Past
The Glyndebourne Festival Society was founded by John Christie in January 1952 to support the Glyndebourne Festival. By the time the 1952 Festival opened the society comprised 800 members. Since then the Festival has relied upon its committed core of members to support the costs of staging world class opera.
In July 1992 the old opera house closed and the Festival Society contributed to the cost of building the new state of the art Glyndebourne Opera House – the first opera house to be constructed in the UK since John Christie built the original theatre in 1934.
Sir George Christie’s speech at the opening of the new opera house and the 1994 Festival expressed a sentiment which is still held strongly today.
“You paid for this theatre and for this Glyndebourne and the whole world of opera owes you a huge debt”.
Present
Today the Society comprises over 8,000 members without whom the Glyndebourne Festival, as we know it now, would not exist. We are proud to say that some of today’s members were among that original 800 in 1952.
Whilst the Box Office income currently covers 65% of costs, Members of the Glyndebourne Festival Society are fundamental in helping to raise the further 35% of income.
We are always delighted to hear from our Members and enjoy receiving their comments and opinion on productions and the ‘Glyndebourne Experience’. One of the things that makes the Festival Society so special is the unique sense of ownership and involvement that our Members feel.
Future
In 2009 we were delighted to welcome a new generation of opera lovers to Associate Membership - the waiting list for the Festival Society. We are not currently inviting further applications, however, as places in the Festival Society become available, Associates at the top of the waiting list will be invited to join the Society and a ballot will then be held for the newly available Associate Membership places. We anticipate that this will be each year or as required. You can register your interest online today and we will let you know when the next ballot is being held.
Membership of the Festival Society and Associate Membership are currently fully subscribed, however there are a number of other opportunities and memberships available.
You may also be interested in:
Associate Membership
Festival Mailing List
Individual Funding Membership
Friends of Glyndebourne on Tour