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Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2020: the top artists and dates

By Claudia Pritchard on 28/1/2020

Booking opens 6PM, Sun 8 March for Beethoven, Handel and Poulenc operas, in new productions, with revivals of Donizetti, Mozart and Stravinsky.

Soprano Danielle de Niese sings the novice Blanche at the opening night of Glyndebourne 2020

Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites

Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2020 opens with a musical landmark in the 85-year-old festival's history. Poulenc's powerful opera Dialogues des Carmélites is performed for the first time, with soprano Danielle de Niese (pictured) in the leading role.

WHEN

21 May 2020 – 19 Jul 2020, 15 performances, times vary. Running time 4hr 10min, including 1hr 30min dinner interval

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore

Nemorino loves Adina, but she adores dashing Belcore. Only a magical love potion can fix this – possibly... Annabel Arden’s 1940s production is set in a giddy Italy on the brink of political change. Glyndebourne's own 2020 recommendation for a family opera outing.

WHEN

23 May to 18 July

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Alcina is Handel's opera of magic and mystery. Artwork: Shadric Toop

Handel's Alcina

Adopted Londoner Handel's magical opera is staged at Glyndebourne for the first time, in a production that should suit the country house down to the ground. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment joins an all-star cast.

WHEN

13 Jun 2020 – 06 Aug 2020, 14 performances, times vary. Running time 5hr, including 1hr 30min dinner interval

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Against an 18th-century Eastern fantasy of sunny gardens and shady terraces, Mozart's virtuosic comedy sparkles with wit and satire. Award-winning American soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as an abducted noblewoman who is rescued from the harem.

WHEN

4 July to 26 August

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Beethoven's Fidelio

In the year that marks 250 years since the birth of the composer, Beethoven's only opera is being widely staged, but here this singular work will take on its own character. Robin Ticciati conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with its authentic sound. The cast is led by Emma Bell and David Butt Philip.

WHEN

25 July to 29 August

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress

Hogarth's salutary tale of a young man's decline and fall is told against the backdrop of David Hockney's drawn set. A firm favourite since its first staging at Glyndebourne in 1975, this production by John Cox is a modern classic, not to be missed. Cast includes Louise Alder and Matthew Rose.

WHEN

13 to 20 August 2020

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2020: the top artists and dates

Booking opens 6PM, Sun 8 March for Beethoven, Handel and Poulenc operas, in new productions, with revivals of Donizetti, Mozart and Stravinsky.

Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites

Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore

Handel's Alcina

Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Beethoven's Fidelio

Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress

Glyndebourne Festival Opera

Poulenc

Handel

Beethoven

Donizetti

Mozart

Stravinsky

David Hockney

Best Covent Garden Opera and Dance this spring

Best Classical and Opera 2020

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