Hamish and Sophie Forsyth have a passion for opera. They have both been Festival regulars for many years, and more recently their commitment to Glyndebourne has gone far further. In the 2009 Festival they were sole sponsors of the production of Verdi's Falstaff.
Just before curtain up on the first night of the 2008 Festival Hamish and Sophie were kind enough to share with us their love of Glyndebourne.
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“We always tell people that Glyndebourne is not just a beautiful theatre in a very bucolic, very English setting. This is a world-class theatre doing world-class things. My first experience of Glyndebourne,” recalls Hamish, “was with my parents who were Glyndebourne members – that’s how we originally got tickets. Eventually we felt we wanted to do more and decided to make a personal commitment to Glyndebourne. We joined the syndicate supporting the revival of Pelléas et Mélisande four years ago to coincide with my 35th birthday.”
Sophie adds, “The team here made sure that, as sponsors, we felt involved. We love that moment of anticipation in an opera house as the lights go down, but for us there was a special something the evening we saw that phenomenal production back on stage. Since then, we have been contributing in stages towards our sponsorship of next year’s new production of Falstaff. We are very excited about it.”
“What distinguishes Glyndebourne,” continues Hamish, “is the sense of family, which expands to include everyone involved in the Festival. That closeness translates to the stage: take Così in 2006, where Glyndebourne’s generous rehearsal period, sense of apartness and all that football on the lawn combined to produce an incendiary ensemble performance from the young cast. In our own small way it touches us too. We have been bringing our very young daughters to rehearsals for the last few years.”
“As redheads,” notes Sophie, “they adored Nina Stemme’s Isolde in the 2007 revival. That was a perfect Glyndebourne production and especially intense in such an intimate space. The girls were enthralled, carried away by the waves of music. In fact, we had to drag our eldest away from the final act!”
“For us, opera, and opera at Glyndebourne, is very special.” As Hamish puts it, “It can appeal to all ages, aesthetically, musically and dramatically. The Festival doesn’t receive a penny of public subsidy and we’re proud to do our bit by helping Glyndebourne do what it does so well.”
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As supporters and syndicate members Hamish and Sophie play a vital role in underpinning the Festival and enabling our productions to remain financially viable. The face value of a ticket contributes only two thirds of the costs of production; the rest is met through subscriptions, donations and sponsorship. It is because of benefactors like the Forsyths that Glyndebourne can continue in the way it always has, an independent institution, both financially and artistically.
Find out more about supporting the Festival
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Old Green Room Society