This autumn’s Glyndebourne Tour opens for public booking, including a striking new production of Beethoven’s only opera
Following its cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Glyndebourne Tour will return in autumn 2021 with performances at Glyndebourne and in Canterbury, Milton Keynes, Norwich and Liverpool.
Each autumn, the Glyndebourne Tour brings world-class opera productions to venues across the UK, allowing more audiences to enjoy a taste of the famous Glyndebourne opera experience. Accessibly priced and with a more informal dress code than its summer Festival, the Glyndebourne Tour is open to all, with ticket prices starting from as little as £10.
Members of the public can book tickets for Tour performances at Glyndebourne (8 – 31 October) from this Sunday, 4 July.
The season opens at Glyndebourne on Friday 8 October with the premiere of a new production of Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera. This exciting new staging was originally scheduled to appear at the 2020 Glyndebourne Festival, before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is directed by rising star Frederic Wake-Walker and conducted by Ben Glassberg, the principal conductor of the Glyndebourne Tour. Cast includes German soprano Dorothea Herbert as Leonore and tenor Adam Smith as Florestan.
Alongside Fidelio, the repertoire at Glyndebourne includes Mariame Clément’s popular staging of Donizetti’s exhilarating romantic comedy Don Pasquale, featuring a talented young cast (including Italian-Ethiopian soprano Mariam Battistelli as Norina and bass baritone Ricardo Seguel in the title role) and conducted by Jonathan Bloxham. Completing the line up is John Cox’s iconic 1975 production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, returning to Glyndebourne for the first time in a decade to introduce David Hockney’s designs to a new generation. The opera will be conducted by Kerem Hasan and cast includes Matthew Best as Father Trulove and Nardus Williams as Anne Trulove.
The Tour then goes on the road for performances at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (3 – 5 November), Milton Keynes Theatre (10 – 12 November), Norwich Theatre Royal (24 – 26 November) and Liverpool Empire Theatre (1 – 3 December). Audiences at those venues can enjoy Don Pasquale and The Rake’s Progress, as well as Glyndebourne’s first-ever staging of Handel’s Messiah, a rare opportunity to see and hear Glyndebourne’s exceptional Chorus centre-stage.
Handel’s much-loved choral work will also be performed at Glyndebourne in December, when the Tour returns home for a one-off performance of Messiah (10 December), as well as a series of Christmas concerts featuring operatic highlights and festive classics for all the family (8 – 12 December).
Also part of the Tour season (at Glyndebourne only) is City Lights, a screening of the classic Charlie Chaplin film accompanied by a live orchestra (19 – 20 November). Another first for Glyndebourne, this is a rare chance to watch an undisputed cinematic masterpiece in the Glyndebourne auditorium with live musical accompaniment from the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra.
The Glyndebourne Tour has a long and distinguished record of discovering and developing artistic talent. Continuing its commitment to nurturing young musicians, Glyndebourne’s Pit Perfect scheme for orchestral players of exceptional promise returns this autumn. It provides the opportunity for 13 postgraduate instrumentalists to gain professional experience as part of the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra throughout the autumn season, plus mentoring from established peers.
This year’s Pit Perfect participants include the young Japanese cellist Tamaki Sugimoto, a recipient of various international prizes who is currently studying at the Royal College of Music whilst forging her performance career. She says of the scheme:
‘Glyndebourne’s Pit Perfect scheme will give me valuable insight into the operatic scene, both in and out of the pit. I am excited and truly grateful to be exposed to such great repertoire and welcomed by its wonderful team. It is a difficult time to be finishing studies, but this opportunity will help make a bridge towards my future career. The Glyndebourne Tour fills me with optimism and I look forward to sharing that enthusiasm with everyone in the productions and the audience.’
Another of Glyndebourne’s initiatives to nurture new talent, the Tour Art Competition, is running again this year, inviting emerging artists aged 16+ to submit an artwork on the theme of ‘Forces of Nature’. The entry deadline is midnight on Sunday 4 July and the winning entry will feature on the cover of the Glyndebourne Tour programme this autumn.
Glyndebourne’s long-standing Performances for Schools programme also returns this autumn, offering heavily subsidised tickets for young people to experience their first taste of opera in its world-famous auditorium, plus educational resources and the chance to meet the cast post-show.
Visit the Glyndebourne website for further details (CLICK HERE)