Annual Report 2014 2014: the Year in Brief
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ANNUAL REPORT 2014 2014: The year in brief In 2014 Glyndebourne celebrated its 80th a number of important engagements in anniversary and the 20th year of our ‘new’ major European houses. The last new theatre, but also mourned the death of production of the summer saw the return former Chairman and President, Sir George to Glyndebourne of that great Verdian, Sir Christie. Mark Elder, who conducted Tom Cairns’s staging of La traviata, which featured Sir George died on 7 May 2014, the very day a sensational UK operatic debut from that the London Philharmonic Orchestra Venera Gimadieva. arrived at Glyndebourne for rehearsals of our opening production of Der Rosenkavalier. As ever at Glyndebourne, revivals He had been listening to a recording of the were given an equal amount of careful opera the night before. It is impossible to preparation. Graham Vick returned to state just how much he will be missed by supervise the rehearsals for his iconic his many friends and colleagues – without production of Eugene Onegin and the him Glyndebourne would not be the world outstanding Israeli conductor, Omer Meir class organisation it is today. Our debt to Wellber, appeared in the Festival for the him is immense and I am delighted that first time. He will be back. Jonathan Kent’s we pay full tribute to his achievements production of Don Giovanni returned to the in the 2015 Festival programme book. He Festival for the third time, featuring the was a visionary man with a wonderful London Philharmonic Orchestra’s recently sense of humour who will continue to be a appointed Principal Guest Conductor, constant source of inspiration to all of us Andrés Orozco Estrada, and a new lucky enough to work for this remarkable generation of young principals. To finish the company. summer we brought back Robert Carsen’s playful production of Rinaldo, which won The season was, quite rightly, dedicated to many new friends second time around. Sir George and proved to be an auspicious start to the reign of our new Music The Glyndebourne Tour continues to go Director, Robin Ticciati, conducting the from strength to strength and maintains its first of two new productions in Festival long standing reputation for introducing 2014. The staging of Der Rosenkavalier was new international singers and nurturing directed by Richard Jones and its success home grown talent, much of it originating was reflected in a subsequent nomination from the Glyndebourne Chorus. But it is at the International Opera Awards as one also a place where former Glyndebourne of the outstanding Strauss productions assistant conductors can step up to new marking the composer’s anniversary year. roles and the 2014 Tour was no exception. Robin Ticciati’s second new production, Former Glyndebourne Chorus Master, Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, was entrusted to Christopher Moulds conducted La finta a hugely talented young director, Frederic giardiniera and Leo McFall, who first worked Wake Walker, whose success has led to at Glyndebourne as an assistant on The 1 GLYNDEBOURNE ANNUAL REPORT 2014 George Christie in 1977 Photo: Chris Cormack 2014: THE YEAR IN BRIEF THE 2014: GLYNDEBOURNE ANNUAL REPORT 2014 2 Turn of the Screw, returned to conduct the Orchestra. It was a real thrill for the same opera. Both now have flourishing company to be so rapturously received in international careers and it was good to one of the great cultural cities in the world welcome them back. and we hope to find ways of doing more overseas touring in the future. The Tour also plays a key role in reaching out to new audiences, with Arts Council Investment in digital work continues to be England support enabling us to take our a vital part of our audience development work around the country at subsidised initiatives and a new relationship with ticket prices. As well as our usual touring the Telegraph Media Group enabled Der circuit of Glyndebourne, Woking, Rosenkavalier, La traviata and Don Giovanni Canterbury, Milton Keynes, Plymouth and to be streamed free to over 100,000 people. Stoke, we also accepted an invitation to With cinema screenings, television give three performances of La traviata at the broadcasts and DVD sales all adding to our Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin. Earlier reach, we can safely say that Glyndebourne in the year, we travelled even further afield has never been more accessible than it is to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New today. It was a particular pleasure that the York where we gave performances of our BBC decided to mark our 80th anniversary highly acclaimed production of Billy Budd, with a special documentary on BBC 4 complete with a company of over 200 people – Glyndebourne , The Untold Story – which including 39 members of the Glyndebourne not only gave some context to our new Chorus as well as the London Philharmonic production of Der Rosenkavalier