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Photo essay: https://reut.rs/4dVb2Rr
by Dylan Martinez and David Milliken
GLYNDEBOURNE, England – Located in the English countryside 50 miles south of London, the Glyndebourne Opera Festival is a far cry from the city-centre opera houses where the art form dominates.
“It’s a kindness to us and to the people there,” said soprano Lauren Snouffer of Austin, Texas, who is performing at Glyndebourne for the first time as Pamina in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”
The festival, held in this part of the country, celebrates its 90th anniversary this year and has a global reputation among opera lovers. Around 150,000 people attend it during the summer and autumn seasons, with tickets selling out very quickly.
Some tickets cost over £250, although half-price tickets are available for opera goers under the age of 40.
The gardens open from 3pm and the performances start early, around 5pm, with a 90-minute intermission when many patrons dressed in black tie and evening dress spill out to enjoy a fabulous picnic in the grounds, watched by sheep from the surrounding fields.
The opera house seats 1,200 people — small by the standards of major venues — which Snouffer, 36, said allows for a more intimate singing style.
“You really get a chance to play with more colors and you can speak directly to the audience,” he said.
Visitors arrive with baskets, candles, white tablecloths and expensive sweets.
“This is a picnic of a different level,” said Yana Penrose, 31, who operates the puppeteers and is strapped inside a giant puppet weighing more than 40 kilograms.
This is Penrose’s first time appearing on an opera stage after spending eight years studying puppetry and acting since leaving drama school.
“It gives me a different experience than getting on the Tube from my flat in south London and going into the city to do a show,” he said.
Unlike most operas in Europe, Glyndebourne’s main summer season receives no direct public subsidy.
Sarah Appel, 62, has been coming to Glyndebourne with her husband since the 1980s and has been fascinated by the standard of music there.
Sometimes preparing a picnic for 11 friends and family members makes the occasion even more special.
“It’s not just the opera, it’s the whole day,” he said. “For us it’s always been a highlight of our summer.”
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