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 on Tour: Brett Dean's Hamlet in strong revival and mesmerising performances

Brett Dean: Hamlet - Glyndebourne on Tour - Gavan Ring, Brian Bannatyne Scott, David Butt Philip (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Brett Dean & Matthew Jocelyn Hamlet; David Butt Philip, Jennifer France, William Dazeley, Louise Winter, Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, dir: Neil Armfield / Lloyd Wood, cond: Duncan Ward; Glyndebourne on Tour
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 24 2017 Star rating: 4.0
A mesmerising account of the title role is at the centre of this strong revival of Brett Dean's new opera

William Dazeley, Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Louise Winter
(Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn's new opera Hamlet was a striking feature of this Summer's Glyndebourne Festival and, rather impressively, the company is taking this large and complex work on tour. We caught the Glyndebourne on Tour performance at Glyndebourne on Tuesday 24 October 2017. Both work and production have been tweaked for the tour, and Glyndebourne is fielding a strong new cast. Neil Armfield's production has been revived by Lloyd Wood (sets by Ralph Myers, costumes by Alice Babidge) and Duncan Ward conducts.

David Butt Philip is Hamlet (he played Laertes in the Summer), with William Dazeley as Claudius, Jennifer France as Ophelia, Rupert Charlesworth as Laertes, Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as Polonius, Gavan Ring as Horatio, Louise Winter as Gertrude, Brian Bannatyne Scott as the Ghost, the Gravedigger and Player 1, Rupert Enticknap as Rosencrantz and James Hall as Guildenstern.

Jennifer France (Photo Richard Hubert Smith)

Hamlet the opera is not Hamlet the play, but Dean and Jocelyn have kept most of the major incidents and characters. This is clearly a telling based on Shakespeare's story, and Dean and Jocelyn tell their story engagingly and efficiently. Dean has written highly atmospheric and striking music, and whilst his instrumental-like vocal lines are not always memorable he certainly does not make the mistake of resorting to noodling, these are clearly defined vocal characters.

Two elements of the opera stand out, the orchestral writing which is simply brilliant, full of colour and effect whilst leaving room for the voices, and a title role which give great scope for a singing actor. Here, thrillingly delivered by David Butt Philip.

But the sheer inclusivity of the plot is a weakness. With a first act lasting nearly two hours, do we really need so much pompous persiflage from Polonius (Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts), or do we need the comic counter-tenor twittering from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Rupert Enticknap and James Hall), in fact do we need them at all? And the scene with the players seemed self indulgently long. I have to confess that by the end of Act One, I rather agreed with the woman behind me who exclaimed 'thank goodness for that' when the interval appeared. There seemed to be too many moments when Dean and Jocelyn seemed to say to each other, this is a good bit we must include it, rather than asking whether the opera actually needed it.

La Dolce Vita inspired Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne

Duncan Rock, Brandon Cedel - Don Giovanni - Glyndebourne on Tour - photo Tristram Kenton

Mozart Don Giovanni; Duncan Rock, Brandon Cedel, Ana Maria Labin, Magdalene Molendowska, Anthony Gregory, Louise Alder, Bozidar Smiljanic, Andrii Goniukov, dir: Jonathan Kent/Lloyd Wood, cond: Pablo Gonzalez; Glyndbourne on Tour at Glyndebourne Opera
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 10 2016
Star rating: 4.5
Seduction and darkness from Glyndebourne's young cast in an engaging account of the rarely performed Vienna version

Magdalena Molendowska, Ana Maria Labin, Anthony Gregory
Don Giovanni - Glyndebourne on Tour - photo Tristram Kenton

Duncan Rock was back as Don Giovanni in Glyndebourne on Tour's production of Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne on 27 October 2016. Rock had been ill for the previous performance and Jacques Imbrailo had jumped in at very short notice. Rock seemed to be in good vocal health, in Jonathan Kent's production (revived by Lloyd Wood, who was responsible for the production's 2014 main stage revival) with Brandon Cedel as Leporello, Ana Maria Labin as Donna Anna, Andrii Goniukov as Il Commendatore, Anthony Gregory as Don Ottavio, Magdalena Molendowska as Donna Elvira, Louise Alder as Zerlina and Bozidar Smiljanic as Masetto. Pablo Gonzalez conducted the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra, with continuo from Ashok Gupta (forte piano) and Jonathan Tunnell (cello).

