Beethoven and Brahms A concert with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
FRIDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2020 Beethoven and Brahms
Sometime after we had to cancel the (‘Come, Hope, don’t let the guiding star 2020 Glyndebourne Festival, Robin of the weary fade away’). Next, we hear Ticciati* and I were sitting (socially Florestan, in solitary confinement, distanced) in a scrubby bit of Lewes golf holding fast to his love of Leonore to course digesting what we couldn’t do, keep him from despair. Finally, the and trying to imagine what we could, duet as they are reunited and together or might be able to do, to mitigate the struggle to express the intensity and threat of the complete absence of live joy of the moment – O namenlose Freude! music ahead of us. Robin mentioned As we acknowledge Beethoven, it seems his autumn work with our friends, the appropriate to conclude our concert Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Brahms’ violin concerto. Brahms (OAE), and the brilliant violinist, Alina was, famously, in awe of Beethoven, and Ibragimova: couldn’t we find a way to the concerto takes forward the operatic bring them to Glyndebourne? lyricism of Fidelio beyond words and Naturally I was enthusiastic. It had firmly into the Romantic era. been a triple blow: to be denied hearing When travel restrictions and quarantine the OAE inside our theatre this year were imposed for those travelling (although the summer garden concerts from Germany it became impossible were beautiful, and the first sign that for Robin to join us this evening. live music could find a way through); to The strange complexity of these have to postpone our new production times, however, while closing down of Beethoven’s Fidelio, in the 250th some avenues, also unexpectedly anniversary year; and to have to cancel opens others, and so it is with great our Tour. As we readjusted the Tour pleasure that I am able to welcome Sir
James Bellorini into a ‘staycation’, we found a way to Mark Elder back onto the podium at include this important concert. Glyndebourne to conduct this singular, To us Fidelio seems even more relevant and exquisite, concert. in this time of lockdowns and solitude, At the time of writing, I am putting my when people are separated from their trust in Die Hoffnung. If you are reading loved ones; a time when we need to this sitting in Glyndebourne’s beautiful keep our hopes, optimism and love auditorium, having successfully alive, qualities exemplified in the emerged from lockdown 2, I hope the opera by Leonore and Florestan. We light at the end of the tunnel seems were lucky that both Emma Bell and brighter through music, and that it will David Butt Philip, who were to lead the not be long before we can be together summer production, were able to join again to share the joy of opera in a us at short notice. packed theatre. I believe we will all The programme explores the arc of value that precious experience even the narrative introducing us first to more after these difficult times. Leonore, determined to rescue her husband from prison, in an aria which Stephen Langridge Artistic Director
includes the line: ‘Komm’, Hoffnung, lass * The conductor Robin Ticciati is Glyndebourne’s den letzten Stern der Müden nicht erbleichen’ music director
GLYNDEBOURNE.COM | 2 Programme
Conductor Sir Mark Elder
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Leader Kati Debretzeni
Soloists Emma Bell soprano David Butt Philip tenor Alina Ibragimova violin
BEETHOVEN BRAHMS Fidelio Op. 72 Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77
Overture Alina Ibragimova violin Recitative and Aria Abscheulicher! Emma Bell soprano
Act II Introduction and Aria Gott! Welch’ Dunkel hier! David Butt Philip tenor
Duet O namenlose Freude! Emma Bell soprano David Butt Philip tenor
GLYNDEBOURNE.COM | 3 VIOLINS FLUTES Kati Debretzeni Lisa Beznosiuk Rodolfo Richter Neil McLaren Jennifer Godson Andrew Roberts Alice Evans OBOES Henry Tong Daniel Bates Kinga Ujszaszi Leo Duarte Dominika Feher Judith Templeman Debbie Diamond CLARINETS Katherine Spencer Margaret Faultless Sarah Thurlow Claire Holden Huw Daniel Iona Davies BASSOONS Daniel Edgar Philip Turbett Nia Lewis Sally Jackson Stephen Rouse Rebecca Livermore HORNS Roger Montgomery VIOLAS Martin Lawrence Max Mandel Gavin Edwards Oliver Wilson David Bentley Martin Kelly Annette Isserlis Kate Heller TRUMPETS Ian Rathbone David Blackadder Phillip Bainbridge
CELLOS Jonathan Manson TROMBONES Andrew Skidmore Philip Dale Catherine Rimer Edward Hilton Ruth Alford Richard Tunnicliffe TIMPANI Adrian Bending BASSES Cecelia Bruggemeyer Carina Cosgrave Paul Sherman
GLYNDEBOURNE.COM | 4 Biographies
Emma Bell David Butt Philip Soprano Tenor
