Incredible...such wealth...Glyndebourne Festival

"Music in a rustic English setting"

Glyndebourne Festival maintains a tradition of fine operatic theater and bucolic picnicking.

by

Marcia Adair

July 31st, 2011

The Los Angeles Times

It's summer on the Sussex Downs, 50 miles south of London. As the taxi makes its way from the village train station, ancient houses give way to rolling hills, sheep and, rarely for England, lots of trees. Down the hill under the arbor and then, on the left, a charming country house appears. Aside from a few discreet signs, it's only when you're coming up the drive, spot the flywall peeking out over the 700-year-old roofline and catch snippets of singers warming up that you realize the back garden is home to one of the world's finest opera houses.

The Glyndebourne Festival has been delighting opera lovers with first-rate productions since 1934, when John Christie built the a theater as a gift for his opera singer wife, Audrey Mildmay.

The 2011 festival runs through Aug. 28 and presents six operas in repertory: new productions of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (with Gerald Finley as Hans Sachs) and "Rinaldo," as well as revivals of "L'Elisir d'amore," "Rusalka" and "The Turn of the Screw."

Located on the Christie family estate and now in its 77th season, Glyndebourne boasts an acoustically spectacular 1,200-seat hall, 98% occupancy and an almost legendary reputation among singers.

"The warmth — you really feel as if you are part of the family business when you are singing at Glyndebourne, because everyone is so welcoming, warm and professional," said Swedish soprano Miah Persson. She was Donna Elvira in this summer's production of "Don Giovanni" and is in rehearsals for the August production of "The Turn of the Screw."

"The opera house is perfect! A mixture of great acoustics [and the] ability to create intimacy with the audience because of its size."

Because it is in the country, going to Glyndebourne is an outing rather than somewhere you rush off to after work. As such, the grounds are just as important as the opera house. An 85-minute intermission is designed to allow everyone to picnic in the gardens, by the lake or on the lawn. For foreigners, the sight of a thousand people dressed in black tie eating sandwiches on collapsible lawn chairs is something to behold. It is less peculiar when one considers that picnicking in Britain has traditionally been the preserve of the upper classes, mostly because they owned the land, had time to have a leisurely meal and were far enough removed from laboring to be able to romanticize their surroundings.

Glyndebourne could easily have been just another gentleman's folly, but from the beginning John Christie's aim was not to produce just the best opera he could but the best that could be done anywhere.

Building Glyndebourne's legacy has been the work of three men: John, his son, George, and grandson, Gus. Although he grew up on the estate and joined the board at 25, Gus studied zoology at King's College London and was for 10 years a wildlife cameraman before taking on the role of executive chairman in 2000.

"Inheritance is not always an easy thing to take on, but I had a lot of time to contemplate it while I was sitting in the bush waiting for a lion to wake up. I was very daunted by the idea, but I'm delighted to have made that decision," said Christie, 48.

Is it easier to wrangle lions or opera singers? Christie demurred but happily launched into a comparison of making a wildlife documentary and running an opera house. "It's all about having the right people in the right positions."

As a private opera house, Glyndebourne receives no government subsidy for the summer season, instead relying on ticket revenue, which accounts for 55% of the $34-million operating budget, plus donations and, to a smaller degree, investment income. Staying financially independent is important, so to ensure that remains possible, Glyndebourne has developed a business model that is so simple, it's almost embarrassing: Spend money when you need to and save it when you don't.

Explained Christie, "We've historically been very financially prudent, and there's not a lot of fat in the organization. Everyone who is employed here is absolutely necessary. We set out what we're going to do and we actually do it and produce top quality opera. If that was to slip, we would lose the confidence of our donors. One mustn't scrimp on budgeting. That's very important."

The commitment to leanness carries through to the board level, where there are only five members, all of whom are expected to be strategic thinkers with good business or media sense. In addition, 12 trustees are responsible for fundraising.

Glyndebourne relies on the subscription model much more than U.S. houses. Eighty percent of available tickets are allocated first to members. Associate members, who pay a $815 joining fee and $82 per year to stay on the list get the second look. There is enough demand to have all the tickets taken up wholly by members, but Glyndebourne purposely leaves 20% of the seats available for the general public so that guests can experience the opera and perhaps become members in due course.

With a pair of top tickets going for $815, hardly a season goes by without someone in the British press accusing Glyndebourne of being elitist. It's an easy shot to take, but in order to do so, one must willfully ignore the movie theater simulcasts, discounted nights for people younger than 30 and the more modestly priced standing-room tickets ($16).

There are other private opera houses in Britain (Garsington, Grange Park, Loughborough), but Glyndebourne is the only one that is so intimately linked with the family that owns the estate.

Christie's four young boys and wife, opera singer Danielle DeNiese (who appears in this year's "L'Elisir d'amore"), live at the house full time and share it with 30 or so temporary residents comprised of coaches, directors and pianists for the duration of the summer season.

"I think the fact that there is a house that is lived in by a family is very much part of the heartbeat of Glyndebourne," Christie said. "It would be a very different place without [us]." It's a sentiment that is echoed by many singers who have sung at the Glyndebourne, especially those near the beginning of their careers.

