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Subject

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https://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/whats-in-the-archive/glyndebourne-reading-list/

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National Archives Reference for Resources

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National Archives Reference for Resources

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https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F19356

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No Ordinary
Archive
No Ordinary
Opera

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The gardens

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'The graciousness of civilisation here surely touches a peak where the arts of music, architecture and gardening combine...'

That's how poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West described Glyndebourne in 1953. That one of the 20th century's greatest garden designers should include the gardens in her praise is an indication of the importance these spaces have always had for visitors.

The gardens are open to ticket holders before all performances during the Festival. As opening times vary, please check the performance schedule for further details. We're happy for you to bring your own picnic, or order one to pick up when you arrive.

The gardens are open a few hours before Tour performances at Glyndebourne. Check the Tour performance schedule for details.

We're currently raising donations to help replace the trees that we have sadly lost due to ash dieback. Find out how you can make a donation.

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'The graciousness of civilisation here surely touches a peak where the arts of music, architecture and gardening combine...' That's how poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West described Glyndebourne in 1953. That one of the 20th century's greatest garden designers should include the gardens in her praise is an indication of the importance these spaces have always had for visitors.

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Where art and landscape comes together

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Helen Mark swaps her anorak for a frock as she visits the summer festival at Glyndebourne to discover how its famous gardens inspire opera-goers, singers and musicians.

Helen Mark swaps her anorak for a frock as she visits the summer festival at Glyndebourne to discover how its famous gardens inspire singers, artists and opera-goers. Set within the South Downs National Park, the gardens and surrounding landscape have become an integral part of the experience of going to the opera at Glyndebourne. Garden adviser John Hoyland and the garden team give Helen a tour and share how each distinctive themed area is created and maintained. As the audience begins to arrive for the evening performance, Helen talks to conductor William Christie and singers Danielle de Niese and Joelle Harvey about the unique way music and setting come together at Glyndebourne. She also meets Executive Chairman Gus Christie who introduces her to a recent addition to the local landscape, Glyndebourne's controversial wind turbine, and explains why he's passionate about reducing their carbon emissions.

Producer: Sophie Anton.

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BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, The Gardens at Glyndebourne

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Helen Mark swaps her anorak for a frock as she visits the summer festival at Glyndebourne to discover how its famous gardens inspire opera-goers, singers and musicians. Helen Mark swaps her anorak for a frock as she visits the summer festival at Glyndebourne to discover how its famous gardens inspire singers, artists and opera-goers.

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Productions for hire
PDF downloads

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Glyndebourne has an extensive repertoire of productions available for hire. Here you find an outline of each production as well as downloadable PDFs with more information, including photographs, plans (not to scale) and an indication of staffing requirements. Many of the productions have been adapted for touring allowing them to fit into smaller venues. For each production the original director and designer must be approached before the hire is agreed. New productions will be updated here annually.

For all hire information please contact:

Penny White
Tel: +44 (0)1273 812321
penny.white@glyndebourne.com

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Glyndebourne has an extensive repertoire of productions available for hire. Here you find an outline of each production as well as downloadable PDFs with more information, including photographs, plans (not to scale) and an indication of staffing requirements. Many of the productions have been adapted for touring allowing them to fit into smaller venues.

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Costumes

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Alexia Ros Gylfadottir Costume Designer. Costume design and making for theatre, dance and films in Iceland / Alexía Rós Gylfadóttir búningahönnuður. Búningahönnun og búningasaumur/gerð fyrir leikhús, dans og kvikmyndir í Reykjavík

Opera
2nd Assistant Ladies Costume Department
Festival Season 2017

"The costume department at Glyndebourne is unique in that it works on so many diverse productions concurrently. The three new productions each require costumes made from scratch, while the costumes for the revivals need to be unpacked from the archives, adjusted, finessed and sometimes - depending on changes to the cast - completely remade. The department itself has nine full-time members and approximately 25 seasonal staff: pattern cutters, master tailors, machinists, finishers and textile specialists, who work from January to October each year." From Behind the Curtain, article written by Tamsin Blanchard

Operas in the season (Festival and Tour):
Hipermestra
La Traviata
Hamlet
Ariadne Auf Naxos
Don Pasquale
La Clemenza di Tito
Cosi fan Tutte
Il Barbiere di Siviglia

"Away from the mainstream cultural citadels, this is an inspiring place that brings out the best in artists. During a break in rehearsals, a stroll through the gardens or a view across the Downs can do more for the soul than a congested city street. The same is true for our audiences. To visit Glyndebourne is to be immersed in a different world. A stroll, or a picnic, in our grounds is part of the Glyndebourne experience and the gardens have their own enthusiastic supporters." Glyndebourne.com

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Alexia Ros Gylfadottir Costume Designer. Costume design and making for theatre, dance and films in Iceland / Alexía Rós Gylfadóttir búningahönnuður. Búningahönnun og búningasaumur/gerð fyrir leikhús, dans og kvikmyndir í Reykjavík Opera2nd Assistant Ladies Costume DepartmentFestival Season 2017 "The costume department at Glyndebourne is unique in that it works on so many diverse productions concurrently.

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Head of props

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Glyndebourne introduces - Head of Props Paul Brown

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Head of Props Paul Brown shows us around the Glyndebourne props workshop and finds some surprises waiting for the new production of The Rape of Lucretia for Glyndebourne Tour 2013

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Erté

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This summer Glyndebourne will celebrate the designs of Art Deco artist Erté with a dedicated exhibition. The original set and costume designs created for the 1980 production of Der Rosenkavalier is on display from 19 May.

The exhibition is complemented by an exclusive range of limited edition products from the Glyndebourne Shop.
About Erté
Romain de Tirtoff (1892-1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer whose pseudonym comes from the French pronunciation of the letters of his initials. Over his long career, he worked in fashion, jewellery, graphic arts, costume and set design for films, theatre and opera.
Der Rosenkavalier, 1980
Erté is one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. So when Glyndebourne unveiled the designs the artist had created for its 1980 production of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, it was considered a tremendous coup.

The production starred English soprano Felicity Lott in the role of Octavian, and she returned to the part for a revival in 1982.

John Cox, the production's director, says of Erté's designs 'All were immaculately executed and presented, each in itself a work of art as well as an accurate working drawing of the desired finished product. His long life as illustrator, fashion designer and creator of theatrical spectacle was brought to a fitting climax and conclusion, as seen in this comprehensive and sumptuous exhibition.'
Exhibition highlights
Set design for Act I - the boudoir of the Marschallin (wife of a Field Marshal). Erté's drawing shows the moment at the very end of the act when the Marschallin, left alone, contemplates her face in the mirror.

Set design for the presentation of the rose in Act II - the crucial moment in the opera's plot when Octavian and Sophie meet, and fall instantly in love.

Alongside the designs, Sophie's original costume from Act III is on display.

The exhibition is being curated by distinguished collector Elizaveta Meshkvicheva and Glyndebourne archivist Julia Aries. 'Erté is very dear to my heart for many different reasons.' says Meshkvicheva. 'Of course, as a Russian, I greatly appreciate what impact my compatriots had on cultural life worldwide. For me, Erté is definitely someone who continued the legacy of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes about which I am so passionate. His knowledge of fashion and style was so profound that, coupled with his incredible sense of humour, the characters of the opera became alive while still on paper.'

'Erté had a very specific and sharp sense of humour. Even looking at the design for the most minor of characters, we still can't help smiling; their facial expressions are very grotesque.

'Although I adore Sophie's dresses, and we will have a real dress on display too, my favourites are the personages from Act III with different masks in hands. Also, I love the little drawings of the small items such as the lantern or the Milner's hat - such attention to the tiniest of detail!
Inspired by Erté
Perfect for Glyndebourne picnics, this director's chair features one of Erté's designs for Octavian.

To accompany the exhibition, Glyndebourne Shop has produced a range of exclusive Erté-inspired items, featuring the original designs.

The range includes a director's chair, a beautifully lined silk coat, homeware and menswear.
Explore The Erté Collection Harper's Bazaar exclusive
Erté enjoyed a close relationship with Harper's Bazaar throughout his career, and was famed for his exquisite cover illustrations.

We're delighted to continue this association, and we have partnered with Harper's Bazaar to produce an exclusive limited edition of the June issue of the magazine with an 'Erté at Glyndebourne' cover.

The cover features Erté's The Marschallin's Negligee costume design. The issue features the Erté exhibition and a piece by playwright David Hare which explores Glyndebourne's origins.

The limited edition will be on sale exclusively through the Glyndebourne Shop and box office.
Richard Jones' 2014 production of Der Rosenkavalier is revived this summer, and is on stage until 26 June.
The Erté at Glyndebourne exhibition is being held at Glyndebourne's Archive Gallery throughout Festival 2018 and is free for all ticket holders. Find out more about this summer's exhibitions.

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Erté at Glyndebourne | Russian Art + Culture

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This summer Glyndebourne will celebrate the designs of Art Deco artist Erté with a dedicated exhibition. The original set and costume designs created for the 1980 production of Der Rosenkavalier is on display from 19 May. The exhibition is complemented by an exclusive range of limited edition products from the Glyndebourne Shop.

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Fashion through the ages

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BBC - Glyndebourne style through the decades - Glyndebourne opera house audience, 1938

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Audience members at Glyndebourne opera house, 1938

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Site map

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Autumn performances at Glyndebourne and around the country

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The home of the beloved annual Glyndebourne Festival had outgrown its useful life; our new facility is a modern, suitable replacement which sensitively integrates with the historic premises.

Nestled in a valley in the Sussex countryside, the Opera House adjoins a Edwardian country house, set in mature gardens. It occupies the same site as the old, but has been rotated by 180 degrees so that the front of house areas now lead naturally onto the gardens. This re-orientation disguises the bulk of the new building by digging it 10 metres into the slope of the site. The oval building shape sits comfortably and harmoniously within the older buildings.

The large inter-dependent and windowless volumes of the 1200 seat auditorium, the fly tower, stage, side stages and back stage with their fixed relationships, are placed in the centre of the building. The foyers and back up spaces - dressing rooms, the green room, studios, offices and workshops are wrapped around the building on three levels, giving views out to the gardens and scale and proportion to the facade. The auditorium has a traditional, intimate horseshoe form and is lined in pitch pine. The shapes of the auditorium interior are acoustically proscribed. It is the final instrument, literally a music box.

Glyndebourne combines traditional load bearing brick walls, which match the adjacent house, with highly finished pre cast concrete ceiling panels. The roof and fly tower are clad in lead panels. An elegant fabric canopy shelters the foyer.

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Glyndebourne Opera House The home of the beloved annual Glyndebourne Festival had outgrown its useful life; our new facility is a modern, suitable replacement which sensitively integrates with the historic premises. Nestled in a valley in the Sussex countryside, the Opera House adjoins a Edwardian country house, set in mature...

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The relevance of opera 4

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Why is opera important? Why is any art important? It offers us a reflection of who we are, how we relate to others, and what it means, collectively and individually, to be human. Opera performed live is a uniquely thrilling experience - at its best, it is hugely powerful and the most emotionally direct of all art forms. The combination of dramatic narrative, stagecraft and music, and especially the range and vulnerability of the human voice, make opera the art form that comes closest to expressing pure emotion. It is storytelling at its most vivid and manipulative. Opera seeps into popular consciousness and bleeds into other forms, sound-tracking TV shows, sports anthems, adverts and films - where its music is often used as a shortcut to create a heightened emotional tension at climactic moments. Those big moments in opera are usually the ones that deal most directly in the big human themes: life, love, death, loss, passion, joy, anger - but opera can be subtle as well as showy.

Why is opera important? Why is any art important? It offers us a reflection of who we are, how we relate to others, and what it means, collectively and individually, to be human. Opera performed live is a uniquely thrilling experience - at its best, it is hugely powerful and the most emotionally direct of all art forms. The combination of dramatic narrative, stagecraft and music, and especially the range and vulnerability of the human voice, make opera the art form that comes closest to expressing pure emotion. It is storytelling at its most vivid and manipulative. Opera seeps into popular consciousness and bleeds into other forms, sound-tracking TV shows, sports anthems, adverts and films - where its music is often used as a shortcut to create a heightened emotional tension at climactic moments. Those big moments in opera are usually the ones that deal most directly in the big human themes: life, love, death, loss, passion, joy, anger - but opera can be subtle as well as showy.

What is your favourite opera?
I've many favourites, but ultimately it is a close run thing between Verdi's Don Carlos and Britten's Peter Grimes.

And what would you take a first-timer to?
Almost any Janáček opera - real stories, real characters, great music. Or La Bohème is ideal - it's subject is universal, emotionally powerful, visceral and it contains some of the most beautiful music ever written for the stage.

Kasper Holten, director of opera, Royal Opera House

When I meet people who say they don't like opera, it turns out nine out of 10 haven't ever actually seen one. "Isn't opera where they sing 'I love you, I love you, I love you' or 'I am dying, I am dying, I die now' - and it takes them 10 minutes to do so?" I get asked. To express something about love or death in 10 minutes is fast! These are emotions we struggle with our whole lives. In opera we spend time on what matters in life: the big emotional peaks and abysses. Opera is the world's first multimedia. Through the combination of music and theatre, we can identify with characters, but then - when they feel love, despair, loneliness, fear, hope, jealousy - stop time and explore these moments further through music and movement, finding a language for the emotions it can be difficult to talk about, although they define our lives. Opera can make us see, feel and hear the world differently, and remind us about being in touch with the things beneath the surface, the things that really matter.

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Mariusz Kwiecien as Don Giovanni in the Royal Opera House's 2014 production. Photograph: Bill Cooper/BBC/Royal Opera House

Favourite opera
Impossible. But Don Giovanni.

Best for a first-timer?
Totally depends on who you are. Don Giovanni, La traviata, Die Walküre or Wozzeck.

Oliver Mears, artistic director, Northern Ireland Opera

Opera is important because it is totally unfeasible. In its lack of deference to economic realities, it signifies that at least not all art can be commodified or rationalised. In scale and cost it is the most excessive of all art forms, and in the totality of its artistic claims, is the most ambitious. The demands on its practitioners, too, are excessive. Music, singing, staging, design and acting must marry seemlessly with each other, it needs copious resources of talent and money, meticulous administrative planning and highly complex technical execution.

Gerard Barry's Importance of Being Earnest, NI Opera's 2013 production. Photograph: NIOpera/Northern Ireland Opera

At least dozens and often hundreds of people play a critical role in delivering each live performance, so the stakes are high. Why do they do it, and why do people go to it? Because the combination of great music and great drama can move people to an almost physical extent. Because this combination has the potential to get under your skin more than any other art form. At its worst, opera can be alienating, boring and irrelevant. But when everything works, can there be anything more captivating or more thrilling?

Favourite opera
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

Best for a first-timer?
Rigoletto.