but also x Tycho’s Dream rehearsals Photo: Sam Stephenson 3 GLYNDEBOURNE ANNUAL REPORT 2014 x 201X: THE YEAR IN BRIEF THE 201X: Billy Budd travelled to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York in early 2014 Photo: Richard Hubert Smith provided audiences with an insight into the we also presented two new studio projects many talented and dedicated people who specifically for primary school children – work behind the scenes at Glyndebourne. Five Deaths and a Happy Ending, a whistle stop tour through opera, and Songs About Us, Glyndebourne’s education work an exploration of the many ways in which continues to reach people of all ages and words and music work together. backgrounds – right from the youngest children attending workshops through Finally, 2014 saw the publication of a report to the dementia sufferers and their on Glyndebourne’s Economic Impact. carers who benefit from our ‘Raise Your Funded by Arts Council England, East Voice’ sessions. 2014 was also the last Sussex County Council, Glyndebourne and year of Luke Styles’s tenure as our Young the East Sussex Arts Partnership, the report Composer-in-Residence. One of his final revealed that Glyndebourne generates a commissions was a short opera, Tycho’s gross economic impact of £16.2m annually Dream, performed by our two Youth Opera in East Sussex, the equivalent of 682 groups and presented on the main stage permanent jobs. So as well as creating great at Glyndebourne. It is an extraordinary art, we also make a significant contribution privilege for these young people to have to the local economy. access to our wonderful theatre, working David Pickard, General Director with our expert technicians and performing alongside professional artists. One of the cornerstones of our education programme remains the schools performances we give as part our autumn Tour – this year giving young people the chance to see full scale performances of La finta giardiniera and La traviata. Alongside the main stage performances GLYNDEBOURNE ANNUAL REPORT 2014 4 ‘… the production is Der Rosenkavalier hugely entertaining and often laugh-out-loud R Strauss funny, usually when it involves Lars Woldt’s unconventionally young Ochs…’ The Sunday Times P hoto: hoto: B ill Cooper ‘… rarely does one find it [Eugene Onegin] as Eugene Onegin fresh and fine-tuned as it is in Glyndebourne’s Tchaikovsky current production - a beautiful revival of Graham Vick’s 1994 staging which makes an exemplary virtue of simplicity.’ The Daily Telegraph P hoto: hoto: R ichard Hubert Smith Hubert ichard ‘This revival by Lloyd Don Giovanni Wood... gets a massive boost from the MOZART energised conducting of Andrés Orozco- Estrada, making his Glyndebourne debut with the London Philharmonic... his handling of the final scene was thrilling.’ P The Guardian hoto: hoto: R obert Workman ‘The plot… may be impossible to take La finta giardinera seriously, but with Frederic Wake Walker MOZART at the controls and Robin Ticciati catching the idiom in the pit, it emerges with irresistible charm.’ The Independent P hoto: hoto: T ristram ristram Kenton P hoto: hoto: R ‘Venera Gimadieva is a obbie Jack soprano of huge presence, La compelling to watch, with a voice of thrilling security traviata and range, and a special VERDI quality to her quieter singing that makes you hang on every note. It’s a remarkable, touching Glyndebourne debut ….’ The Guardian P hoto: hoto: R ichard Hubert Smith Hubert ichard ‘We savoured the exquisite playing of Rinaldo the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment HANDEL under Ottavio Dantone’s direction – and particularly that of its continuos – with bated breath. I just want to see this marvellous show again immediately. The Independent P hoto: hoto: R obbie Jack ‘Making her British debut the Russian soprano La [Irina Dubrovskaya] is a deeply moving Violetta, completely convincing in the character’s fragility traviata yet with a voice up to all the demands of the role. Though she has the coloratura in place, she is VERDI best in the pathos, and her heartbreaking “Dite TOUR 2015 alla giovine” reaches a spirituality that many P hoto: Clive Clive hoto: more famous sopranos fail to achieve.’ The Telegraph B arda P ‘Frederic Wake Walker’s hoto: R inspired production La finta Smith Hubert ichard captures the Midsummer Night’s Dream quality giardiniera in designer Antony McDonald’ crumbling VERDI rococo pleasure dome.’ TOUR 2015 Daily Express x ‘Britten’s eerie score — for an orchestra of just 13 — The Turn of inexorably tightens its own harmonic screw and the Screw is beautifully played under BRITTEN conductor Leo McFall.’ TOUR 2015 Daily Mail Photo: Tristram Kenton x Financial Overview Glyndebourne’s 80th anniversary year was hugely successful in so many different ways, not least because we generated an operating surplus for the first time since 2010. Our core strategic objective to remain financially independent is imperative and this was achieved without any cut back in activity levels.