Glyndebourne Tour 2017
The 49th consecutive Glyndebourne Tour is bringing world class opera to Theatre Royal Plymouth Tuesday 28 November – Saturday 2 December.
This year’s three productions include Mozart’s comedy Così fan tutte, Rossini’s vibrant Il barbiere di Siviglia and Brett Dean’s critically acclaimed new opera of Hamlet, Glyndebourne’s five star smash of the summer festival.
11,350 miles travelled
210 performers
140 musicians
70 production staff and technicians
92 boxes of makeup
30 litres of blood (for Hamlet alone)
25 litres of white make up powder (for Hamlet alone - the cast are made up with ghostly white faces)
24 performances
24/7 transportation and setup
20+ locally employed additional staff at each venue
13 ‘Megacube’ lorries
Head of Makeup, Sarah Piper, explains: ‘Hamlet in particular requires blood, and lots of it - we’ve got no less than six characters bloodied by the end. We have spent a lot of time perfecting our own formula, suitable for stage and convincing for the audience. Each litre takes 3 hours to prepare. Also, given the spectacular design of this production by Set Designer Ralph Myers and Costume Designer Alice Babidge, we are transporting over 25 litres of white make up powder. A huge amount, but the results are stunning!’
Dave Turner, Head of Stage at Glyndebourne adds ‘The Glyndebourne Tour is one of the biggest touring arts companies in the UK - a large operation, that requires a huge commitment from all of the teams involved. Technical and Production staff service the Tour around the clock, with scenery from each production loaded onto lorries immediately after each performance, making way for our next performance.’
In Glyndebourne Tour tradition, the bright young stars of opera are brought to the fore and given the chance to shine in leading roles. This year British tenor David Butt Philip, a former Jerwood Young Artist and winner of the 2011 John Christie Award, steps up to perform the title role in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, having previously sung the role of Laertes in the hugely acclaimed premiere of the same production in June this year.
Performing opposite him as Ophelia is British soprano Jennifer France who was shortlisted in the Young Singer category at the 2017 International Opera Awards.
Hamlet was created by Australian composer Brett Dean and Canadian librettist Matthew Jocelyn and gives new life to Shakespeare’s epic tragedy.
Brett Dean’s richly atmospheric and deeply dramatic music captures the essence and timelessness of Shakespeare’s story, supported by Matthew Jocelyn’s libretto, which consists only of words and phrases written by or attributed to Shakespeare.
The Tour line-up is completed by two revivals - Nicholas Hytner’s popular 2006 production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Annabel Arden’s vibrant staging of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, first seen at Glyndebourne Festival 2016.
Off-stage, selected cinemas will be screening Glyndebourne’s popular production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, directed by Michael Grandage.
Tickets are priced between £15 - £52.50 and can be booked online at www.theatreroyal.com or by calling the Theatre Royal Plymouth Box Office on 01752 267222. Concessions are available.
