This gala, staged on
July 24th 1992 celebrated
(or mourned?) the passing of the old
Glyndebourne theatre, nestling in the
Sussex Downlands, near Lewes. Small
and intimate, it had seen so many wonderful
operatic productions since 1934. Afterwards
the doors would close to allow the developers
to create, over the next two years,
a new and larger theatre.
Staged before HRH The
Prince of Wales, this was a glittering
occasion, the programme comprising popular
excerpts from so many earlier Glyndebourne
successes. Of course, practical issues
determined that this had to be opera
in concert, with the LPO and the Glyndebourne
chorus shoe-horned into the little stage.
Sir George Christie, in suitable nostalgic
mood, was Master of Ceremonies and he
was assisted in reminiscing by Elisabeth
Söderström, Janet Baker and
Sir Geraint Evans each of whom contributed
stories of their own earlier Glyndebourne
experiences (alas they are not heard
singing).
The list that comprises
the header of this review shows the
rich diversity of the gala programme.
The highlights for me were: Montserrat
Caballé’s beautifully controlled
and expressive rendition of the ‘Willow
Song’ from Otello – surely one
of Verdi’s most beautiful arias; Felicity
Lott in that lovely, yet demanding showpiece
for soprano voice, the extended closing
aria from Capriccio in which
the Countess tries to choose between
her two suitors representing words and
music. Frederica Von Stade also shone
in her three arias: the ever-popular
‘Voi che sapete’ from Mozart’s Le
nozze di Figaro; and in recreating
her acclaimed performance in Monteverdi’s
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
(with a stout-voiced Benjamin Luxon);
and, as Rosina, determined to win the
affections of Lindoro in Rossini’s The
Barber of Seville. I must also mention
Ruggero Raimondi’s wonderfully animated
‘La calunnia’, from the same opera,
in which, as Don Basilio, he plans to
slander Almaviva. Oaken-voiced Kim Begley
as Macduff impressed strongly in his
darkly dramatic aria mourning the death
of his children from Verdi’s Macbeth.
Cynthia Haymon also brought back fond
memories of her success as Bess singing
‘Summertime’ from George Gershwin’s
opera.
Sir George rightly
paid tribute to the excellence of The
Glyndebourne Chorus demonstrating their
prowess in ‘Ruin, disaster, shame’ from
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress
and in Mozart’s ‘Nettuno s’onori’ from
Idomeneo. The London Philharmonic
Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink
and Andrew Davis played the evocative
Storm Interlude from Benjamin Britten’s
Peter Grimes and Mozart’s Overture
The Marriage of Figaro.
A fine souvenir of
a glittering gala celebrating, with
popular operatic excerpts, the first
triumphant sixty years or so of Glyndebourne.
Ian Lace
The London Philharmonic 
ARTHAUS
DVD Video 100 432 [112 mins]