Celebrating 100 years
A look at Peter Hall's iconic staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream through the years
To celebrate the major milestone of 100 performances at Glyndebourne this evening, Wednesday 29 October 2025, travel back through the years in these photos of Peter Hall’s iconic production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (first performed at Glyndebourne on 21 June 1981).
This staging is currently part of our 2025 Autumn Season and in its seventh revival. The original cast featured operatic legends, including Dame Felicity Lott, Ryland Davies, James Bowman and Cynthia Buchan, as well as being conducted by Bernard Haitink in the first ever Glyndebourne staging of this opera by Britten.
Festival 1981
Oberon (James Bowman)
Bottom (Curt Appelgren) and Tytania (Ileana Cotrubas)
Puck (Damian Nash), Tytania (Ileana Cotrubas) and Oberon (James Bowman)
Lysander (Ryland Davies), Hermia (Cynthia Buchan), Helena (Felicity Lott) and Demetrius (Dale Duesing)
Bernard Haitink (Conductor)
Festival 2001
Tytania (Lisa Larsson)
Fairies (boys chorus)
Tytania (Lisa Larsson) and Bottom (Peter Rose)
David Atherton (Conductor)
Festival 2006
Oberon (Bejun Mehta) and Tytania (Iride Martinez)
Puck (Jack Morlen)
Festival 2016
Bottom (Matthew Rose) and Tytania (Kathleen Kim) with fairies
Lysander (Benjamin Hulett), Demetrius (Duncan Rock), Helena (Kate Royal) and Hermia (Elizabeth DeShong)
Oberon (Tim Mead) and Puck (David Evans)
Bottom (Matthew Rose), Snout (Colin Judson) and Flute (Anthony Gregory)
Festival 2023
Oberon (Tim Mead) and Tytania (Liv Redpath)
Quince (Henry Waddington), Flute (James Way), Snug (Patrick Guetti), Bottom (Brandon Cedel), Starveling (Alex Otterburn) and Snout (Alasdair Elliott)
Bottom (Brandon Cedel), Snout (Alasdair Elliott) and Flute (James Way)
Fairies with Oberon (Tim Mead) and Tytania (Liv Redpath)
Autumn Season 2025
Bottom (Joshua Bloom), Tytania (Jennifer France) and fairies
Lysander (Robert Lewis), Demetrius (Samuel Dale Johnson), Hermia (Stephanie Wake-Edwards) and Puck (Saxon Fox)
Oberon (Nils Wanderer) and Tytania (Jennifer France)
Quince (Michael Ronan), Flute (James Way), Snug (Jamie Woollard), Bottom (Joshua Bloom), Starveling (Alex Otterburn) and Snout (Alasdair Elliott)
Lysander (Robert Lewis), Hermia (Stephanie Wake-Edwards), Helena (Alexandra Lowe) and Demetrius (Samuel Dale Johnson)
Festival 1981, photos: Guy Gravett | Festival 2001, photos: Mike Hoban | Festival 2006, photos: Mike Hoban | Festival 2016, photos: Robert Workman | Festival 2023, photos: Tristram Kenton | Autumn Season 2025, photos: Tristram Kenton
