Glyndebourne Festival - Glyndebourne
12 May 2024

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Performance reviews

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Ariadne auf Naxos

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 11

An evening that prevails despite, rather than because of, the staging
29 Jun 17 / Music OMH
The return of Katharina Thoma's controversial staging of Strauss's opera
28 Jun 17 / What's on Stage
Wonderful music; sensational singing; bewildering opera
28 Jun 17 / Express
Keep calm and carry on singing: love and art overcome wartime adversity in Glyndebourne’s Ariadne
27 Jun 17 / Bachtrack
Glyndebourne's wartime Ariadne auf Naxos
27 Jun 17 / Opera Today
Lise Davidsen is imperious in Katharina Thoma’s comic and profound Ariadne auf Naxos
27 Jun 17 / Seen and Heard
The mighty voice of up-and-coming soprano Lise Davidsen turns this revival of a misjudged production into a remarkable event
27 Jun 17 / The Times
Ingenious staging mixes comedy with the mythic
26 Jun 17 / Evening Standard
Hipermestra

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 13

Pas super, l'Hyper
27 Jun 17 / Forum Opéra
Der Regisseur des Gemetzels
5 Jun 17 / Klassik Info
Graham Vick and William Christie make a welcome festival return with a musically flawless account of this baroque rarity
27 May 17 / The Observer
Graham Vick’s production gives a modern take on this mythical story
24 May 17 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews
Graham Vick finds modern relevance in Cavalli's Hipermestra at Glyndebourne
24 May 17 / Bachtrack
Cogent Cavalli, chilly Verdi
23 May 17 / Financial Times
Glyndebourne Festival Opera performs Cavalli's early Baraoque opera
23 May 17 / Independent
Vick just about controls the schizophrenic lurching between farce and tragedy
22 May 17 / Opera Today
It is the musical performance which makes this production memorable
22 May 17 / Classical Source
Superbly sung UK premiere of Cavalli’s uneven tragedy
22 May 17 / The Guardian
Britain's premier summer festival opens with a spectacular staging of Cavalli's opera
22 May 17 / What's on Stage
There is nothing quite like a Cavalli opera at Glyndebourne
22 May 17 / Music OMH
A fabulous performance of a colossally dull opera
22 May 17 / Telegraph
Hamlet

Glyndebourne Festival


Glyndebourne on Tour


No. of reviews: 10

A thoroughly engaging and challenging but finally very rewarding piece
26 Nov 17 / The Reviews Hub
Glyndebourne’s touring version of new opera Hamet is truly top-notch
20 Nov 17 / Eastern Daily Press
The angry petulance of David Butt Philip’s Hamlet is evident from this opening scene
6 Nov 17 / Opera Today
Brett Dean's Hamlet in strong revival and mesmerising performances
30 Oct 17 / Planet Hugill
David Butt Philip leads a marvellous new cast in this fine-tuned touring production of Brett Dean’s masterly opera
30 Oct 17 / The Observer
A strong second cast for Brett Dean's new opera as it goes on tour
26 Oct 17 / What's on Stage
David Butt Philip triumphs as the prince
26 Oct 17 / Classical Source
There were magnificent performances all round
26 Oct 17 / Music OMH
David Butt Philip is a revelation as Shakespeare’s tortured prince
24 Oct 17 / The Guardian
“Or not to be”: dislocated Shakespeare as Brett Dean’s Hamlet is revived for Glyndebourne’s tour
23 Oct 17 / Bachtrack
Hamlet

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 23

Allan Clayton gives it everything as Hamlet
17 Aug 17 / Opera Journal
Hamlet di Brett Dean a Glyndebourne: la parola di Shakespeare e la musica
23 Jul 17 / Sipario
Un angel exterminador en Glyndebourne
14 Jul 17 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish)
Brett Dean's and Matthew Jocelyn's Hamlet an important addition to opera
8 Jul 17 / The Toronto Star
'Hamlet,' a new opera, makes Shakespeare strange
1 Jul 17 / New York Times
Le reste est silence
28 Jun 17 / Forum Opéra
The exemplary cast is led by Allan Clayton’s Hamlet
19 Jun 17 / Express
Glyndebourne’s new, full-scale Hamlet toys with Shakespeare’s text to fine effect
17 Jun 17 / The Observer
Brett Dean wrangles the moody Dane into two-and-half hours of thrilling music theatre
16 Jun 17 / Limelight
Shakespeare, frisch gepresst, ohne Kerne
16 Jun 17 / FAZ
Onstage for much of the show, Allan Clayton’s Hamlet was bold and tireless
16 Jun 17 / Opera News
As Hamlet himself, Allan Clayton gave the performance of his career
14 Jun 17 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews
Barbara Hannigan everyone’s go-to mad soprano was suitably deranged in Ophelia’s near naked scene
14 Jun 17 / Independent
A Herculean performance from Allan Clayton
14 Jun 17 / Classical Source
Allan Clayton gave the title part his all
14 Jun 17 / Music OMH
Hamlet is an important and significant addition to contemporary opera
13 Jun 17 / Australian Book Review
An ingenious deconstruction of Shakespeare
13 Jun 17 / Evening Standard
Brett Dean's heart-wrenchingly beautiful opera Hamlet wows England's Glyndbourne Festival
13 Jun 17 / Sydney Morning Herald
Brett Dean’s new opera plumbs the dark recesses of Shakespeare’s play
13 Jun 17 / Financial Times
Brilliant music, rapturously received
13 Jun 17 / Telegraph
Allan Clayton gives a physically vivid, emotionally affecting and psychologically astute portrayal of the Prince of Denmark
12 Jun 17 / The Times
A new opera by Brett Dean is the centrepiece of this year's Glyndebourne festival
12 Jun 17 / What's on Stage
Shakespeare boldly adapted by Brett Dean
12 Jun 17 / Bachtrack
A Midsummer Night's Dream

