very straightforward and insightful modern-dress Carmen, stripped down but with all the elements including the lighter scenes in Act Two, and plenty of dancing. It provided a strong showcase for some vivid characters. There was dialogue too, not heaps, but more than in some productions; though no-one was credited for sound design, the dialogue was amplified which was probably sensible given the venue.

As vivid and vigorous as ever: David McVicar's production of Handel's Giulio Cesare returns to Glyndebourne with a terrific young cast

Handel: Giulio Cesare - Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Louise Alder - Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photo: © Richard Hubert Smith)

Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto; Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Louise Alder, Beth Taylor, Svetlina Stoyanova, Cameron Shahbazi, director: David McVicar, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Laurence Cummings; Glyndebourne
28 June 2024

Nearly 20 years old, McVicar's iconic production returns as vivid and vibrant as ever, with superb performances from a young cast

Amazingly, David McVicar's production of Handel's Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne will be 20 years old next year. It debuted in 2005, with Sarah Connolly and Danielle de Niese, returning in 2006 (with David Daniels and Danielle de Niese) and in 2009 (with Sarah Connolly and Danielle de Niese). Now, after something of a gap, it is back as vivid and vigorous as ever with a young new cast.

We caught the second performance of the 2024 revival of David McVicar's production of Handel's Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne on Friday 28 June 2024. Giulio Cesare was Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen [who was David in Handel's Saul at Komische Oper Berlin in 2023, see my review], Cleopatra was Louise Alder [who sang the title role on Arcangelo's recent recording of Handel's Theodora, see my review], Cornelia was Beth Taylor, Sesto was Svetlina Stoyanova [who was Ruggiero in Handel's Alcina at Glyndebourne in 2022, see my review], Tolomeo was Cameron Shahbazi [who was Hamor in Handel's Jephtha at Covent Garden in 2023, see my review] and Achilla was Luca Tittoto [who sang Saul at the Komische Oper], with Thomas Chenhall as Curio and Ray Chenez as Nireno. Laurence Cummings conducted the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Sets were by Robert Jones, costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, choreography by Andrew George.

The production takes an admirably expansive view of what is actually a very long opera with a first act lasting just shy of 90 minutes and, correctly, two intervals, none of the arias is trimmed, Nireno got his aria and Achilla got both of his. The second interval is, however, placed after Cleopatra's 'Se pietà', with the scene for Tolomeo, Cornelia, Sesto and Achilla opening the third part.

Handel: Giulio Cesare - Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen - Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photo: © Richard Hubert Smith)

The production sets the action in the context of the British Raj, which gives a firm underpinning for the drama without the need for extensive back history, though Brigitte Reiffenstuel's costumes, particularly for Cleopatra are rather more playful. Robert Jones' sets might seem lavish but they are enormously responsive and scene changes happened smoothly and easily, with no awkward waits and only a couple of uses of the drop curtain. This has the admirable effect of allowing Handel's drama to flow exactly as it ought. Cleopatra's scene in Act Two where she is supposed to appear enthroned with the muses really did feature the nine musicians on stage, which is something opera companies rarely attempt nowadays, and McVicar keeps largely to the work's dramaturgy so that exit arias were largely that.

Whilst McVicar does present Handel and his librettist Nicola Haym's drama pretty much as they intended, McVicar also takes the view that opera seria as a genre is something that needs help if it is to live theatrically. He does this by leavening the drama with humour, the use of the chorus and actors has a stylised sense of the comic to it and choreographer Andrew George's movement generally had a lightening, leavening effect. Also, in the moments of unfortunate coincidence or suspension of disbelief, to which opera seria is rather prone, if the production did not actually encourage a laugh, it was rather expected. That said, within this playfulness, the characters are taken seriously and their emotions are never lightened.

