© Glyndebourne Productions 2009. Produced and directed by Karen McCallion
Glyndebourne's founders, John Christie and wife Audrey Mildmay, opened the first Festival here in 1934. Today our world-renowned auditorium and standards of excellence are testament to John's original ethos: 'Not just the best we can do but the best that can be done anywhere'.
In the years that followed, Glyndebourne continued to be headed by the Christie family, George Christie following in 1962 and then since 2000 by son Gus – now Executive Chairman.
Early years of the Glyndebourne Festival revolved almost entirely around Mozart’s extensive repertoire of operatic works before gradually expanding to include works by other composers such as Benjamin Britten – with whom Glyndebourne has a long association with, Guiseppe Verdi, Rossini and many others.
Originally the theatre was built to seat 300 before being enlarged and improved many times in subsequent years to hold larger audiences; such was the demand for opera at Glyndebourne. By 1977, the original auditorium held 850 people.
By the 1990s it was clear that Glyndebourne required an even larger auditorium and so in 1994 a new opera house was built to seat 1,200, opening with a performance of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro – a fitting tribute to the Festival’s origins.
Glyndebourne on Tour was founded in 1968 to enable the company to take operatic productions around the country, making opera more accessible to those around the UK.
The Education department was established in 1986 and since then has undertaken an array of projects within the local community with schools around Sussex and Kent often visiting the opera house for performances and workshops. Youth opera projects are also common such as the recent production of Knight Crew, filmed as part of a BBC documentary.
With 124 opera performances annually reaching over 140,000 people, Glyndebourne’s continued employment of inspirational directors, world-class orchestras and performers, and the ongoing drive to commission new work, now goes hand in hand with digital innovations such as Glyndebourne on Screen to reach new audiences.
You may also be interested in:
A more detailed History of Glyndebourne
Information on Visiting the Archive