INTERLUDE: Intermissions are 85 minutes, giving visitors time to picnic… (Mike Hoban / Getty Images )
Reporting from Lewes, England —
It's summer on the Sussex Downs, 50 miles south of London. As the taxi makes its way from the village train station, ancient houses give way to rolling hills, sheep and, rarely for England, lots of trees. Down the hill under the arbor and then, on the left, a charming country house appears. Aside from a few discreet signs, it's only when you're coming up the drive, spot the flywall peeking out over the 700-year-old roofline and catch snippets of singers warming up that you realize the back garden is home to one of the world's finest opera houses.
The Glyndebourne Festival has been delighting opera lovers with first-rate productions since 1934, when John Christie built the a theater as a gift for his opera singer wife, Audrey Mildmay.
The 2011 festival runs through Aug. 28 and presents six operas in repertory: new productions of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (with Gerald Finley as Hans Sachs) and "Rinaldo," as well as revivals of "L'Elisir d'amore," "Rusalka" and "The Turn of the Screw."
Located on the Christie family estate and now in its 77th season, Glyndebourne boasts an acoustically spectacular 1,200-seat hall, 98% occupancy and an almost legendary reputation among singers.
"The warmth — you really feel as if you are part of the family business when you are singing at Glyndebourne, because everyone is so welcoming, warm and professional," said Swedish soprano Miah Persson. She was Donna Elvira in this summer's production of "Don Giovanni" and is in rehearsals for the August production of "The Turn of the Screw."
"The opera house is perfect! A mixture of great acoustics [and the] ability to create intimacy with the audience because of its size."
Because it is in the country, going to Glyndebourne is an outing rather than somewhere you rush off to after work. As such, the grounds are just as important as the opera house. An 85-minute intermission is designed to allow everyone to picnic in the gardens, by the lake or on the lawn. For foreigners, the sight of a thousand people dressed in black tie eating sandwiches on collapsible lawn chairs is something to behold. It is less peculiar when one considers that picnicking in Britain has traditionally been the preserve of the upper classes, mostly because they owned the land, had time to have a leisurely meal and were far enough removed from laboring to be able to romanticize their surroundings.
Glyndebourne could easily have been just another gentleman's folly, but from the beginning John Christie's aim was not to produce just the best opera he could but the best that could be done anywhere.
Building Glyndebourne's legacy has been the work of three men: John, his son, George, and grandson, Gus. Although he grew up on the estate and joined the board at 25, Gus studied zoology at King's College London and was for 10 years a wildlife cameraman before taking on the role of executive chairman in 2000.
"Inheritance is not always an easy thing to take on, but I had a lot of time to contemplate it while I was sitting in the bush waiting for a lion to wake up. I was very daunted by the idea, but I'm delighted to have made that decision," said Christie, 48.
Is it easier to wrangle lions or opera singers? Christie demurred but happily launched into a comparison of making a wildlife documentary and running an opera house. "It's all about having the right people in the right positions."
As a private opera house, Glyndebourne receives no government subsidy for the summer season, instead relying on ticket revenue, which accounts for 55% of the $34-million operating budget, plus donations and, to a smaller degree, investment income. Staying financially independent is important, so to ensure that remains possible, Glyndebourne has developed a business model that is so simple, it's almost embarrassing: Spend money when you need to and save it when you don't.
Explained Christie, "We've historically been very financially prudent, and there's not a lot of fat in the organization. Everyone who is employed here is absolutely necessary. We set out what we're going to do and we actually do it and produce top quality opera. If that was to slip, we would lose the confidence of our donors. One mustn't scrimp on budgeting. That's very important."
The commitment to leanness carries through to the board level, where there are only five members, all of whom are expected to be strategic thinkers with good business or media sense. In addition, 12 trustees are responsible for fundraising.
