Page 378 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

25 April 2024

Champagne on the lawn: UK festival opera

highlights

By Mark Pullinger, 25 April 2024
In my mind, the clocks going forward and the buzz of the first lawnmowers of spring can
only mean two things: the start of the new cricket season and, a month later, the summer
opera scene – at Garsington, you can actually experience both on rare, golden afternoons
when the weather gods are kind. So it’s time to dust off the picnic hamper, dry clean the
dinner jacket and explore what the UK’s opera festivals have to offer this year.

Glyndebourne
© Mark Pullinger
Glyndebourne Festival

The oldest – and still the UK’s flagship opera festival – is Glyndebourne, set in the rolling
Sussex Downs a short coach ride from Lewes. It all started in 1934 when John Christie had