New Glyndebourne documentary to be broadcast on Sky Arts this weekend

Photo credit: Richard Hubert Smith

A new documentary following Glyndebourne’s efforts to recommence their program of live opera, following its initial closure due to the pandemic, will be shown on Sky Arts on 20 December.

Glyndebourne: No Ordinary Summer will go behind-the-scenes of the venue, who were the first UK opera house to stage a full-length opera to a live audience since March 2020.

It follows the production process of the new translation of Offenbach’s Mesdames de la Halle (In the Market for Love), with further insight given by the creative team, staff, conductor Robin Ticciati and singers Danielle de Niese and Kate Lindsey.

Artistic Director of Glyndebourne Stephen Langridge said: “In the performing arts world, the past year has been like an assault course, each barrier more demanding than the last, as we battled to find a way back to live performance.

“Our attitude throughout was ‘if we can, we will’ and we were fortunate to be in a position to respond quickly when restrictions began to ease at the start of the summer.

“Early on in lockdown we realised how important it was to capture every twist and turn of this momentous period in our history and this documentary is the result – the inside story of an unforgettable summer.”

After its broadcast on Sky Arts, the documentary can be viewed on Glyndebourne’s Youtube channel from 27 December – 4 January.