Glynde Opera: Bourne to sing

This week coming, Glyndebourne are back – and two of the three productions comprising the programme are premieres that have transferred straight from the 2015 Glyndebourne Festival.

Things begin on Tuesday with a revival of an opulent period staging of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.

Opulent period setting aside, this piece still has some very recognisable modern plot lines: A rich old man in search of a young wife; a rebellious teenager sulking in his bedroom and an ambitious woman longing for money (and for a young lover).

Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) will follow.

Among the cast is the up-and-coming American tenor Benjamin Bliss, currently a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Also transferring is a new production of Handel’s oratorio Saul, which tells the well-known Biblical tale of the first King of Israel’s love and loathing for his eventual successor, David.

“Triumph, joy, madness, death, battles, jealousy, rage; what more do you want from a night at the opera?” asks the provocative, brilliant Australian director Barrie Kosky who was at the helm.

He did quite the job too – the work gathered amazing reviews.

All three main stage productions have a central role for the Glyndebourne Chorus, an ensemble with a well-earned reputation for showcasing the soloists of tomorrow.

Off stage, The Stables at Wavendon will be screening Glyndebourne’s award-winning production of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd on Sunday.

To book tickets call the box office on 0844 871 7652 or visit atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes