the first time you put on the donkey head, it s a little, it s hot first and foremost, and it s a little overwhelming. but then there s plenty of time to adjust. rehearsing is a joy and it s so exciting to kind of bear witness to what everyone does here. and something that glyndebourne does that i think is fantastic is that every part of the house operates on the highest level. so you feel the energy that the costume designers and the set designers and the wig department and makeup department, everyone wants to do their best. executive chairman gus christie and his team at glyndebourne want to deliver the best. but to do so with an eye to the environment. they believe they are trailblazers for sustainability in the opera world. at the turn of the century, really, it became apparent to me we were facing a problem with climate change and global warming.
and now their grandson, gus, who runs glyndebourne, lives on the grounds with his wife, the celebrated australian american soprano danielle de niese. my dad turned it from being a sort of a country house homespun festival into a world renowned international festival. he knocked down the theatre that his dad had built and he rebuilt the current theatre, which is a 1,200 seater, in the early 90s. and do you have any plans for its evolution? well, you have to have an eye for tradition on the past, but you have to keep relevant. it s about putting on fantastic world class, transformative operas. it s about nurturing young talent. that is the same, but if you want to attract the next generation of audiences in, you cannot keep performing in the same way with traditional sets and costumes.
the family tradition was continued by their son, george, and now their grandson, gus, who runs glyndebourne, lives on the grounds with his wife, the celebrated australian american soprano danielle de niese. my dad turned it from being a sort of a country house homespun festival into a world renowned international festival. he knocked down the theatre that his dad had built and he rebuilt the current theatre, which is a 1,200 seater, in the early 905. and do you have any plans for its evolution? well, you have to have an eye for tradition on the past, but you have to keep relevant. it s about putting on fantastic world class, transformative operas. it s about nurturing young talent. that is the same, but if you want to attract the next generation of audiences in, you cannot keep performing
one of the most loved roles in a midsummer night s dream bottom, whose head is titania s love interest, the comic character bottom, whose head is transformed into that of a donkey. this year, it s being performed by american bass baritone brandon seidel. the first time you put on the donkey head, it s a little, it s hot first and foremost, and it s a little overwhelming. but then there s plenty of time to adjust. rehearsing is a joy and it s so exciting to kind of bear witness to what everyone does here. and something that glyndebourne does that i think is fantastic is that every part of the house operates on the highest level. so you feel the energy that the costume designers and the set designers and the wig department and makeup department, everyone wants to do their best. executive chairman gus christie and his team at glyndebourne want to deliver the best. but to do so with an eye to the environment.