GLYNDEBOURNE
Glyndebourne is closer than you think. You can even – if you do your best – go there, see the show and then fly back home, all in one day. You take the plane to Gatwick (less than an hour), then the train to Lewes (half an hour), and there the shuttle bus is already waiting to take you to the opera (10 minutes).
The bus costs £6 (you can get a taxi for a pound more) and for that money you also get the return trip. You have to make haste, because the bus leaves right after the performance.
It is not for me. I don’t like to have to hurry, besides, this is my first visit to the famous Festival, so I fly to London the day before and I return the day after.
© Basia Jaworski
Lewes is a small (16 thousand inhabitants), hilly town in the county of East Sussex, you can take a lovely walk and admire the picturesque cottages and wide views, and I take plenty of time for that too.
© Basia Jaworski
Glyndebourne itself is nothing more than a huge mansion (the opera house), lush gardens and fields of sheep. I stroll around and think about the genesis of what has grown over the years into one of the most prestigious Opera Festivals in the whole world
HISTORY
The Glyndebourne estate belonged to the very wealthy John Christie, who inherited it in 1920 and, together with his wife, the singer Audrey Mildman, turned it into a magnificent opera house. They conceived the idea during their honeymoon, which took them to Salzburg and Bayreuth, among other places.
Initially, only Mozart operas were performed there, but nowadays even Wagner is performed. The theatre was rebuilt and adapted several times, until it, so to speak, almost burst at the seams. In 1992 it was closed and demolished, and on 28 May 1994, exactly 60 years after the very first performance, the public was allowed to admire a completely new opera house: more modern and larger, but still with the great acoustics.
© Basia Jaworski
PERFORMANCES
The performances at Glyndebourne are always very long ones. There are many intermissions, one of which is over an hour and a half long – and people go on picnics. Now imagine all those posh people, ladies in evening gowns and men in dinner jackets, they sit at tables, or quietly whip out a rug in the middle of the grass and feast on the tastiest snacks, full meals and bottles of champagne.
© Basia Jaworski
You order the baskets (with contents) in advance and collect them when the break starts. But you can also bring your own basket, which is a lot cheaper, although I don’t think the audience (who have already spent a lot!) will care much. My eye is caught by a beautifully dressed elderly lady, with one hand on a walker, and the other one holding a glass of pink champagne.
© Basia Jaworski
CARMEN AND TANIA KROSS
Tania Kross (Carmen) and Brendan Jovanovich (Don José) © Glyndebourne festival
I have Tania Kross to thank for getting me there: she invited me to attend her debut as Carmen at Glyndebourne. Well – you don’t say ‘no’ to that, do you?
I really liked McVicar’s production. I already knew it; it was broadcast live on TV in 2003 and then released on DVD. I liked it then, but in real life you really get to experience the whole. The stage in Glyndebourne is quite small, so it is a bit crowded, especially in the first and second acts. The third act started with a foggy atmosphere, very cinematic, and very emotional, and in the fourth act you got everything it takes to populate Seville: the toreros, the matadors, the beautifully dressed Spanish Doñas and Dons complete with all the trimmings… it is breathtaking. And Carmen’s death was thriller-like suspense.
Stéphane Denéve and Tania Kross © Basia Jaworski
Stéphane Denéve conducted more than superbly, very French, with a great sense of rhythm, but also with an eye to lyricism. Tania Kross was an excellent Carmen: agile, sexy and provocative. Both the conductor and the director thought she was an ideal Carmen.
David McVicar en Tania Kross © Basia Jaworski
Afterwards, everyone ended up in the pub. The bus had long since left, but I was promised a lift back to London. It was an experience never to be forgotten.
http://www.glyndebourne.com/
Trailer of On Such a Night, “a charming and captivating piece of Glyndebourne history”:
The whole movie:
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-on-such-a-night-1955-online
More Tania Kross (in Dutch):
Uit de archieven: twee interviews met Tania Kross
Basia con fuoco 
The good years.
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Kom woorden tekort… wat een tijd … papa was a rolling stone 😜
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