Festival of Glyndebourne

Glyndebourne Operated Festival
The Festival of Glyndebourne ( Glyndebourne Opera Festival ) is a festival of opera created in 1934, and which takes place each summer with Glyndebourne House, in the Sussex (England).

It lasts of May to August and presents six productions each year. It is particularly famous for its productions of operas of Mozart, which acquired a great fame and whose certain recordings are still published today.

History

Origins

John Christie, music lover and owner of the factory of Organ Norman & Beard, inherits in 1920 a broad residence ( country house ) néo-élisabéthaine located beside Lewes, in the Eastern Sussex, and named Glyndebourne. It makes transform the room of music, long, in a room of organ, and twenty-five meters installs there one of the largest organ of England out those of the cathedrals.

It starts to accommodate lyric representations amateurs. It engages Audrey Mildmay, a professional singer, to organize them, and ends up marrying it in 1930. Of their honeymoon to the festival of Salzburg and Bayreuth, they bring back the idea to make of Glyndebourne the place of a professional festival of opera and to present not the best than we can make, but the best what can be fact where than it is.

They make build a small theater contiguous to the residence. Christie can engage the Leader Fritz Busch, of Dresden, and the director Carl Ebert, of Berlin, which had both flees the Nazi Germany; the three men agree on the fact that Busch and Ebert will be only responsible for the artistic director, while Christie will take care of the financing. The first evening of the new festival takes place the May 28th 1934.

Years founders

The tradition is established among spectators to benefit from long the intervals to go Pique-nique R in the park; this provincial character was worth with the festival the nickname of “Bayreuth English”

The festival is suspended of 1938 with 1946. In the years of post-war period, it crosses one period of financial problems, that Christie ends up solving while resorting to the patronage.

Fritz Busch dies in 1951. It is replaced at the musical position of director by Vittorio GUI, which makes enter Rossini to the repertory.

John Christie is named in 1954 in for his contribution to the English artistic life. He transmits the presidency of the festival to his son George Christie in 1958, and dies in 1962.

In 1960, Carl Ebert, who had almost ensured all the settings in scene since 1934, is withdrawn défintivement. He succeed Günther Rennert, which shares however its task with Franco Enriquez and Peter Ebert, as well as directors invited like Franco Zeffirelli and Michael Redgrave.

The festival since the years 1960

In 1963 a former student of Busch, John Pritchard, at the same time mozartien and champion of the Modern music, becomes musical director.

In 1972, John Cox becomes director of the productions, and invites David Hockney for The Rake' S Progress in 1975 and for the Magic Flute in 1978.

Bernard Haitink, succeeds Pritchard in 1978, and directs during ten years before being replaced by Andrew Davis.

In 1984, Peter Hall, collaborator of the festival since 1970, is named artistic director. It produces, with the director John Bury, of the operas baroques, before extending their projects to Mozart and Britten. Graham Vick is of 1993 with 2000 the last director of the productions. Other invited directors include Trevor Nunn, Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Peter Sellars. At the end of the Years 1980, the production of Porgy and Bess of Gershwin, put in scene by Trevor Nunn, is very appreciated and adapted for television in 1993.

The December 31st 1999, Sir George Christie leaves the presidency of the festival, while remaining member of the Board of directors ( Board off Trustees ). His/her puîné son, Gus Christie, succeed to him. Vladimir Jurowski becomes musical director in 2000.

In 2003, Wagner enters to the repertory of the festival with a Tristan and Isolde put in scene by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and directed by Jiri Belohlavek.

Statute

The festival is produced by Glyndebourne Productions Ltd., a private limited company by shares , equivalent of a Limited liability company in France.

Presidents

The president ( chairman ) is since the origin a descendant of the founder - another common point with the Festival of Bayreuth.

  • 1934 - 1958: John Christie

  • 1958 - 1999: George Christie
  • Since 2000: Gus Christie

Musical directors

Building

The theater of origin, built on the side of the residence, could only accommodate three hundred and eleven people. It was extended and renovated to many recoveries, so that in the Années 1980 it comprised eight hundred and thirty places and was flanked additional buildings including/understanding of the restaurants, the cloakrooms, the warehouses, etc

In 1992, the old theater closed after its last festival and the construction of a new room of thousand two hundred places started. It cost 34 million books joined together thanks to a public subscription, and opened in 1994.

Glyndebourne one Turn

In 1968, George Christie created Glyndebourne one Turn (GOT, or Glyndebourne in round ) in order to to bring the excellence of Glyndebourne to more possible many people and to launch the career of young artists. The hard round of October to December, and starts in Glyndebourne even for then presenting its productions in several regional theaters of the country.

References and sources

Source

External bonds

  • Glyndebourne Opera Festival
  • off has Brief History the Glyndebourne Opera Festival on a site of reservations

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