The Festival at Glyndebourne

Why it is on the list

John Christie and Audrey Mildmay opened the Festival at their house near Lewes on 28 May 1934 with Le nozze di Figaro; the present theatre by Michael and Patty Hopkins opened sixty years to the day later.¹ The 2027 Festival runs from 20 May to 29 August: a new Idomeneo under Robin Ticciati with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a new Jenůfa directed by Yaël Farber, a new La cenerentola, and revivals of Carmen and La traviata, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the pit for Carmen and Jenůfa.² Glyndebourne is a charity and the Festival takes no public subsidy.²

The evening is the whole day. The house is 54 miles south of London, and by car the advice is to allow at least two and a half hours from crossing the Thames.³ For opera after dinner in town it is the wrong choice; the autumn season here, September to December, is more informal, with a smart casual dress code.⁴

How to get it

Members book first; public booking for Festival 2027 opens in February 2027.² Book the restaurant with the tickets: Middle & Over Wallop is the fine-dining room, Mildmay serves afternoon tea before and British dishes in the interval, and Nether Wallop serves small plates and a main cooked over coals.⁵ A picnic hamper can be ordered from the house, with a table and chairs set in the garden and a covered place by the auditorium balconies if it rains; covered picnic tables in the marquees can be booked too.⁵

For a party of eight or more, the hospitality team arranges premium tickets, a waiter for drinks and canapés before the performance and interval dining; for a dinner of your own, the Private Dining Experience serves it in the Old Green Room with a private chef and flowers from the gardens. Both are priced on request from hospitality@glyndebourne.com.⁶ Tickets and restaurant bookings go through the Box Office, open Monday to Friday 10.00 to 17.00 and until curtain up on performance days.⁷

Trains from London Victoria reach Lewes in just over an hour, and every performance ends in time for the train back. The £10 return coach from Lewes station leaves about two hours before a Festival performance and must be booked ahead; taxis must be booked both ways, as local cars are few.³

Discretion

The gardens are shared with the whole house for the interval; a party that wants a room to itself takes the Old Green Room with its own host and chef.⁶ Taxis set down and collect at a marked point in the grounds, and there are changing rooms in the Plashett building at the foot of the car park for those arriving in day clothes.³⁴ Black tie is usual at the Festival.⁴