James Conway, general director, English Touring Opera

Good opera is important if it makes people feel something (other than indignation, or disappointment!). It is especially important if those feelings incline people to higher aspiration, greater sympathy, or more profound self-knowledge. It also has an historical voice and can be historically expressive. I think of Simon Boccanegra - a profound expression of Italian political history - or the opera I've worked on most recently, Tippett's King Priam. Though apparently austere, the latter ravishes the willing spectator and involves them in a consideration of choice and violence, in a kind of history-forming that is particularly postwar in sensibility. I wish there was an English verb for the French " assister". For someone who accepts the offer to "assist" (attend/witness/be present at) at an opera, in exchange for the price of admission, the rewards can be heady and transformative.

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Laure Meloy as Hebuba in ETO 2014 production of Tippett's King Priam. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Favourite opera
Currently, Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride or Handel's Tamerlano.

Best for a first-timer
A new, or at least a newish, opera. Every new opera represents a chance for a living art form.

David Pountney, artistic director, Welsh National Opera

Opera is the embodiment of an essential human instinct: telling stories through music. It links modern, liberal intellectual and artistic culture with our primitive ritualistic origins. Since the principal language of opera is music, and music is essentially an abstract language, it cannot be a tool for explicit political or even emotional ideas, but it does express emotional and imaginative truths that lie behind material realities. And because the experience of it is communal, it is one of the essential ways in which society can express the imaginative and emotional truths about itself which are frequently more important than the material realities. At the opera we experience emotional and imaginative truths not in private, as we may do with a poem, but in the company of strangers with whom we tacitly share these profound and transformative cultural experiences. That is an essential part of our civilised, democratic culture. Finally, opera as the most international of cultural genres is the art-form which most reminds us that even the British are part of a great European tradition of imaginative endeavour. It is in all these respects a vital tool and a barometer of our social civilisation.

Favourite opera
Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen.

Best for a first-timer
Any! A first-timer is by definition innocent of prejudice. It is people who think they know about opera who are sometimes affected by prejudice.

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The chorus of hens from WNO's The Cunning Little Vixen. Photograph: Catherine Ashmore

Alex Reedijk, general director, Scottish Opera

Quite simply, opera is the stuff of life. It is the ultimate expression through live performance of the human condition, of all that we feel, fear and care about. Storytelling is a fundamental human need, and there is nothing that can beat opera as a way of telling the stories that need telling, the stories that help us to understand what it is to be human. The combination of music, singing and drama creates a full experience with unparalleled power to move. At its best it is truly exhilarating. We all possess the means to enjoy it - the emotional equipment to appreciate it - but it does require concentration. It challenges you to engage but, as with all the good things in life, the more you immerse yourself the more rewarding it is. It can feel hard to get started on that journey, and that's why it's important that we who make opera take every opportunity to reduce barriers, demythologise, and demystify what it's all about. We're under no illusion that everyone will love it as we do, but we want everyone to feel welcome to come and try it.

Favourite opera
I am a huge fan of Janáček's operas - the drama, musicality and sheer intensity of the experience.
Best for a first-timer
I think Madama Butterfly is a great place to start. The themes and the story of the opera are so real and universal that even if you don't understand the words you can feel what's happening through the emotion created by the music.

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Hye-Youn Lee as Cio-Cio San, Madama Butterfly, Scottish Opera, 2014. Photograph: KK Dundas/Scottish Opera

John Berry, artistic director, English National Opera

Of all art forms opera feels the most complete. The combination of music, words and drama can tell stories in such a powerful and extraordinary way that the most agnostic sceptic can feel excited and exhilarated. I've seen opera work its magic many, many times, not just with audiences but within my own organisation which is full of talented people from different walks of life working together under one roof. Opera seems to attract immensely gifted and extremely interesting people, everyone understands the challenges of working towards a first night to give a new production, or a completely new piece the chance to fly.

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'Opera can make us see, feel and hear the world differently': the UK's opera chiefs tell us why their art form matters

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Why is opera important? Why is any art important? It offers us a reflection of who we are, how we relate to others, and what it means, collectively and individually, to be human.

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https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-david-hockney/

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Glyndebourne timeline

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1598

The first opera

Jacopo Peri's Dafne, widely considered the very first opera, is performed in Florence.

1607

Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, the oldest opera still regularly performed at opera houses around the world, is staged at the Carnival in Mantua for the first time.

1637

The first public opera house

Opera becomes accessible to a paying public as the Teatro San Cassiano, the first public opera house in Venice, opens.

1639

Cavalli's first opera premieres

Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo premieres at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice.

1735

Opera spreads across Europe

Lully and Purcell help to establish the new art form in France and Great Britain, respectively, paving the way for Handel, whose first season of operas begins in London in 1735.

1762

German composer Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice premieres. Gluck, along with many, felt opera had become predictable and static and this, his first 'reform opera', aimed to free opera from its shackles of tradition.

1791

Mozart, in many ways influenced by Gluck, dies, having raised opera to a new level both dramatically and musically. His comic and tragic operas remain firm favourites to this day.

Early 1800s

Bel canto, the Italian school of 'beautiful singing' famous for its elaborate ornamentation and effortless shifts between high and low registers, defines the operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, which dominate European opera houses during the early 1800s.

1842

Verdi's Nabucco premieres

His breakthrough success Nabucco premieres in 1842, and by the end of the decade, Verdi has revolutionised Italian opera and paved the way for verismo ('reality') opera, which revolves around the plight of ordinary people and which is further developed and brought to perfection by Puccini.

1876

Wagner's Ring Cycle is first staged

Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, totalling 15 hours, is staged for the first time. Wagner revolutionised opera by creating a 'complete work of art', in which music and words are equally important.

Late 1800s and 20th century

Wagner's influence defines opera

Wagner's 1865 opera Tristan und Isolde, through its revolutionary absence of traditional tonality and its novel use of musical colour, changes people's expectations and paves the way for modernist opera such as Alban Berg's 1925 work Wozzeck.

21st century

Opera in the 21st century

Opera continues to be an important art form, dealing with current affairs and historical subjects alike, such as John Adam's Doctor Atomic (2005), George Benjamin's Written on Skin (2012) and Brett Dean's new opera Hamlet.

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The first opera Jacopo Peri's Dafne, widely considered the very first opera, is performed in Florence. Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, the oldest opera still regularly performed at opera houses around the world, is staged at the Carnival in Mantua for the first time.

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Oral histories: Florence Harvey, Head gardener's wife

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Harvey, Florence

Audio provided by the British Library

This recording is one of 80,000 available on British Library Sounds

The British Library Board acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors to this recording and the rights of those not identified. Legal and ethical usage "

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Audio provided by the British Library This recording is one of 80,000 available on British Library Sounds The British Library Board acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors to this recording and the rights of those not identified. Legal and ethical usage "

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The relevance of opera 3

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Once upon a time, opera was popular culture. In late 19th century Britain, brass bands played the latest operatic hits. You could hear snippets of opera in the music hall. Dozens of touring opera companies performed each week to factory workers and shopkeepers up and down the country. Operatic parodies were all the rage - and everyone knew the operas themselves well enough to get the joke.

Fast forward to the present and opera is still all around us - whether in adverts or films, or in the growing number of performances in unusual places, from pubs to railway stations. We can hear world-class opera singers for free at the click of a mouse. And yet the rhetoric surrounding opera has changed. These days, when opera is mentioned in the media, the "e-word" is rarely far away.

Today, opera is routinely styled as the antithesis of everyday life. The clash of opera (assumed to be "posh") with "ordinary people" is a formula wheeled out repeatedly in reality TV series such as From Pop Star to Opera Star and Maestro at the Opera. Similar associations are often employed in adverts that poke fun at notions of prestige and sophistication.

But not so far removed from this harmless fun is the charge of "elitism". In contemporary Britain, opera is routinely caricatured in the media as a publicly-subsidised pursuit for the snooty rich, who dress up to enjoy fat ladies singing loudly in opulent surroundings. It doesn't bear much relation to most people's experience of opera, but it's a cliché some journalists just can't seem to resist.

Sometimes even musicians who claim to be standing up for opera play into the same myths. Katherine Jenkins recently invited the press to the Ritz to announce a new record deal. The opposition Jenkins set up between herself (a "normal" person) and "critics who want to keep [opera] to themselves and an elite" was gleefully seized upon by a writer for the Telegraph and reported under the provocative title "Katherine Jenkins: why classical music snobs are wrong."

Fighting for opera? Katherine Jenkins at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Photograph: Matt Kent/WireImage

A blog post I wrote speculating about who these supposed "snobs" might be generated over 12,000 hits in 24 hours and started a lively debate on Twitter and Facebook. Those who joined in were diverse in background and in age (so much for the cliché about opera audiences dying out). In the words of one commenter, "opera audiences are the most motley group I sit with".

The enthusiasm for opera to be presented in fresh ways was overwhelming. A particular topic that got people talking was the consequence of off-putting stereotypes for younger generations. As one reader put it, references to a snobbish elite enjoying classical music risk discouraging other "normal" children from taking it up. A second recalled childhood comic books in which opera singers and opera fans were portrayed as "faintly ridiculous or snobs". A third told a touching tale of discovering Wagner as a 13-year-old half a century ago at a time when nobody thought to tell a working-class boy that opera wasn't for him.

There are so many more interesting stories we can tell about opera. All of human life is here: love, sex, death, jealousy, power, humour and grief. Operatic tragedy, however apparently overblown, can help us make sense of the sorrows, great or small, that we encounter in our own lives. The characters are colourful and so are many of the performers, past and present. The fact that operas have been used as emblems of national identity and tools of propaganda testifies to their political potency and on-going resonance. And, of course, the music is great.

Repeating stereotypes doesn't always help a cause. If we really want to "share the joy of opera with as many people as possible", to quote another response to my blog, it's time to start changing the conversation.

Dr Alexandra Wilson is Reader in Musicology at Oxford Brookes University where she runs the OBERTO opera research unit and teaches courses on opera. Follow her on twitter at @amwilson_opera

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We need to move beyond the cliches about opera

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Once upon a time, opera was popular culture. In late 19th century Britain, brass bands played the latest operatic hits. You could hear snippets of opera in the music hall. Dozens of touring opera companies performed each week to factory workers and shopkeepers up and down the country.

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The relevance of opera 2

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Millions of Brits have never been to the opera because they consider it "too posh", "too long" - and many don't even know when to clap, a study found.

A fear over when it is acceptable to go to the toilet and concerns over what to wear, are also among reasons for never sampling the delights of the late great Luciano Pavarotti and his peers.

The performance 'being full of words that are difficult to understand' is also a major stumbling block.

Two thirds of those who took part in the study for Classic FM said they simply weren't into opera, while 30 per cent reckoned it's "too expensive".

Shockingly, half of those polled couldn't name a single opera singer, with just one in five recognising Pavarotti.

More than half even said they wouldn't dream of watching the opera if it was on TV.

Sam Jackson, Classic FM's managing editor, said: "Despite Classic FM's success in democratising classical music since our inception 25 years ago, opera is still viewed as elitist and we want to dispel that myth.

"Our research shows that while people worry that opera might be dull and too intellectual for them, many would love to go. "That's why we've created these 'opera shorts', making the storylines accessible and appealing to a modern audience."

Classic FM has modernised three of the best-known operas, Carmen, La Boheme and The Barber of Seville, creating three short animated films, which are narrated by Johnny Vaughan.

The 30-second 'opera shorts' are designed to break down some of the perceived barriers to this classical form, making the storylines more accessible to a contemporary audience.

The study of 2,000 adults by OnePoll.com found that of those who have sat through an opera performance, one in ten felt nervous, self-conscious and like they didn't fit in.

As a result, casual clothing, mainstream venues and an app to follow the plot would persuade more people to attend.

Half would be more likely to consider a night at the opera if ticket prices were cheaper while one quarter would attend if it was translated into English.

And 15 per cent would rather ditch extravagant tales of sorrow and seduction for more every day, relatable subjects.

But while the average opera-goer will travel 37 miles to see a performance, 43 per cent would be most likely to go if the theatre was local to them.

One in ten loved the idea of a blockbuster show at London's mammoth O2 Arena - usually the stage of the biggest pop, rock, sporting and comedy shows on the planet.

It also emerged that while Carmen and Madame Butterfly emerged as the most popular shows, less than one in ten had an opera they would call their favourite.

Instead, eight in ten say they didn't have a favourite opera.

But 14 per cent would like to see modern-day dramas Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones made into shows.

One in ten would even like to see I Griffin - the Family Guy opera.

A lack of love for the opera doesn't necessarily mean Brits don't know their shows though - almost 70 per cent knew Carmen and Madame Butterfly to be famous operas.

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And half of respondents have heard of La Traviata, The Barber of Seville and La Boheme.

Johnny Vaughan, who narrates Classic FM's short films, said: "There are some fantastic operatic storylines which have more drama, romance and intrigue than a whole hour of Brexit negotiations.

"Alright I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's important to cut through the stereotypes that surround classical music and opera and give people the chance to enjoy it, which is why the 'opera shorts' trilogy is such a great idea."

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The reason millions of Brits have never been to the opera

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Millions of Brits have never been to the opera because they consider it "too posh", "too long" - and many don't even know when to clap, a study found. A fear over when it is acceptable to go to the toilet and concerns over what to wear, are also among reasons for never sampling the delights of the late great Luciano Pavarotti and his peers.

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https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/news/opera-attendance-public-deterred-posh-long-expensive-etiquette-elitist-classic-fm-survey-a8090356.html

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The relevance of opera

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When most people hear the word 'opera', their mind is immediately flooded with a series of stereotypes: the fat Italian man belting out high notes like there's no tomorrow, or the middle-aged, rotund soprano screaming her lungs out ten minutes after she was fatally wounded.

If asked to name an opera singer, most people can probably manage Maria Callas or Luciano Pavarotti. Challenge someone to name an opera singer still performing and the number of people who can find a name in the dark crevices of their mind drops even further.

Most strikingly of all, ask these same questions to university students, and you'll likely be met with a sea of blank faces. Why then, does opera seem to be such a niche interest among the wider population, but especially among young people?

Opera as an art form is notoriously abnormal. For starters, its authenticity is compromised by the fact that it is sung in its entirety. Pile on top of this the duration of many performances, which require undeniably large amounts of concentration from its audience, and the fact that any English audience member is often going to be watching a performance in a foreign language, and it already seems slightly unappealing.

To make matters worse, the storylines tend to be either unbelievably complex, or based on mythology difficult to represent effectively on stage both with scenery and singers. Cio-Cio-San, for example, the lead role of Madama Butterfly, is meant to be fifteen years old. It is not uncommon for a woman almost thrice that age to be singing the role. The Rhinemaidens, another infamous example, are three water-nymphs who are supposedly submerged underwater in Wagner's Ring Cycle.