"It shows the spirit of the Christies. They are living and breathing opera," said Jessica Muirhead, this year's cover (understudy) for the Governess in "The Turn of the Screw" and a former member of the Glyndebourne on Tour. "The way they nurture young talent is really unique. The chorus is full of people that could be singing roles on stage, and the covers get four weeks of full rehearsal."

One of Christie's biggest aims since taking over the running of Glyndebourne was to make sure it didn't become a museum. Since 2009, fees collected from associate members have been funneled into a New Generations Programme, which is designed to facilitate the appointment of a composer-in-residence and additional apprentices, the filming of more productions, Web streaming and more programs for young audiences.

In the 1990s, when the old 800-seat theater was replaced by a modern, larger theater that currently hosts the festival, programming became more adventurous in part because there was now the space and technical equipment available to try out new ideas.

"When we do a traditional production, certainly a good proportion of our audience breathes a sigh of relief when the curtain goes up, but when the new productions work, they speak more to a new generation of opera-goers," Christie said. "We are out to entertain, inspire and challenge people. It's a juggling act, [but] there hasn't been any booing … recently."

Christine Rice...pleasant blend of arts & science

Christine Rice

Just goes to illustrate that there can be a blend of the arts [opera] and science [physics].

"Once a physicist: Christine Rice"

January 5th, 2009

physicsworld.com

Christine Rice is a mezzo-soprano who has performed with the English National Opera, De Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium, and several other opera companies around the world

Why did you study physics?

My father was a scientist and all my older siblings took science A levels, so it seemed the most obvious path for me to take. Plus, the careers advice we got was to avoid arts subjects as you would never get a job (happily, none of my “arty” friends at university ended up destitute). There was also a big drive to recruit more women into science and I was always one for a challenge. It meant something to me that girls could be as good at science as boys were. I did also enjoy the subject and one of my most satisfactory school experiences was preparing for the Oxford University entrance exam.

Did you enjoy the course?

I was a little daunted by Oxford when I first arrived and it took a long time for me to recover my confidence. I was not a fan of lectures and much preferred finding my own way through a subject using the library and the one-to-one teaching of the tutorial system. Quantum mechanics and special relativity were definite high points, although I seem to remember grasping the twin paradox (high-speed rocket, one twin ageing less) only when I was reading the textbook and never when I looked away.

What did you do after graduating?

I started a DPhil in the atmospheric physics department at Oxford because I had some idealistic notion of contributing to the world’s knowledge of global warming and its potential dangers. I was rather dismayed to discover how fervently scientists on both sides of the climate-change argument could argue their particular thesis and manipulate the data to prove their conclusions. It seemed a little like religious faith — if you believed a thing to be true, then it could be — and I got the distinct impression that I was about to embark on the same process. Once I got stuck into being at the computer every day, I knew this was not the right place for me.

How did you become interested in music?

As a child I learned both the violin and piano. I shone at neither, but I did get a lot of pleasure out of playing in the Manchester Youth Orchestra and going to concerts. My transforming passion turned out to be the theatre, and seeing a production of Henry V in 1985 with Kenneth Branagh in the title role was a real “eureka” moment for me. After that I found myself a drama teacher and auditioned for the Manchester Youth Theatre while I was still at school, much to the bemusement of my parents. As a student at Oxford I performed in a couple of musicals and met a singing teacher through a friend. I started singing lessons simply because I thought that all actors need to make themselves as versatile as possible, but I found the combination of making music and drama intoxicating.

What made you become a full-time singer?

After two years of my DPhil research my supervisor very kindly agreed to keep my place and the associated funding open to me while I took a year out to go to music college. While at the Royal Northern College of Music, I met a brilliant singing teacher who possessed a rare talent for hearing the true potential in a relatively untrained voice. He suggested that I could be a working singer if I stuck at it, and with that vote of confidence I submitted my two years of research as an MSc and bid farewell to physics.

Do you see any connection between physics and opera?

In truth, no. But if I were pushed to make a tenuous connection, I might suggest that a good head for numbers could be of use when memorizing rhythmically complex patterns in contemporary music. The single-mindedness necessary to succeed in the singing world is also akin to the ambition required to advance in academia.

What are you working on at the moment?

Last autumn I sang the role of Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach at the Royal Opera House, London. This year I am embarking on a recital tour in Europe with the wonderful soprano Kate Royal, and in the spring I will be in Madrid performing Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse. Much variety means life is never dull.

"Doctor Atomic"...a reminder

Just a reminder that this evening on PBS's Great Performances at the Met the new opera "Doctor Atomic" will be performed.


"Doctor Atomic"--Great Performances at the Met

"Doctor Atomic"

"Those who most long for peace now pour their lives on war."
Kitty Oppenheimer [played by Sasha Cooke]

Okay, opera is not for everyone...no car crashes, no superheroes fighting a city's evil elements, no computer graphic images but it does have tragedy and much introspection and I suspect that the current production of "Doctor Atomic" is dripping with personal angst...existential dilemmas--annihilation of thousands of humans.

"The Terror and Attraction of Science, Put to Song"