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A guide to Festival 2023

Find out everything you need to know for your visit to Glyndebourne this summer

Thinking of coming to Glyndebourne Festival this year? Here’s our guide to getting the most out of the experience.

Experience opera the way we do it. Electrifying, real, intense, creative, moving, extraordinary. All happening in one of the most evocative and beautiful spots in the country. Glyndebourne stories begin long before the curtain goes up, and end long after it has come down. And we’d love you to write your own.

Our Festival trailer gives you a taster to whet your appetite…

If you’re unfamiliar with the Glyndebourne experience, or just want to relive the thrill of a visit, let Vogue and Emily Jane Johnston talk you through the day.

Get your tickets now

Festival tickets are on sale now – and here’s our handy guide to the dates with best ticket availability.

Join us for new productions of Don Giovanni, Semele and Dialogues des Carmélites plus our much loved productions of L’elisir d’amore, The Rake’s Progress and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Want priority access for future Festivals? Explore Membership options.

Brush up on the operas

Our Introducing… series offers an overview of essential information about each of this year’s productions, and videos with insights from directors, performers and more:

Introducing Don Giovanni

Introducing L’elisir d’amore

Introducing Dialogues des Carmélites

Introducing Semele

Introducing A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Introducing The Rake’s Progress

Dine in style

Our 90 minute interval gives you the opportunity to relax in a beautiful setting and enjoy some fine dining.

For many, a picnic in the gardens is a quintessential part of the Glyndebourne experience. You’re welcome to bring your own picnic, or order one from Dining at Glyndebourne which you can pick up when you arrive. You can also visit the Deli to top-up your picnic. It’s best to find a picnic spot and set up before the start of the performance, so everything is ready and waiting for you when the interval comes.

There are a number of under-cover picnicking options at Glyndebourne. There are a limited number of picnic tables in the opera house, and marquees and stretch tents in the garden. To guarantee your under-cover picnic table, it’s best to book in advance – find out more about under-cover options. Any under-cover picnic tables that haven’t been pre-booked will be available free of charge on the day, one a first-come-first-served basis.

For those who prefer the great indoors, our three on-site restaurants offer everything from afternoon teas to sumptuous fine dining.

New for 2023 – our Mildmay restaurant will be serving one or two course options, designed to allow you to dine in an hour and have time to enjoy the gardens afterwards. You just need to book a table, you can make your menu choices on the day.

Casual banquet-style restaurant Nether Wallop champions locally-sourced, sustainable produce. Utilising ingredients such as catch of the day, the menu changes every day to ensure food wastage is minimised. When you book a table there’s no need to make menu choices; you’ll simply choose the main element of your meal on the day, accompanied by a variety of sharing plates.

The Galvin Brothers bring their modern British style to our Middle & Over restaurant with their exclusively curated menu featuring a selection of signature dishes also served at their Michelin-starred restaurant Galvin La Chapelle. You’ll make your menu choices when you make your booking.

You can explore the menus and make a booking at Dining at Glyndebourne.

Dress to impress

Black tie and Glyndebourne are often synonymous – but they don’t have to be if that’s not your style. Dress up in a way that suits you. There are no rules. Visit our what to wear guide to see some examples and get some inspiration. We have on-site changing rooms if you’d rather not travel in your finery. Audience changing facilities are located at the bottom of the main audience car park, which you can see on our map.

Make the most of your visit

Jerwood Young Artists recital, 2022. Photo: James Bellorini

There’s a lot to enjoy at Glyndebourne, so don’t forget to leave yourself enough time to see it all. The gardens open two hours before the start of the performance giving you ample opportunity to see everything we have to offer. Enjoy one of the most beautiful landscapes in the country and explore our 12 acres of gardens.

There are also visual art exhibitions in our gallery (located by at the stalls entrance to the auditorium) and archive gallery (at the bottom of the car park). Plus, there will be recitals by our Jerwood Young Artists before selected performances.

Let us take the stress out of the journey

Our performance schedule has timings for each opera to help you plan your day.

Glyndebourne is just outside of Lewes and a mere hour away from London by rail. We take our green credentials very seriously and encourage as many audience members as possible to make the journey to Glyndebourne by train, and then take the audience coach from Lewes station. For £10 you can secure a return coach journey from Lewes train station to Glyndebourne. This is bookable online.

For those who would rather make the journey by car, we have a large car park and even offer charging for electric cars.

Your questions answered

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO TO HEAR THE GLYNDEBOURNE AUDIENCE’S TOP TIPS FOR FIRST TIME VISITORS

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