After accounting for the millennial reputation for short-attention spans and the tendency for other art forms in the modern day to be hyper-realist, you have a recipe for disaster. Even the dragons in Game of Thrones, or British politicians for that matter, are more believable than the complex mythological plot of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

But these abnormalities, if seen and embraced as part and parcel of the art form, can serve to enrich the opera-going experience. Much has been said about the aesthetics of opera, perhaps most notably by Wagner, who used the term 'Gesamtskunstwerk' (literally 'total work of art') to describe his understanding of opera as an art form. Unlike any other art form (except, nowadays, the modern musical), opera embraces theatre, music, and art in an unavoidable synthesis every time it is performed. For Wagner, the individuality of each art form was united in opera and subordinated to a common purpose of shedding light on the human experience.

Opera's unification of mediums arguably allows these messages to be portrayed with greater complexity and detail than any other artform. The words sung carry their own meaning, but the true intent of their message can be reinforced, contradicted, or complicated by the music of the melody and of the orchestra. In Act two of Rigoletto for example, Rigoletto faces courtiers who have kidnapped his daughter and sings 'la' repetitively to a jolly tempo in an attempt to hide his dismay; yet the strings of the orchestra, in a minor key, reflect his underlying agony.

Add in the multitude of each performer's ability to interpret, both dramatically and musically, the various roles played, and there is a vast level of meaning that can often go unnoticed because of the aforementioned issues. Despite its unbelievability, opera has the potential to be incredibly raw and human.

Issues with opera are not just restricted to what is performed on stage. Much of the lack of appeal, particularly for students, is the absurdly high ticket prices. To give you an example, I pay around £70 a year to be a Young Friend of the Royal Opera House which gives me early access to book tickets. Two seats in a less than optimal location to see La Traviata in January cost me £210. La Forza del Destino, the highlight of the spring season, had completely sold out by the time booking was opened to the general public. If you are so inclined as to become a First Night Patron of the Royal Opera House for a mere £16,094 per year, you have a guaranteed two 'prime seats' for the opening night of every production.

Combine this with the culture surrounding opera, and you have the main reasons why opera has come to be seen as an elitist art-form. Perhaps with the exception only of Shakespeare, there is no audience so renowned for its strongly (and sometimes stubbornly) held views as the opera audience. Still today (though mostly in Italy, where passions run slightly higher than the stiff upper lips of the Royal Opera House), singers can be booed off-stage mid-performance or productions halted mid-run because they do not satisfy the tastes of the 'omniscient' audience.

Unlike modern theatre, where new works are performed as the norm, opera seasons consist of the 'repertory'; these dozens of operas, mostly from 19th and early 20th century composers (Verdi, Puccini, Rossini etc.), are repeated around the world every year. Thus, through repetition, the opera-goer expects certain opera to be performed in certain ways. Break this rule in the wrong opera house (La Scala in Milan is notorious for this) and the public backlash can be scathing.

The auditorium culture also reflects this elitism: complete silence is expected throughout the performance (apart from the occasional booing, of course) and if you are late or need to leave to go to the toilet, you are only allowed back to your seats after the interval. This exclusivity is also painfully evident in the costs of pursuing opera as a career. Unlike in normal theatre, there tend to be a maximum of two opera houses per city; consequently, auditions for Young Artist programs across Europe (often seen as a required stepping stone into becoming a 'proper' opera singer) can become extremely costly, involving flights to and from major European cities several times a year.

This is on top of the debt you will have accrued after an undergraduate degree or Bachelor of Music from a conservatoire, a master's in music or vocal performance, regular singing lessons, performance workshops, and summer academies. Unfortunately, it is often a question of whose parents' credit card is the most flexible, rather than a question of whose voice is the best. It is no wonder then, that opera has an elitist reputation.

More recently however, there has been some significant movement of the operatic tectonic plates, with many of these elitist aspects becoming seen as remnants of the past. Many opera houses across Europe and America have been trying bold new ideas to attract wider (with a focus on younger) audiences to the theatre. The Royal Opera House recently underwent a two-year renovation and is now open daily from 10am, with free lunchtime recitals from chorus members regularly each week. It hosts special performances for school children from disadvantaged backgrounds and has the Young Friends program with access to early booking and insider events at a discounted price for 16-25 year olds. The English Touring Opera travel around the country providing high quality opera performances practically on your doorstep.

The English National Opera (ENO) has enacted substantial reforms. For instance, it announced this December that Saturday-night tickets for under-18 year olds will be free; this allows the opera to be a family outing, not just a stressful evening for the parents who would otherwise have to worry about babysitting or reluctantly purchase a £50 ticket for their seven-year-old.

Moreover, the ENO has Opera Undressed nights at £20 for inexperienced opera-goers which includes a pre-performance talk, and has begun to offer a 'secret-seat' lottery whereby you pay a flat rate of £30 to 'win' a seat worth over £50 in an unknown location. Additionally, the ENO sings all productions in English to make it more accessible and has recently been casting more singers from BAME backgrounds; their website claims that a third of each nights' audience have never been to an opera before.

There has also been a significant drive from within the opera singing community to make opera more accessible. The American tenor Michael Fabiano has consistently called for Opera houses to modernise their viewing experience, for instance by having a 'mobile phones allowed' section or specific performances where short video recordings are allowed - think of the Instagram potential!

