Glyndebourne comes to London

Three operas from Glyndebourne will be broadcast live to the big screen at Somerset House this summer:

• 20 August - Billy Budd (a new Michael Grandage production)
• 21 August - The Rake's Progress (the David Hockney classic)
• 22 August - Hansel and Gretel (the recent Laurent Pelly production)

If you can do without the majesty of the live human voice, it saves the schlep down to Lewes I suppose. On the other hand there are no seats (BYO rug, no chairs allowed) and it's open air ("the screenings will go ahead whatever the weather - come rain or come shine. Please come prepared.").

Tickets are £15 (£10 concessions) and there's a £40 family ticket for Hansel and Gretel. Book online with Ticketmaster.

There's plenty of space at Somerset House, so I would suggest waiting at least until the Proms calendar is unveiled on 22 April before committing.

Comments

[Richard Carter]

No seats, and they have the nerve to charge £15? And I bet there's no catering, either, or if there is it'll be wildly over-priced.

Contrast that with the open-air relay of Tristan to the big screen in Bayreuth last summer: plenty of good seating provided, excellent catering (the sekt was on offer at 3 euros a glass) and what's more, the whole thing was free. Pity the production was so terrible, but you can't have everything, I suppose.

[Ruth]

Oh, I dunno... the ROH public relays are free as well, and presented under similar circumstances. But for a Londoner, £15 is cheaper than the train fare to Lewes - and buying a ticket to Lewes doesn't mean you end up with a seat at the opera when you get there either...