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 13

Netia Jones’s techno-sophistry is used to enchanting effect in her imaginative production
12 Jun 17 / The Guardian
Un verano con Shakespeare y Britten
14 Sep 16 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish)
The pinnacle of Sir Peter Hall’s operatic success at Glyndebourne
24 Aug 16 / Express
Britten untamed!
20 Aug 16 / Opera Today
Peter Hall's 35-year-old production is still a winner
19 Aug 16 / Express
This was a treat
17 Aug 16 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews
Poised and magical
16 Aug 16 / Independent
Si Tête d'Ane m'était conté...
16 Aug 16 / Forum Opéra
A faithful, snappy revival
15 Aug 16 / Music OMH
No surprises but a fine cast graces this effective revival of a durable classic
13 Aug 16 / The Stage
A heady mix of menace and fairy-dust
13 Aug 16 / Classical Source
Britten's magical operatic version of Shakespeare's play, revived in Peter Hall's production
13 Aug 16 / What's on Stage
Enchanted wood: dream of a Dream at Glyndebourne
13 Aug 16 / Bachtrack
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare's great shapeshifter
This year’s crop of Dreams shows how Shakespeare’s comedy is fertile ground for infinite interpretation. But it is Benjamin Britten’s opera version that digs deepest into its inner strangeness.
Peter Hall: the Hallmark of operatic excellence
As Glyndebourne prepares to revive Peter Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rupert Christiansen looks back on the great director’s career.
Madama Butterfly

Glyndebourne Festival


Glyndebourne on Tour


No. of reviews: 7

Glyndebourne’s first ever staging of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly comes to Norwich
23 Nov 16 / Norwich Evening News
Nuclear family
1 Nov 16 / The Critics' Circle
Karah Son suggests a core of steel under Butterfly’s delicate beauty
23 Oct 16 / Express
Butterfly is Karah Son’s Glyndebourne debut, and she is near-ideal in the part
19 Oct 16 / Music OMH
Engages the mind at the expense of passion
19 Oct 16 / The Guardian
Downtown Nagasaki comes to Glyndebourne in Annilese Miskimmon's Madama Butterfly
17 Oct 16 / Bachtrack
Musical riches but theatrical poverty in Glyndebourne's staging of Puccini's tear-jerker
16 Oct 16 / What's on Stage
‘From an early age opera helped me escape the Troubles’
Opera director, Annilese Miskimmon, on her new Madama Butterfly for Glyndebourne, growing up in Northern Ireland – and the Muppets as inspiration.
Don Giovanni

Glyndebourne Festival


Glyndebourne on Tour


No. of reviews: 5

A satisfying production with Glyndebourne doing what it does best
13 Nov 16 / Classical Source
Duncan Rock is an unremittingly violent Giovanni
31 Oct 16 / Express
Duncan Rock's indisposition clears the way for an unforgettable role jump-in
26 Oct 16 / What's on Stage
A drab Don Giovanni from the Glyndebourne Tour
18 Oct 16 / Bachtrack
Duncan Rock's Giovanni did not disappoint
17 Oct 16 / Music OMH
Beatrice et Benedict