Several opera houses have begun experimenting with more modern productions: a fairly recent production of Le Nozze di Figaro had the Count in a full Adidas tracksuit to highlight both his wealth, and the fact that he's a bit of a clown. Websites like OperaVision have allowed for livestreams of opera to become regular occurrences and the world's biggest opera houses have all signed up for their operas to be kept online for months after their initial livestream (because if there's one business model to follow for success with young people, it's Netflix).

The issue of a lack of modern repertory has also ruffled some feathers. How are operas meant to appeal to young audiences if they were written 200 years ago? Conrad Osborne, a prominent opera critic and writer, has spoken at length about the stagnation of the repertory. No operas from any later than the early 20th century are considered 'repertory opera', leading directors to push well-loved favourites to their conceptual limits. This attempt at innovation results in unbelievable or simply senseless productions;the Planet of the Apes inspired production of Rigoletto seems too far.

Personally, I think opera needs a return to its basics if it is to have a lasting impact on young audiences. Younger audiences will only return if they like what they see. That means not taking unrestricted liberties with the text: you wouldn't see a Star Trek inspired Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company, so why should a Harry Potter themed Magic Flute at the ENO fare any better? There's a fine balance between a modern interpretation and a complete re-writing of an opera, the latter often having the potential to give a bad impression to any first-timers in the audience.

Drives to cast more BAME singers are extremely important, and there have been several drives put in place to tackle this issue since the late 1970s when famous sopranos like Leontyne Price began to emerge. World-class BAME opera singers like Pretty Yende are currently paving the way for a more inclusive environment in the future.

Yet with a growing number of such talented BAME singers, it is disappointing that some opera houses have started seeing inclusivity as a selling point, employing singers in roles out of their depth, rather than other singers of BAME or any other ethnic origin, better suited to the roles. The ENO in particular was criticised for doing this last season: looking at diversity as a selling point instead of genuinely attempting to promote it.

Moreover, it's not enough to just sing the role. Opera is a performance, not a concert. Too many people have the image of the soprano on her death bed singing with perfect posture and as loud as she can, instead of resembling anything like a woman close to her death. Singers like Ermonela Jaho and Lisette Oropesa are good examples of the singing-acting combination that the realism-accustomed modern generation tend to prefer.

This recent change in the operatic world will all be for nothing though, if young people can't afford to go and see the performances. There are several opera companies looking at making performances more accessible; for instance, the Oxford Opera Company had a performance of Carmen last term with tickets from £10-£35. Hopefully it won't be long until bigger opera houses follow suit.

Opera is facing a tricky time in its long life. An elitist reputation, though fading, still no doubt dissuades many from visiting the opera. It is not a case of forcing opera into relevance and modernity - opera, like Shakespeare, is still relevant in the 21st century. It is just a case of noticing it. Be it professional or amateur, English or Italian, in London or abroad, I urge you to cast off any preconceptions you might have and go to a production. Hopefully, like me, you will agree with Maria Callas that "an opera begins long before the curtain comes up and ends long after it has come down."

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Behind the curtain of opera's accessibility crisis | Cherwell

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When most people hear the word 'opera', their mind is immediately flooded with a series of stereotypes: the fat Italian man belting out high notes like there's no tomorrow, or the middle-aged, rotund soprano screaming her lungs out ten minutes after she was fatally wounded.

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Glyndebourne in the news

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Coronavirus: Glyndebourne to stage live opera outdoors in August

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A one-act farce by Offenbach will be staged with 12 singers and 13 musicians before audiences of 200.

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Impact of Festivals

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https://www.glyndebourne.com/

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https://www.glyndebourne.com/archive/stories-from-the-archive-audrey-mildmay/

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp64872/grace-audrey-laura-st-john-mildmay-christie

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1. Glyndebourne performance database: https://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/

2. Designs and artworks (only a fifth of our collection is held here): https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/venue:glyndebourne-7864

3. Oral histories of Glyndebourne: https://sounds.bl.uk/Classical-music/Oral-history-of-Glyndebourne-opera

4. Production images (Inc. behind the scenes, rehearsals, gardens etc. Ensure that 'Glyndebourne' is attached to any search term. These are held by our image library partner), however, we hold copies - this website is just an easier way to see them. We also own most of the copyright for these images: https://www.arenapal.com/search/?searchQuery=glyndebourne

5. On Such a Night film: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-on-such-a-night-1955-online

6. Glyndebourne's Youtube channel (includes clips of operas, the 'introducing series; and more: https://www.youtube.com/c/glyndebourne

7. Introduction to Glyndebourne operas and opera: https://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/introduction-to-opera/

8. Stories from the Archive (scroll down): https://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/

9. Angus Mcbean photographs of Glyndebourne productions: https://images.hollis.harvard.edu/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,angus%20mcbean,AND&query=any,contains,glyndebourne,AND&tab=default_tab&search_scope=default_scope&vid=HVD_IMAGES&mode=advanced&offset=0#searchResultList

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https://www.instagram.com/glyndebourne/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/artatglyndebourne/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/thestoryboxcollective/?hl=en

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Oral Histories
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