Lorraine Kelly and her daughter Rosie were among the guests at the opening night of the Glyndebourne Opera Festival.
The annual event at the stately home near Lewes has returned with its first schedule in three years unaffected by Covid-19.
Broadcasters and columnists Janet Street-Porter, Angellica Bell and Nina Myskow were also present.
Musicians play on opening night (Beresford Hodge)
The festival, founded in 1934, this year presents a staging of The Wreckers by pioneering feminist composer Dame Ethel Smyth, which has only been professionally staged a handful of times since its inception in 1906.
This is the first production by a major opera house since 1939 and the first staging of the original version in the French language.
Opening night ended with bonfires lit around the site, including on floating platforms on the lake, echoing the plot of the opera.
Arrival of guests on site (Beresford Hodge)
The show is one of four new productions that will run between May and August at this year’s festival.
Glyndebourne Executive Chairman Gus Christie said: “We are delighted to welcome everyone back to the famous Glyndebourne Festival opening night.
“Over the past two years, for obvious reasons, we have had to modify our festival, so it is a pleasure to be back in full swing this year.
“We come back with a performance to shake things up too. The Wreckers by pioneering feminist composer Dame Ethel Smyth is an unsung masterpiece and this summer it will be heard in French, as its composer extraordinaire intended, with a brand new production by Melly Still.
“There are plenty of other brilliant operas to come before the end of August and this is the perfect way for us to start the season.”
Glyndebourne Festival runs until August 28
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-22 10:27:38