Still a classic after all these years: Peter Hall's production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Glyndebourne is in strong hands in the latest revival, conducted by Dalia Stasevska

Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream - Oliver Barlow & fairies (Trinity Boys Choir) - Glyndebourne 2023 ( © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream; Tim Mead, Liv Redpath, Caspar Singh, Rachael Wilson, Samuel Dale Johnson, Lauren Fagan, Henry Waddington, James Way, Brandon Cedel, director: Peter Hall/Lynne Hockney, London Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Dalia Stasevska; Glyndebourne Festival Opera

A strongly musical and well-balanced revival shows Hall's classic production to be in strong health and provides a terrific evening in the theatre.

Some opera productions endure because they allow the work space to be reinvented each time, whereas other are long-running because they become classic, they encapsulate an approach to the work that comes to define it. Remarkably, Sir Peter Hall's production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream for Glyndebourne debuted in 1981 and its regular revival has ensured that it has helped define a classic view of the opera.

We caught the 2023 revival of the production, now in the hands of revival director Lynne Hockney (the original choreographer) at the Glyndebourne Festival on Sunday 13 September. Dalia Stasevska conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Tim Mead as Oberon, Liv Redpath as Tytania, Caspar Singh as Lysander, Rachael Wilson as Hermia, Samuel Dale Johnson as Demetrius, Lauren Fagan as Helena, Henry Waddington as Quince, Patrick Guetti as Snug, Alex Otterburn as Starveling, James Way as Flute, Alasdair Elliott as Snout, Brandon Cedel as Bottom, Dingle Yandell as Theseus and Rosie Aldridge as Hippolyta. The fairies came from Trinity Boys Choir, with Oliver Barlow as Puck.

Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream - Tim Mead, Liv Redpath - Glyndebourne 2023 ( © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton)

I have to confess that I had never seen the production live, though I was familiar with it from filmed performances, and on this showing the production remains in good health with few, if any, cracks showing. 

Prom 31: Glyndebourne Opera's production of Poulenc's Carmelites, a gripping performance triumphs over unfair acoustic and theatrical compromises

Poulenc: Dialogues of the Carmelites - final scene - Glyndebourne Festival at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Sisi Burn)

Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites; Sally Matthews, Katarina Dalayman, Golda Schultz, Karen Cargill, Florie Valiquette, Paul Gay, Valentin Thill, Vincent Ordonneau, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Robin Ticciati; Glyndebourne Festival at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

Barrie Kosky's new production becomes a gripping exploration of character and emotion in this powerful semi-staged performance of Poulenc's mesmerising opera

Bringing a Glyndebourne Festival Opera production to the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms has become an annual ritual, and a welcome one. It provides a wider and more varied audience for the company's brand of thoughtful and musical opera production. Last year it was Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers, giving her unjustly ignored opera a far wider currency. This year it was the turn of another rarity, Poulenc's Carmelites. 

This is not an unknown opera, of course, but performances are still rare and it generates a fascinating traction, most stagings of the work that I have seen have been, in some way, a bit special. But there are compromises to be made, only the briefest semi-staging is possible given the space available at the Royal Albert Hall; after Poulenc's large orchestra is placed on stage there is room for little else. And the hall's acoustics are not exactly opera friendly, certainly they are a world away from the fine sound of Glyndebourne's current auditorium.

Last night, 7 August 2023, at the Royal Albert Hall, the BBC Proms performance of Glyndebourne Festival Opera's production of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites featured Robin Ticciati conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with Sally Matthews as Blanche, Katarina Dalayman as Madame de Croissy (Old Prioress), Golda Schultz as Madame Lidoine (New Prioress), Karen Cargill as Mother Marie of the Incarnation, Florie Valiquette as Sister Constance of St Denis, Paul Gay as Marquis de la Force, Valentin Thill as Chevalier de la Force, and Vincent Ordonneau as Father Confessor. The production was directed by Donna Stirrup based on Barrie Kosky's production for Glyndebourne.

