Some people see Glyndebourne as evening dress, champagne and picnic hampers - but in the world of opera it's seen as a nursery for the stars of the future.
Programme details
Tuesday 30 Nov 1.30-2.00pm
Join James Naughtie as he spends time watching, listening and talking to some of the young singers, conductors and directors who make Glyndebourne unique.
James Naughtie is the presenter of this programme which marks the 70th anniversary of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The programme reflects the strengths of Glyndebourne’s highly individual ethos - long rehearsal periods and ensemble casting of up-and-coming singers - through the eyes, ears and voices of two directors making their Glydebourne debuts, Adrian Noble and Annabel Arden, as well as two members of the Chorus, Miranda Keys and James Gower.
The Festival has traditionally been a stepping stone for talented young singers coming out of the colleges of music and hoping that they will get a chance to step into the roles they are under-studying when the Festival leaves its idyllic country house estate and heads off on its annual tour to places like Newcastle and Stoke on Trent. Through James and Miranda’s daily trials and tribulations, we gain an insight into why Glyndebourne is not actually about picnic hampers and dinner jackets. It also has an unwavering knack for spotting talent, taking risks with unknowns and pursuing perfection through meticulous attention to detail.
This programme demonstrates how the 21st century opera house has managed to continue to live up to its founder, John Christie’s exhortation that Glyndebourne should do “not only the best that we can do but the best that can be done anywhere”. It is a Mecca for a new generation of serious music lovers and performers; it is run by one of the youngest and most dynamic management teams around (including the young musical director Vladimir Jurowski, and Gus Christie, John’s grandson) and its award-winning modern opera house, now in its tenth year, is still the envy of the musical and architectural world.