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 16

Virée en boîtes
20 Aug 16 / Forum Opéra
Bobatrice et Puerilict. No es Shakespeare todo lo que se canta
12 Aug 16 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish)
Laurent Pelly has created a highly stylised production grey in both costumes and make-up
10 Aug 16 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews
Leicht eintönige Berlioz-Inszenierung
3 Aug 16 / Deutschland Radio
Star of the show is mezzo-soprano Stephanie d’Oustrac
1 Aug 16 / Express
It is the beauty of the quieter and more contemplative moments that leave the deepest impression
27 Jul 16 / Music OMH
The music is five-star, but the production is four-star and the story-line is only two-star
26 Jul 16 / Express
The beauty of the playing and the physical comedy are redeeming elements
26 Jul 16 / Independent
Love labours in fifty shades of grey
26 Jul 16 / Evening Standard
Elegant but needs more emotion
25 Jul 16 / Telegraph
Too much outside-the-box thinking
25 Jul 16 / The Guardian
A rare outing for the comic opera from the pen of Berlioz by way of Shakespeare
25 Jul 16 / What's on Stage
Laughs, merriment, joie de vivre and poignancy wrapped into a very well-made production
25 Jul 16 / Classical Source
Laurent Pelly’s new production for Glyndebourne is certainly capricious
25 Jul 16 / Opera Today
Immaculately sung
25 Jul 16 / The Stage
Boxed in: Pelly serves up a grey Béatrice et Bénédict at Glyndebourne
25 Jul 16 / Bachtrack
Il barbiere di Siviglia

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 17

Swinging Sevilla
18 Aug 16 / Forum Opéra
Un pique-nique à Séville
14 Jul 16 / Forum Opéra
Le Barbier de Séville au Festival de Glyndebourne
16 Jun 16 / Opera Online (French)
Mehr Klamauk als Oper
13 Jun 16 / Opernnetz
Bartolo sale de picnic
7 Jun 16 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish)
Excellently cast and truly funny
2 Jun 16 / Express
Director Annabel Arden needs to work on sharpening the comedy on stage
1 Jun 16 / Express
Il barbiere di Siviglia has a sparkling cast in a not quite razor-sharp staging
30 May 16 / The Observer
Fortunately, the talents of the cast distract us when the drama loses its way
30 May 16 / Opera Today
A triumphant celebration of Rossini’s musical genius
27 May 16 / Independent
Energy and spirit in a hit-and-miss comedy
25 May 16 / The Guardian
The cast for Glyndebourne’s new Barber exuded huge zest and youthful energy,
25 May 16 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews
Björn Bürger’s Figaro was the audience favourite, and rightly so
24 May 16 / Music OMH
The score bubbles along but Glyndebourne's new Barbiere lacks spark
24 May 16 / Telegraph
Zesty barber is a cut above
24 May 16 / Evening Standard
Annabel Arden's new production of Rossini's comic opera is a summer treat
24 May 16 / What's on Stage
Forced farce: Arden's Barber opens up shop at Glyndebourne
23 May 16 / Bachtrack
The Barber of Seville
‘The most beautiful comic opera in existence’
Le nozze di Figaro

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 10

Figaro wigs out
11 Jul 16 / The Observer
Viewed simply as comedy, the evening is well paced, with good team work all round
10 Jul 16 / Express
Michael Grandage's sharp, sassy sixties (or is it seventies?) production is back
8 Jul 16 / What's on Stage
Nothing compares with the combination of Mozart and a sunny day at Glyndebourne
6 Jul 16 / Express
Delicious comic timing sweeps this frothy Figaro along
6 Jul 16 / Telegraph
The comedy is more defined and the sublime moments are as moving as ever
5 Jul 16 / Music OMH
Exceptional women make Glyndebourne's Mozart revival sparkle
5 Jul 16 / The Guardian
Every detail finely tuned in Glyndebourne's Le nozze di Figaro
5 Jul 16 / Bachtrack
Beautiful to look at, vividly engaging, Michael Grandage's 1960s set production
4 Jul 16 / Planet Hugill
This production finds new slants upon the work
4 Jul 16 / Classical Source
The Cunning Little Vixen

Glyndebourne Festival


No. of reviews: 9

Glyndebourne captures earthiness of The Cunning Little Vixen
1 Jul 16 / Seen and Heard
Fox pops
25 Jun 16 / The Critics' Circle
The summer opera season defies the downpours with terrific Tchaikovsky, morally improving Mascagni, Shakespearean Puccini and zesty Janáček
20 Jun 16 / The Observer
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News & Articles

Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2024
It's a great year for beguiling women at the Sussex country opera house, with Carmen and Cleopatra among those weaving their seductive spells.
27 Aug 2023 / CultureWhisper
What is Glyndebourne?
The East Sussex opera house is home to the famed Glyndebourne Festival every summer – here’s everything that happens in this historic place of music.
9 Aug 2023 / Classic FM
Glyndebourne cancels 2023 tour programme after funding cuts
Opera company lost more than half its funding after Arts Council England sought to divert money to underserved regions.
7 Jan 2023 / The Guardian
Glyndebourne announces its 2023 season
Danielle de Niese, Louise Alder, Venera Gimadieva, Joélle Harvey and Liparit Avetisyan headline Glyndebourne’s 2023 season.
4 May 2022 / OperaWire
Glyndebourne tour to return in 2022 with Puccini and Mozart works
The company will present Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” in Michael Grandage’s 2012 production as well as a new production of Puccini’s seminal “La Bohème.”
6 Feb 2022 / OperaWire