Poulenc: Dialogues of the Carmelites - Karen Cargill, Sally Matthews, Robin Ticciati, London Philharmonic Orchestra - Glyndebourne Festival at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Sisi Burn)

Welcome to L'isola di Alcina: Glyndebourne's first production of Handel's opera

Handel: Alcina - Jane Archibald - Glyndebourne Opera (Photo Tristram Kenton)

Handel: Alcina; Jane Archibald, Svetlina Stoyanova, Soraya Mafi, Beth Taylor, Rowan Pierce, Thomas Elwin, dir: Francesco Micheli, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, cond; Jonathan Cohen; Glyndebourne Opera
27 July 2022 (★★★★½)

The magic of Alcina recreated as a 1950s showgirl in a lavish production that combined spectacle with performances at the highest level

When Handel wrote Alcina, he had parted company from most of the stars of his opera company and had been forced to seek a new theatre. But, ever the practical man of the theatre, he made the best of the circumstances. The Covent Garden Theatre, where Handel gave his next few seasons, was known for its spectacular productions, there was also a small chorus available and for the first season, a dance troupe led by Marie Sallé. Handel would create the ballet, Terpsicore, for Sallé and would include dance into both Ariodante and Alcina. Ariodante would feature a complex integration of dance and drama, though it is likely that the opera was never performed in the form that Handel originally wrote it.

Alcina is based on Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, a poem that composers regularly mined for operatic plots. Handel had already written Ariosto-based operas, and his patrons would be completely familiar with the essentials of the plot. The opera represents a return to the exotic magic-based operas of Handel's early days in London (Rinaldo, Teseo, Amadigi di Gaula), again with a sorceress who, though technically not on the side of good, to whom Handel shows great sympathy. It was a plot perfectly designed to show of the spectacular settings of the Covent Garden Theatre, and we should imagine those first audiences being spellbound by the settings, by the combination of visuals, music and dance.

Few modern directors, however, are interested in the mechanics of Handel and his librettist's plot. The libretto describes the final scene as taking place in 'A Prospect of the Splendid Palace of Alcina surrounded with Trees, Statues, Obelisks and Trophies, and Dens of wild Beasts; an Urn rais'd in the Middle which incloses the whole Power of the Inchantment' and the ending to the scene includes a moment when Ruggiero 'throws down the Urn and breaks it, when the Scene wholly disappears, changing to the Sea, which is seen thro' a vast, subterraneous Cavern, where many Stones are chang'd into Men; and among them is Astolfo, who embraces Oberto: They form the Chorus and they Dance'. 

Now, how often have you seen that represented in a production of the opera?

Handel: Alcina - Soraya Mafi - Glyndebourne Opera (Photo Tristram Kenton)

We caught a performance of Francesco Micheli's production of Handel's Alcina at Glyndebourne Opera on 27 July 2022. Jonathan Cohen conducted the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with Beth Taylor as Bradamante, Alastair Miles as Melisso, Soraya Mafi as Morgana, Jane Archibald as Alcina, Rowan Pierce as Oberto, Svetlina Stoyanova as Ruggiero, Thomas Elwin as Oronte and James Cleverton as Astolfo. Set designs were by Edoardo Sanchi, costumes by Alessio Rosati, choreography by Mike Ashcroft and lighting by Bruno Poet.

The Wreckers returns: Glyndebourne's vividly dramatic new production of Ethel Smyth's opera

Smyth: The Wreckers - Karis Tucker - Glyndebourne (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Ethel Smyth: The Wreckers; Karis Tucker, Rodrigo Porras Garrulo, Philip Horst, Lauren Fagan, dir: Melly Still, cond: Robin Ticciati, London Philharmonic Orchestra; Glyndebourne
Reviewed 21 May 2022 (★★★★★)

A wonderfully vivid production of Smyth's rarely performed opera reveals it to be a remarkably taut and powerful drama

First, a little background. Ethel Smyth wrote The Wreckers in 1906 and it premiered in Leipzig in German, the year after Strauss' Salome premiered and two years after Puccini's Madam Butterfly. It would be another 40 years before Britten's first major success, Peter Grimes was premiered. The only other major English opera composer of the time, Stanford, had had his Much Ado About Nothing performed at Covent Garden in 1901 when it received just two performances; Stanford regarded his operas as an important part of his output but despite his standing, he struggled to get English performances.

