Join us this October in the beautiful setting of Glyndebourne for Donizetti's delightful comedy Don Pasquale and a new production of Handel's dramatic oratorio Saul (which has its premiere on 23rd July).
Each Autumn Glyndebourne go ‘On Tour’ around the UK. Immediately before, they have a couple of weeks of performances at Glyndebourne itself and following the popularity of our previous visits we are once again offering a tour with top price stalls seats for two operas at the magnificent Glyndebourne Opera House.
For our previous three visits we have stayed in Brighton however this year we have decided to stay at the 4 star Buxted Park Hotel in East Sussex. The hotel is a Georgian mansion set in the heart of a 312 acre private estate and will provide the perfect base just a short drive from the opera house. Both performances start at 4pm so it gives us the opportunity to have afternoon tea before one performance and dinner after the other in the elegant setting of the Wallop Restaurant at Glyndebourne.
The break will be escorted throughout and includes luxury coach travel from the Northwest (see booking form for pick up points, some by feeder coach to Knutsford), a 'business class' picnic platter & wine on the outward journey, three nights at the 4* Buxted Park hotel on a bed & breakfast basis, top price stall seats for both performances, welcome dinner at Buxted Park on the first evening; dinner after Don Pasquale (in the Wallop restaurant at Glyndebourne); afternoon tea (at Glyndebourne) before Saul and a buffet dinner (in the village of Buxted) afterwards. All transfers to and from Glyndebourne and two morning excursions are also included.
The cost of the package as detailed above is £675 per person sharing a twin or double room, £795 double sole use and £835 for superior double sole use. If you prefer to make your own way the hotel you can deduct £40 per person from the cost. The hotel offers free parking and is half a mile from Buxted Railway station (just over an hour from London Bridge and with one connection from St Pancras or Victoria).
About the opera's:
Don Pasquale (Gaetano Donizetti) first performance 1843, Paris
Directed by Mariame Clément, this opulent period staging catches the sparkling essence of Donizetti’s tuneful tale of an old bachelor’s romantic delusions and the young lovers who outwit him.
Pasquale, a man no longer in the first flush of youth, hopes to marry and produce an heir, being dissatisfied with the current holder of that position, his nephew Ernesto, who has had the audacity to fall in love with Norina, an impoverished widow. The plot thickens, twists and turns as Pasquale’s supposed friend Dr Malatesta assists Ernesto and Norina in complex and increasingly vindictive deception. Don Pasquale’s witty musical score combines graceful lyricism with rollicking comedy, all fuelled by the seductive rhythm of the waltz. Have a look at the tour trailer on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMbClQ1QrUc
Saul (George Frideric Handel) first performance 1738, London
Saul (HWV 53) is a dramatic oratorio in three acts with a libretto taken from the First Book of Samuel. The story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel's relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred, ultimately leading to the downfall of the eponymous monarch. The work, which Handel composed in 1738, includes the famous "Dead March", a funeral anthem for Saul and his son Jonathan, and some of the composer's most dramatic choral pieces.
With a musical score of heart-breaking beauty and intensity this powerful new production delves deep into Handel’s grand setting. We watch Saul crumble before our eyes, as dramatically as Shakespeare’s King Lear, as he watches David win everyone’s heart – including that of his son, Jonathan.
The first of Handel’s great English oratorios, Saul promises to be an evening of dramatic choruses, bravura solo singing and the famous ‘Dead March’. Transferring direct from Festival 2015, this is the first production from the brilliant, provocative Australian director, Barrie Kosky, at Glyndebourne. This performance will be conducted by Laurence Cummings, considered one of Britain’s most exciting and versatile exponents of historical performance both as conductor and harpsichord player. He is also Artistic Director of the London Handel Festival and of the Internationale Händel-Festpiele Göttingen. See Barrie Kosky discussing the new production and hear an excerpt of the music following this youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6_vLdJvJ7c&list=UUwivpipDHAYT-jKVi7rdWJA