Previously for Glyndebourne Previously for Glyndebourne Title role/Rodelinda (GF, GT); Title role/Vanessa, Miss Jessel/The Madhouse Keeper/The Rake’s Progress, Laertes/Hamlet (GF); Title Turn of the Screw, Fox/The Cunning Little Vixen (GF) role/Hamlet (GT) Recent engagements Recent engagements Venus, Elisabeth/Tannhäuser (DOB); Leonore/Fidelio, Freia/Das Florestan/Fidelio (ROH, New National Theatre, Prague); Rodolfo/ Rheingold (Bayerische); Madame Lidoine/Dialogues des Carmélites La bohème (ENO Live and Drive); Grigory/Boris Godunov (ROH, (Hamburg); Governess/The Turn of the Screw (Dallas); Elisabeth/ BBC Proms); Don José/Carmen (ENO); Prince/Rusalka (Madrid); Tannhäuser (ROH); Ellen Orford/Peter Grimes (Theater Basel) Title role/Hamlet (Oper Köln); Title role/Der Zwerg (Berlin); Essex/ Gloriana (Madrid); War Requiem (ENO) Forthcoming engagements Sieglinde/Die Walküre (ENO) Forthcoming engagements Florestan/Fidelio (Staatsoper Berlin); Boris/Káťa Kabanová (GF); The Stratford-upon-Avon born soprano is a former winner of Grigory/Boris Godunov, Laertes/Hamlet (Met) the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Award. She established her career with celebrated performances of the Mozart heroines, One of the most exciting tenors Britain has to offer today, he and in recent seasons has developed her repertoire, moving to has attracted major acclaim with recent debuts including the the key jugendlich-dramatisch roles of Wagner and Beethoven. title role in Der Zwerg at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Florestan in a new Alongside operatic performances across the globe, she is an production of Fidelio at ROH, the title role in Brett Dean’s Hamlet engaging concert performer with a repertoire including Strauss’ at Glyndebourne, Essex/Gloriana at Teatro Real, Erik/Der fliegende Vier letzte Lieder and Mahler’s Symphony No 8. Hollander at Opéra de Lille, Laca/Jenůfa at ON and Grigory/Boris Godunov at ROH and the BBC Proms. An alumnus of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at ROH, his current and future engagements include debuts with Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin and The Met, as well as returns to ROH, ENO, Teatro Real Madrid, Glyndebourne and Deutsche Oper Berlin.
GLYNDEBOURNE.COM | 5 Biographies
Sir Mark Elder Alina Ibragimova Conductor Violin
Previously for Glyndebourne Recent engagements include those with the Royal Concertgebouw La clemenza di Tito, Simon Boccanegra, The Rake’s Progress, Orchestra (Gardiner), Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Pittsburgh Euryanthe, Fidelio, Billy Budd, Falstaff, La traviata (GF) Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin Recent engagements (Ticciati), Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Haitink), London Les contes d’Hoffman (Paris) Symphony (Stutzmann), Swedish Radio Symphony (Harding), Forthcoming engagements Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Boston Symphony (Jurowski), Don Carlo (Zürich) Montreal Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony. Her long- standing duo partnership with pianist Cédric Tiberghien has Currently a Principal Artist of the OAE and Music Director featured highly successful cycles of the Beethoven and Mozart of the Hallé, he was previously Music Director of ENO, violin sonatas at the Wigmore Hall. She is a founding member of Principal Guest Conductor of CBSO, Music Director of the Chiaroscuro Quartet. Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, USA, Principal Guest Conductor of BBC SO and the London Mozart Players, and Concerto projects include those with the DSO-Berlin (Schnittke Artistic Director of Opera Rara. He has worked with many of with Robin Ticciati), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (Roslavets the world’s leading symphony orchestras and has appeared with Osmo Vanska), Boston Symphony (Brahms with Andrew annually at the Proms for many years. He works regularly in Manze), Seattle Symphony (Bartok 2 with Karina Canellakis), Tokyo the most prominent international opera houses and his many Symphony (Brahms with Lionel Bringuier), a tour performing recordings have met with critical acclaim. He was knighted the Brahms violin concerto with the Orchestra of the Age of in 2008, was awarded the CBE in 1989 and was created a Enlightenment and Robin Ticciati, and an extensive solo-Bach Companion of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recital tour in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. 2017. He won an Olivier Award in 1991 for his outstanding work Performing music from baroque to new commissions on both at ENO, and in 2006 he was named Conductor of the Year by modern and period instruments, Alina has established a reputation the Royal Philharmonic Society. He was awarded Honorary as one of the most accomplished and intriguing violinists of her Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2011. generation. This is illustrated by her prominent presence at the BBC Proms since 2015. In the 2018 Proms, she gave the World Premiere of the Rolf Wallin Violin Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner. Born in Russia she studied at the Moscow Gnesin School before moving with her family to the UK in 1995 where she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Royal College of Music. She was also a member of the Kronberg Academy Masters programme. Alina’s awards include the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award 2010, the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award 2008, the Classical BRIT Young Performer of the Year Award 2009 and she was a member of the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme 2005-7. She was made an MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours List. She records for Hyperion Records and performs on a c.1775 Anselmo Bellosio violin kindly provided by Georg von Opel.
GLYNDEBOURNE.COM | 6 Thank you to all Glyndebourne staff. Without your dedication throughout this crisis, these live performances would not be possible.
Orchestra photographs: Belinda Lawley Design: Fenton+Partners | Artwork: Kate Benjamin
GLYNDEBOURNE.COM | 7