Glyndebourne
Autumn visits to the world famous opera house at Glyndebourne are now an established part of the Club's programme. ALAN CARVER describes the events which led to what may truly be regarded as: An Operatic Miracle.
LA SCALA, MILAN; the Met, New York; Covent Garden, London; three world class opera houses, all located in major cities of the world. Who would expect to find another, attached to the country house of an English gentleman hidden in the Sussex Downs, near a tiny village called Glynde? Yet this is exactly what emerged from the relatively modest plans made by John and Audrey Christie in the early 1930's.
The house had been in existence in some form since soon after the Norman Conquest and passed to the Christie family in 1833. Many alterations were made to the house over time. John Christie was born in 1882, went to Eton and on to Cambridge, where he studied science. He then returned to Eton to teach science and remained there until 1922, apart from a break of two years spent in the army during World War I, when he left to concentrate on the family house at Glynde, which had passed to him in 1920. He then began a series of alterations and additions to the house, mainly to accommodate his passion for music, and opera in particular. These enabled him to hold musical events for his friends, at one of which a young professional soprano, Audrey Mildmay, sang. He was immediately smitten by her and they married in 1931. So began a partnership which was to have results they could not possibly have imagined.
Together they planned to expand these musical events and John's idea was to build a theatre to accommodate about 150 people where his wife could perform. Her view was that if he was going to spend a lot of money on the project, he should do it properly. So, a plan for a 300 seat auditorium, with a pit to accommodate an orchestra of 30 musicians to enable full scale opera to be performed, was drawn up. Thus, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, as we know it today, was conceived. During construction John's scientific background came in to its own and he incorporated many gadgets into the project as well as designing the lighting system. His 'hands on' approach ensured a good relationship between family and employees, a feature which, to this day, continues to contribute to the success of the enterprise.
As construction proceeded consideration had to be given to the important roles of conductor and producer and the Christies were fortunate to secure the services of Fritz Busch as conductor and Carl Ebert as producer. Both had held important posts in German opera and were happy to come to England, because they found it difficult to work in their own country at this time.
Singers were chosen on the basis of 'best for the part', rather than 'best known' and they had to be able to act as well as sing. Unusually for its time, great emphasis was placed on rehearsals, with thorough concentration on detail, not only of singing but also of acting, orchestral playing, costume and scenery. 'Star' singers were not actively sought, although over the years a number of famous singers have performed in the Festival and others have emerged after starting in the chorus, moving on to be understudies and finally into leading roles. Naturally, during the early productions Audrey took leading parts. In this way every attempt was made to achieve perfection. With this in mind John Christie asked his audience to wear evening dress 'to support the artists' and to add a sense of occasion - a custom which largely persists to this day. The gardens, a feature of Glyndebourne, were advertised as a specific attraction in the early years and ticket holders were advised that they could bring their own picnic to eat in the gardens or dining room during the long dinner interval. Patrons were also advised that they could be waited on by their own servants if they wished.
The custom of taking picnics in the gardens continues to be part of the charm of the Festival. The first season opened in May 1934 with performances of two Mozart operas and lasted for two weeks. The critics were generous in their praise of the performances and attendances overall were good, all of which encouraged the Christies to continue in subsequent years. Further publicity was provided by an HMV recording of a performance of 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart and in 1938 came the first BBC broadcast from Glyndebourne.
Productions ceased during the war years and were slow to stan afterwards, although it is of interest to note that Glyndebourne helped in the inauguration of the Edinburgh Festival in 1947. Until 1950, income from ticket sales broadly went to offset running costs but John Christie is estimated to have spent £100,000 from his personal fortune (an enormous sum in those days) on capital and other projects. For the first time in 1950, he received a donation of £12,500 from a close friend, John Lewis, of the John Lewis Partnership and this was followed by a scheme which gave the public an opportunity to invest in the enterprise. A more secure financial base provided the opportunity for the repertoire to be widened and the auditorium enlarged.
Between 1934-39 the orchestra used was known as the Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra and the players were drawn mainly from the London Symphony Orchestra. After the war, ad hoc groups were used until 1948 when, for the first time, an established orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, was appointed.
The early fifties saw the deaths of Audrey Christie and Fritz Busch and in 1958 George Christie, son of John and Audrey, became Chairman of Glyndebourne, thereby continuing the family tradition for which the organisation had always been famous. In 1962 John Christie died but the appointment of his son four years earlier ensured that the ideals for which he stood, were continued. Financial problems again arise in the 1960's. Enormous efforts to secure private and corporate donations were made by George Christie and his wife Mary, to ensure that the high standards of performance could be maintained without pushing the price of tickets through the roof. On the occasion of Glyndebourne's Jubilee in 1964, George's efforts were rewarded with a knighthood for his services to opera.
1968 saw the launch of Glyndebourne Touring Opera (the only part of the organisation ever to receive Arts Council funding) with the aim of taking top class opera to a wider audience and also to give performing opportunities to young singers and conductors.
Towards the end of the 1980's it became clear that, in spite of many enlargements and additions, the facilities of the 1934 opera house were no longer adequate - as George Christie put it "the waistcoat buttons are fit to burst". It was decided that nothing less than total demolition would suffice, so plans for a completely new opera house evolved. The outline requirements were that it should fit in well with the Sussex landscape, some of the old auditorium's intimacy had to be maintained and the acoustics were to be the best possible. Moreover, facilities for staff, performers and audience had to be of the highest standard - in other words, an opera house fit for the 21st century. The cost was estimated to be £33 million and to the great credit of all concerned this huge sum was secured from private and corporate sponsors. Only one season (1993) was lost to construction. By early 1994 the project was complete - on time and within budget.
On 28th May 1994 the new opera house was opened, 60 years to the day after the opening of the first, to a full house of 1,200 people, with a performance of the same opera - 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart.
Sir George Christie retired in 2000 and the third generation of the family, Gus Christie, is now at the helm. With its international reputa tion for excellence and its huge demand for tickets for the three month season, it has achieved a level of success beyond the wildest dreams of its founders which looks set to continue.