So, The Wreckers would be an achievement by a long chalk, but unfortunately the work has had a spattered history. Smyth was very much a European, trained in Leipzig her friends were all Europeans and her early career was all in Continental Europe. When the Great War started in 1914, she had three major productions of her operas in progress or planned. At a stroke her European career was over, and she never wrote another large scale opera. The Wreckers, marooned in England with an inferior English libretto rather struggled. Warwick University's performance in 1983, directed by Graham Vick, remains a vivid memory for me but subsequent encounters with the opera have been more mixed. Duchy Opera very sensibly commissioned a revised English libretto from Amanda Holden, yet still the opera languished.

Glyndebourne announced Smyth's The Wreckers for 2020, and thankfully the company has kept faith and Melly Still's production of the opera opened Glyndebourne's 2022 season on Saturday 21 May 2022. The work was performed in a new edition which returned it to Smyth's original manuscript, and used Henry Brewster's original French libretto. Karis Tucker was Thurza (Thirza), Rodrigo Porras Garulo was Marc, Philip Horst was Pasko, Lauren Fagan was Avis with Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Donovan Singletary, and James Rutherford. Designs were by Ana Ines Jabares-Pita, choreography by Mike Ashcroft, lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, and video by Akhila Krishnan. Robin Ticciati conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Smyth: The Wreckers - Glyndebourne (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Rather than performing the work from the published full score which is based on the cuts Smyth made for the first English performance, the edition used returned to Smyth's original score. This was published as a vocal score in Germany in 1906/07, but the sole full score that seems to survive has been marked up with the cuts for the English premiere including some pages removed, so Tom Poster has recreated Smyth's orchestrations for these.

Bringing the House Down: bass Brindley Sherratt on the gala at Glyndebourne for The Meath

Brindley Sherratt with his daughter Amy (Photo Colin Hart)

In March 2020, I interviewed bass Brindley Sherratt in advance of a gala concert at Glyndebourne, Bringing the House Down, in aid of The Meath, a residential care home for people with complex epilepsy where Brindley's daughter, Amy lives. The pandemic caused the cancellation of the concert, but it is finally taking place. 

On 10 April 2022 Brindley Sherratt will be joined by Fleur Barron, Jennifer France, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Sally Mathews, Huw Montague Rendall, Rachel Nicholls, Alexandra Oomens, Mark Padmore CBE, Brindley Sherratt, Nicky Spence and Freddie De Tommaso. The singers will be accompanied by pianists Matthew Fletcher and Caroline Jaya Ratnam, Chris Addison will compère and the pledge-master will be Adrian Biddell. The singers will perform popular arias and ensembles from opera and musicals and there will be a short screening of a film of The Meath Choir, made up of residents from The MEath. Full details of the concert from The Meath website.

Below, I reprint the original interview. I have edited it slightly, but left the basic elements, so the article covers the planned gala concert and Brindley looking forward to Wagnerian debuts in 2020 and 2021, some of which happened and some of which did not.

Brindley Sherratt

The whole gala started simply as an idea. As Amy lives at The Meath, Brindley and his wife Christina received a booklet, which The Meath had sent to family and friends, containing a wishlist of the things that they would like to acquire to help improve the quality of life of the residents, from a toaster to a people carrier. Brindley thought, why not a concert and decided to ask his friends to help. At the time he was performing the role of Baron Ochs in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at Glyndebourne and started to ask singers with whom he was friends. All of them said yes, and the list of participants grew as he mentioned it. Suddenly the idea became an event, which meant that they needed a venue.

Some singers approached Brindley about singing in the concert; he finds it very touching that they are supporting something so dear to him.

Originally, Brindley had simply thought of a central London venue, but his wife suggested Brindley approach Glyndebourne. He mentioned it to Gus Christie (executive chairman of Glyndebourne),  and the result is that the concert is taking place in the main auditorium at Glyndebourne, and they have full use of the venue, complete with car parking, ushers and catering, for the whole day. The event has proved a startling amount of work, even with professional help, and has dominated Brindley's year.