The opera was set roughly in the 1950s/early 1960s with Fellini's film La Dolce Vita as a visual reference (though intriguingly we kept seeing hints of references to other more recent films as well). Paul Brown's set was a box which opened origami-like to reveal a variety of configurations. When open, the inside of the box revealed a De Chirico-like city-scape, and the outside presented a huge renaissance portrait of a woman and a massive portal (evidently based on a palazzo in Ferrara). But with the constantly changing perspectives as the elements unfolded and rotated, gave a wide variety of views and rendered the city-scape often in highly surreal manner. The seems to have received varied reviews, both on the main stage and for this touring revival but we certainly enjoyed it.

The version used was Mozart's 1788 Vienna version, an edition of the opera rarely performed.

At a venue near you - Glyndebourne on Tour

This year's Glyndebourne on Tour season includes touring versions two 2014 main house productions, Tom Cairns' production of Verdi's La Traviata, and Frederic Wake-Walker's production of Mozart's La finta giardiniera along with a revival of Jonathan Kent's 2006 touring production of Britten's Turn of the Screw. The tour opens at Glyndebourne on 4 October 2014, before touring to Woking, Norwich, Canterbury, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Stoke on Trent and Dublin (where they will be visiting for the first time in more than 10 years). 

La Traviata will be conducted by the young German conductor David Afkham with American tenor Zach Borichevsky making his UK debut as Alfredo Germont and Russian soprano Irina Dubrovskaya in the title role. Turn of the Screw is conducted by Leo McFall (McFall conducted Rusalka for Glyndebourne on Tour in 2012) and features Natalya Romaniw as the Governess with Anthony Gregory as Peter Quint, Anne Mason as Mrs Grose and Miranda Keys as Miss Jessel. La finta giardiniera is conducted by Christopher Moulds with a cast including Timothy Robinson, Rosa Feola, Elena Pretorian and Hanna Hipp.

There are six performances of La traviata  and La finta giardiniera for schools, enabling around 9,000 school children to watch live opera, as well as Five Deaths and a Happy Ending an opera for 7 to 10 year olds.

Further information from the Glyndebourne on Tour website, watch a preview video after the jump.

Glyndebourne on Tour and into 2014

Colin Judson  as the Witch in the 2010 production of Hansel und Gretel
(c) Bill Cooper

Glyndebourne on Tour for 2013 celebrates Britten's centenary with a new production of The Rape of Lucretia directed by Fiona Shaw, alongside a revival of Laurent Pelly's 2008 production of Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel and Annabel Arden's 2007 production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. Also the planned new productions for the 2014 festival have been revealed.

On tour, the new production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia will be directed by Fiona Shaw and designed by Michael Levine and Nicky Gillibrand, with Kate Valentine and Allan Clayton as the Female and Male Chorus and Claudia Huckle as Lucretia with a cast  including David Soar, Duncan Rock and Catherine Wyn-Rogers, conducted by Nicholas Collon. The production opens at Glyndebourne on 19 October 2013.

Glyndebourne new season 2013

Glyndebourne is in many ways the model of what an modern opera house should be, in that in financial terms its main season is completely sponsored and there is no public money involved (they receive support from the public purse for their Education and touring activities). But there are affordable tickets available, a third of all 2013 tickets will be under £100). And the 2012 festival achieved box sales of 96.2% They also do productions interesting enough to tempt even the most jaded of opera queens. Next year's festival is a case in point with Ariadne auf Naxos slated for a new production, and appearances from Sarah Connolly, Mark Padmore, Soile Isokoski and a host of others

Opera Review - Rusalka - Glyndebourne on Tour

Glyndebourne on Tour
Rusalka
Credit Tristram Kenton

Dvorak’s Rusalka has been quite lucky recently with its UK outings, with strikingly different productions being presented by Grange Park Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Covent Garden and English Touring Opera. Now Glyndebourne on Tour have revived Melly Still’s Glyndebourne Festival production for their autumn tour. I caught the second performance of the tour, at Glyndebourne, the first night with the alternative cast, Wioletta Chodowicz in the title role and Ladislav Elgr as the Prince.