Brian Dickie

Suffolk.........

Good morning Orford - it looks as though it will be a lovely day here - this very special place with so many Brittenesque reminders.  I am here until Friday to chill out, away from the pre Christmas hassle in London, not to mention the circus, pantomime, or whatever the farce is in Westminster!

But for now a short report on a truly special evening with the NOS company at the Bridewell Theatre on Monday.  This was the London showing of the work that the young artists worked on with Opera North in Leeds, a programme - Last Days - that marked the centenary of the end of WW1.  It was a remarkably moving sequence directed by Tim Albery, a surprise round every corner, and a wonderful opportunity for the varied talents of this training programme to do something completely different, away from the conventional constraints of the opera repertoire.  There were so many striking performances and stand outs.  As at the showcase that I attended a couple of months ago mezzo-soprano Margo Arsane and countertenor JungKwon Jang made exceptional contributions - we should watch these two with special attention.

Leisure now for three more days!

I went to a marvellous party.......

Glyndebourne Touring Opera was born in March 1968 after a quite long gestation period - including a near mid term abortion 12 months before when the Arts Council refused to support it.  Then the cavalry arrived over the hill from Portugal!  The Gulbenkian Foundation shamed the Arts Council into support with a three year challenge grant, and the John Lewis Partnership, under its inspiring Chairman Sir Bernard (O.B.) Miller, set up support groups through its stores in each of the cities that GTO was to visit. Yet another example of the vision of George Christie at a time when private sponsorship for the arts was virtually non existent in the UK, and completely non existent in Europe.

And last evening all this was celebrated in a brilliantly organised event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall  where all the best fund raising, arm twisting, and  pick pocketing techniques were on display - with impressive results. Bravo to the Glyndebourne team.

But above all it was a celebration of Glyndebourne's role in the identification and development of the most gifted young artists. So we had performances from Sir Thomas Allen (Chorus 1969 and GTO Don Giovanni 1977), as well as Sir John Tomlinson who joined the chorus in 1970, and Dame Sarah Connolly (Chorus 1992). More recent emerging artists who contributed last night were Stuart Jackson, Jacques Imbrailo, Rosa Feola, and Matteo Lippi who each burst on the Glyndebourne scene with the Tour.  Former music director of the tour, Louis Langrée, and newly appointed principal conductor Ben Glassberg were in charge on the podium with the terrific tour orchestra, not a pick up band at all but now a finely tuned instrument, providing outstanding contributions, including an exceptional Figaro overture to set off the proceedings. It was a happy evening all round.

Photo of the party: Andrew Higgins