The audience will be a mixture of those coming for the singers and those coming to support The Meath. As a result the music for the gala will be pitched somewhat on the lighter side with popular arias and duets alongside Gilbert and Sullivan and songs from the shows.

The Meath is based at a large Victorian mansion near Godalmining, now surrounded by other more modern houses in 12 acres of land, which provide a residential home for people with epilepsy (there are 65 residents). [You can read more about the charity's fascinating, long history on The Meath website].

Beethoven’s Fidelio at Glyndebourne with Dorothea Herbert and Adam Smith

Beethoven: Fidelio - Adam Smith - Glyndebourne on Tour (© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

Beethoven Fidelio; Dorothea Herbert, Adam Smith, Gertrude Thoma, Callum Thorpe, Carrie-Ann Williams, Gavan Ring, dir: Frederic Wake-Walker, cond: Ben Glassberg; Glyndebourne on Tour at Glyndebourne
Reviewed by Tony Cooper on 29 October 2021 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
Strong performances and a radical rethink to the dramaturgy as Frederic Wake-Walker's production finally makes it to the stage

Originally entitled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore or The Triumph of Marital Love), Beethoven’s three-act opera Fidelio, set to a German libretto, was prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from a text by French playwright, Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. Written at the time of the French Revolution, the première took place at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20th November 1805 during the French occupation of Beethoven’s beloved Austria.

A troublesome work for sure, Fidelio - a prime example of a ‘rescue opera’ - harbours a long complicated history of composition having gone through three versions while parts of the score were written for an earlier (but never-completed) opera. Beethoven also knocked out a total of four overtures and the last of which, commonly known as ‘Fidelio’, widely considered the best of the bunch, the chosen overture for this production directed with flair and imagination by Frederic Wake-Walker.

Delayed by the events of last year and originally intended for the main festival, Frederic Wake-Walker's production of Beethoven's Fidelio was presented by Glyndebourne on Tour at Glyndebourne (seen 29 October 2021). Ben Glassberg conducted, with Dorothea Herbert as Leonore, Adam Smith as Florestan, plus Gertrude Thoma, Callum Thorpe, Carrie-Ann Williams, and Gavan Ring.

Beethoven: Fidelio - Dorothea Herbert - Glyndebourne on Tour (© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith)

The Glyndebourne Tour’s Principal Conductor, Ben Glassberg - who, incidentally, made his BBC Proms début this year at the Royal Albert Hall conducting, not surprisingly, excerpts from Fidelio as well as the closing scene of Janáček’s Jenůfa - conducted the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra, admirably led by Richard Milone, in a masterful, colourful and stirring rendering that dug deep into Beethoven’s richly-textured score setting the scene for the whole opera. 

Glyndebourne's outdoor Offenbach comes indoors with a terrific ensemble cast

Offenbach: In the market for Love - Rupert Charlesworth, Nardus Williams, Matthew Rose, Brenden Gunnell, Michael Wallace
Glyndebourne (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Offenbach In the market for love; Kate Lindsey, Nardus Williams, Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts, Matthew Rose, Brenden Gunnell, Rupert Charlesworth, Michael Wallace, Stephen Langridge, Ben Glassberg; Glyndebourne
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 11 October 2020 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
The sheer joy of performing; Offenbach's frothy market-set operetta is a first for Glyndebourne

Stephen Langridge's production of Offenbach's In the market for love (Mesdames de la Halle) at Glyndebourne this Summer was a quick thinking response to the lockdown. With a new English version by Stephen Plaice, the initial run of performances took place out of doors and were a direct response to the pandemic. Slightly re-cast, the production has now made its way indoors, still as topical as ever and still socially distanced. On Sunday 11 October 2020 we caught Stephen Langridge's production of Offenbach's In the market for love at Glyndebourne with Brenden Gunnell as Mademoiselle Bouillabaisse, Rupert Charlesworth as Madame Beurrefondu, Michael Wallace as Madame Mangetout, Matthew Rose as the police inspector, Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts as Raflafla, Kate Lindsey as Harry Coe and Nardus Williams as Ciboulette. Ben Glassberg conducted the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra.

