Enjoy spectacular performances of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, both presented at the festival’s famous opera house
Develop a greater understanding of each opera in the company of expert Tour Director Nicholas Wearne
Explore the cultural richness of the region with a visit to the Towner Eastbourne, home to a superb collection of works by Ravilious, and venue for the 2023 Turner Prize exhibition
“Both operas and daytime visits were very enjoyable and of high standard”
“Altogether excellent”
- ACE customers on 2022 Glyndebourne tours with Nicholas Wearne
Every year, Glyndebourne produces an exhilarating programme of world-class opera featuring young and promising singers. Many international careers – such as those of Thomas Allen, Felicity Lott and Willard White – began with Glyndebourne Touring Opera, as it was originally called. We look forward to returning this autumn for another inspiring musical programme, based at the festival’s East Sussex home. As Glyndebourne will not be able to tour in 2023, owing to funding cuts, the autumn programme offers the only opportunity to see these productions.
Undoubtedly one of the best loved operas in the world, Don Giovanni combines a thrilling narrative – “breathless from its first moments to its fiery climax” – with some of Mozart’s most dramatic music. Seduced by the opera’s blend of wit, glamour and darkness as the famous lothario finally meets his match, we will also have the opportunity to appreciate a brand new staging from Mariame Clément; while Ukrainian baritone Andrei Bondarenko takes on the lead role.
A very different experience awaits us with our second opera. Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, described as “light, lyrical and bursting with energy”, is considered one of the composer’s biggest successes, and features delightful melodies including Nemorino’s much-loved aria ‘Una furtiva lagrima’. A revival of Annabel Arden’s production, bringing the story to the 1940s, captures the joy and romance of the charming storyline, wherein Nemorino pins his hopes on a magical love potion to win the affections of the sophisticated Adina, all set against a backdrop of a small Italian town. The performance will be led by skillful young conductor Adam Hickox.
Daytime excursions to nearby cultural attractions will be woven around the festival performances, providing participants with a rounded understanding of the rich artistic history and culture of this beautiful county. We hope to explore Glyndebourne’s wonderful archives during a private visit. Moreover, our 2023 itinerary will include a visit to the Towner Eastbourne, which will be hosting this year’s Turner Prize exhibition at the time of our tour. The Towner’s permanent collection includes many important works of modern British and international contemporary art, with a particular focus on landscape, and the gallery is also home to a major body of work by Eric Ravilious, displayed on rotation.
We also hope to make a return visit to Charleston, the modernist home and studio of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, which has long enjoyed an association with the Bloomsbury Group. Close by is St Michael and All Angels Church, Berwick, home to paintings by both artists as well as works by Vanessa’s son Quentin; a complementary visit here will round off our appreciation of the cultural significance of the Bloomsbury artists.
This tour will be based at the four-star East Sussex National Hotel, a comfortable and modern hotel surrounded by countryside and a short drive away from Glyndebourne. Dinners will be taken in a private dining room.
This tour will be led by Nicholas Wearne, BA, MPhil, a former ACE Bursary student and organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. Nicholas is currently Senior Tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His career as a solo organist has taken him all over the world, and he is a previous winner of the Poul Ruders Prize at the Odense International Organ Competition.
4
£1395
GLY2-23
