From La traviata to Tosca: Forty Years in the Pit
Celebrating London Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Tom Eisner’s Career at Glyndebourne
Jade Baidow-Fletcher, our Social Media & Online Content Manager, spoke to Tom Eisner, a member of the first violins in the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as he embarked on his final Festival at Glyndebourne, almost exactly 40 years since first entering the Glyndebourne orchestra pit.
Before entering the pit, Tom had visited Glyndebourne once before. ‘I was invited to an open rehearsal in 1983,’ he recalls, ‘I had a friend in the orchestra.’
A few years later, he found himself back at Glyndebourne, but this time he was performing with the resident orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in the pit for La traviata in 1987, conducted by Bernard Haitink, with Marie McLaughlin in the lead role.
What followed was four decades of music-making with the LPO, ranging from those early seasons in the 850-seat old opera house to relocating to Lewes for the summer to perform in all six Festival operas in the new 1250-seat auditorium – Tom’s career grew with Glyndebourne into the much celebrated current auditorium.
When the current opera house opened in 1994, Tom played in the inaugural performance of The Marriage of Figaro that season. ‘There’s no comparison,’ he says simply. ‘It was state of the art.’
When asked about the highlights of forty years playing at Glyndebourne, the common thread is Wagner – an answer that would have made Glyndebourne’s founder, John Christie, proud. Wagner was one of John Christie’s favourites and is often cited as being a big inspiration in the Glyndebourne origin story. Despite this, the intimate size of the original opera house meant that Wagner was not part of the Glyndebourne programme until 2003.
Tom confesses he didn’t connect with the composer when he first started — but that changed decisively with Glyndebourne’s first Wagner staging: Tristan und Isolde under Jiri Belohlavek. ‘It really got it under my skin,’ he says. ‘I’ve played that opera 53 times now.’ Die Meistersinger followed, and then last year’s Parsifal —’That was my favourite ever’.
Though Tom was introduced to Wagner’s world at Glyndebourne, it opened doors beyond the Sussex Countryside. He was honored to have been invited to perform Tristan und Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany in 2022, the very same festival that John Christie often travelled to. ‘It really did feel like coming full circle,’ he says. ‘I am probably one of the few musicians that has played at both Glyndebourne and Bayreuth!’
Tom’s last performance will be the closing night of the first run of Glyndebourne’s first ever Tosca this season — a fitting farewell. “It’s one I really wanted to do,” he says. He has friends coming to nearly every performance.
While he may be taking his final bow in the pit, he’ll be back soon to see L’Orfeo – this time as an audience member. ‘I want to enjoy it from the outside. Come along as an audience member.’ He pauses. ‘It’s been a big part of my life.’