Bringing the House Down: bass Brindley Sherratt on the gala at Glyndebourne for The Meath

Brindley Sherratt with his daughter Amy (Photo Colin Hart)

Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak Bringing the House Down has been postponed until Sunday 11^th April 2021. A new line-up will be announced shortly. For more information please click here.
 
On 5 April 2020, bass Brindley Sherratt will be joined by the singers Louise Alder, Sally Matthews, Barry Banks, Sophie Bevan, Danielle de Niese, Yvonne Howard, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Allan Clayton, Mark Padmore, Jacques Imbrailo and Sir John Tomlinson, for a gala performance at Glyndebourne for Bringing the House Down: A Concert at Glyndebourne for The Meath Epilepsy Charity, a gala to raise money for The Meath, a residential care home for people with complex epilepsy. The concert has a strong personal connection for Brindley as his daughter Amy lives at The Meath. I recently met up with Brindley to chat about the concert and about The Meath, but also about the relatively late flowering of Brindley's international career and his recent move into Wagnerian roles (with debuts as Hagen and as Gurnemanz to come).

Brindley Sherratt

The whole gala started simply as an idea. As Amy lives at The Meath, Brindley and his wife Christina received a booklet, which The Meath had sent to family and friends, containing a wishlist of the things that they would like to acquire to help improve the quality of life of the residents, from a toaster to a people carrier. Brindley thought, why not a concert and decided to ask his friends to help. At the time he was performing the role of Baron Ochs in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at Glyndebourne and started to ask singers with whom he was friends. All of them said yes, and the list of participants grew as he mentioned it. Suddenly the idea became an event, which meant that they needed a venue.

Some singers approached Brindley about singing in the concert; Barry Banks is flying over from the USA and Mark Padmore is coming from Munich. He finds it very touching that they are supporting something so dear to him.

Originally, Brindley had simply thought of a central London venue, but his wife suggested Brindley approach Glyndebourne. He mentioned it to Gus Christie (executive chairman of Glyndebourne),  and the result is that the concert is taking place in the main auditorium at Glyndebourne, and they have full use of the venue, complete with car parking, ushers and catering, for the whole day. The event has proved a startling amount of work, even with professional help, and has dominated Brindley's year.

The audience will be a mixture of those coming for the singers and those coming to support The Meath. As a result the music for the gala will be pitched somewhat on the lighter side with popular arias and duets alongside Gilbert and Sullivan and songs from the shows.

The Meath Choir, made up of people who live there, will be performing alongside Godalming Jazz Choir and the evening will end with RVW's Serenade to Music where the sixteen soloists will be the distinguished singers from the evening plus four young singers – Katie Stevenson (mezzo soprano), William Morgan (tenor), Matthew Durkan (baritone) and Stephanie Wake-Edwards (mezzo soprano) - conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth. The accompanists will be Matthew Fletcher and Caroline Jaya-Ratnam, and John Suchet will be presenting the evening.

The Meath is based at a large Victorian mansion near Godalmining, now surrounded by other more modern houses in 12 acres of land, which provide a residential home for people with epilepsy (there are 65 residents). [You can read more about the charity's fascinating, long history on The Meath website].

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered - Mozart's The Magic Flute broadcast from Glyndebourne

Mozart: The Magic Flute - David Portillo - Glyndebourne (Photo Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. / Bill Cooper)

Mozart The Magic Flute; David Portillo, Björn Bürger, Sofia Fomina, Brindley Sherratt, Caroline Wettergreen, dir: Barbe & Doucet, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Ryan Wigglesworth; Broadcast live from Glyndebourne OPera
Reviewed by Anthony Evans on 4 August 2019 Star rating: 3.0 (★★★)
Barbe & Doucet's picture-book production broadcast live

On Sunday 4 August Mozart’s The Magic Flute was broadcast live from the 2019 Glyndebourne Festival. This new production by the renowned directing/design duo Barbe & Doucet took a playful, if not always illuminating, look at the opera’s gender politics. A young cast of singers led by Caroline Wettergreen (Queen of the Night), Sofia Fomina (Pamina), Björn Bürger (Papageno) and David Portillo (Tamino) were joined by Glyndebourne regular Brindley Sherratt as Sarastro. With Ryan Wigglesworth conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

