“Or not to be”: Hamlet revived for Glyndebourne’s tour

By Mark Pullinger, 22 October 2017

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“David Butt Philip charted the descent from sardonic heir to clown prince mesmerically”

Reviewed at Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne on 21 October 2017

Dean, Hamlet

Glyndebourne Autumn

Duncan Ward, Conductor

Neil Armfield, Director

David Butt Philip, Hamlet

Jennifer France, Ophelia

Louise Winter, Gertrude

William Dazeley, Claudius

Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Polonius

Ru Charlesworth, Laertes

Rupert Enticknap, Rosencrantz

James Hall, Guildenstern

Gavan Ring, Horatio

Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Ghost of Old Hamlet, Gravedigger, Player 1

John Findon, Player 2

Anthony Osborne, Player 3

Glyndebourne Sinfonia

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Miloš Milivojević, Accordion

The Railway Children becomes a pacy action thriller at Glyndebourne

Nick Boston, 30th October

Mark-Anthony Turnage and Rachael Hewer update Edith Nesbit’s children's novel as a spy action thriller, with an exciting score and a strong cast of singers.

****1

Glyndebourne’s iconic Dream approaches its century

Eleanor Knight, 12th October

Sir Peter Hall's classic staging of Britten's Shakespearean comedy nears a landmark moment in Glyndebourne’s autumn season.

****1

Elisa Verzier commands Tom Cairns’ iconic Traviata at Glyndebourne

Eleanor Knight, 13th October

Elisa Verzier, making her Glyndebourne debut, is astonishing as Violetta in a revival of Tom Cairns' 2014 production.

****1

Dazzling revival of Il turco in Italia at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 12th October

A revival of Mariame Clément's production of Rossini's less-loved comic gem provides the sense of Italian sun to warm the body and belly laughs to warm the soul.

****1

Confusion clouds any central critique in Clément's Don Giovanni

Nick Boston, 12th November

Strong musical performances in a flawed and confused production revived for the autumn season at Glyndebourne.

***11

Another joyful return for Glyndebourne's fizzy Elisir d'amore

Nick Boston, 11th November

Strong solo and ensemble singing from a solid cast – with a last minute addition for Act 2 – make for a joyful revival of this much-loved production.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

“Or not to be”: dislocated Shakespeare as Brett Dean’s Hamlet is revived for Glyndebourne’s tour