The assertion during the preamble that The Magic Flute contains racism and sexism is scarcely news to any regular opera goer, but the fact that Barbe & Doucet had previously eschewed invitations to stage it, as a result, seemed a tad odd. Would the audience have imputed that they too were racist and sexist for having dared tackle the work? And they chose to carve a career in Opera? What on earth were they expecting from an eighteenth-century Singspiel, Mary Wollstonecraft?

Mozart: The Magic Flute - Martin Snell, David Portillo, Björn Bürger, Thomas Atkins
Glyndebourne (Photo Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. / Bill Cooper)

Berlioz’ thrilling ‘légende dramatique’ - La damnation de Faust - makes its Glyndebourne Festival début in a clinical and clean production by Richard Jones

Berlioz: La damnation de Faust - Christopher Purves, Allan Clayton
Glyndebourne Festival 2019 (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Berlioz La damnation de Faust; Allan Clayton, Christopher Purves, Julie Boulianne, Ashley Riches, cond: Gareth Hancock, dir: Richard Jones; Glyndebourne Festival
Reviewed by Tony Cooper on 27 June 2019 Star rating: 5.0 (★★★★★)
Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust - an operatic tour-de-force like no other - asks one simple question: What is the price of the human soul?

Berlioz: La damnation de Faust - Allan Clayton, Julie Boulianne
Glyndebourne Festival 2019 (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

After seeing Gounod’s Faust in Nice [see Tony's review] and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at Aldeburgh [see Tony's review], Planet Hugill’s roving reporter once more catches up with the devil but this time round on the South Downs of East Sussex with Glyndebourne’s production of Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust directed by Richard Jones (seen Thursday 27 June 2019). This is the first time that the opera has been staged at Glyndebourne marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death.

The performing company is one of the largest seen at Glyndebourne. Sixty-four singers make up the Glyndebourne Chorus complemented by Glyndebourne Youth Opera, Trinity Boys’ Choir and 14 actors plus the four principal singers comprising Allan Clayton (Faust), Christopher Purves (Méphistophélès), Julie Boulianne (Marguerite) and Ashley Riches (Brander). The production also featured 85 instrumentalists (80 in the pit, five off-stage) while Gareth Hancock (standing in for Robin Ticciati) conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra led by Pieter Schoeman.

Berlioz was inspired to write La damnation de Faust after reading part one of Goethe’s Faust in 1828 in a translation by Gérard de Nerval. He commented that ‘this marvellous book fascinated me from the first. I could not put it down. I read it incessantly: at meals, in the theatre, in the street.’ He was so impressed by it that a suite entitled Eight Scenes from Faust became his Opus 1 in 1829.

Berlioz: La damnation de Faust - Christopher Purves, Allan Clayton
Glyndebourne Festival 2019 (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Originally, a ‘concert opera’ it became with expansion a ‘légende dramatique’ (a term coined by Berlioz) in four parts. By the time it was written, the composer had found fame by the trio of works - Symphonie fantastique, Harold in Italy and Romeo and Juliet.

Often referred to as one of the two quintessential myths of western culture - the other being Don Giovanni - the story of Faust became an obsession for many of the greatest composers of the 19th century. Countless works were inspired by the myth including Liszt’s A Faust Symphony, Part II of Mahler’s Symphony No.8, Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust and, of course, Charles Gounod’s opera, Faust.

Berlioz always wanted the work to be staged and, in this respect, the première fell to the Opéra-Comique, Paris, in December 1846. The performance, though, became a damp squib due to its status, perhaps, of being part-opera, part-cantata. Causing a financial setback for Berlioz, he recalled: ‘Nothing in my career as an artist wounded me more deeply than this unexpected indifference.’ He conceded that the production techniques afforded him were not really up to the task of bringing the work fully to dramatic life. How he would have loved today’s hi-tech production facilities.