Barrie Kosky’s highly anticipated new production of Poulenc’s devastatingly powerful opera
Dialogues des Carmélites will premiere at the 2023 Glyndebourne Festival. It was
originally scheduled to appear at the event in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, Dialogues des Carmélites tells a
compelling true story of religious martyrdom and follows the struggles of a young woman
faced with a harrowing decision. A classic of twentieth-century opera, Poulenc’s achievement
is made all the more astonishing by the fact that it was his only full-length opera.
Glyndebourne’s first-ever production of Dialogues des Carmélites will open on 10 June
2023 and is the first new production by Barrie Kosky at the opera house since his landmark
production of Handel’s Saul in 2015. Glyndebourne’s Music Director Robin Ticciati (pictured) conducts
the London Philharmonic Orchestra and an exciting ensemble cast led by British soprano
Sally Matthews as Blanche de la Force.
Stephen Langridge, Artistic Director of Glyndebourne, said: ‘The cancellation of
the 2020 Festival left us with a queue of excellent productions, built and ready to go, but
having to wait for their moment. We were determined to get them back in our schedules as
soon as possible, so I’m delighted that Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites finally arrives on
stage this summer. The combination of Robin Ticciati, who continues his deep exploration of
French music, and Barrie Kosky, with his unique theatricality and intelligence, delving
together into this powerful, ultimately tragic story, promises an operatic experience not to be
missed.’
Opening the 2023 Glyndebourne Festival on 19 May is a new production of Mozart’s Don
Giovanni. Working together with conductor Evan Rogister, director Mariame
Clément applies her incisive, probing approach and humour to this most complex of
works. The production will examine the idea and experience of seduction and the model of
masculinity presented by the mythical figure of Don Giovanni, who will be portrayed by
Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsk .
The works of Mozart have been at the heart of Glyndebourne repertoire since the inception
of the Festival and this will be the company’s seventh production of Don Giovanni since its
first appearance at the venue in 1936.
The third new production of the 2023 season, opening on 23 July, is Handel’s dramatic
oratorio Semele, among the most popular of the composer’s stage-works.
In its first-ever Glyndebourne staging, Semele will be directed by the acclaimed Welsh
director Adele Thomas, making her Glyndebourne debut. In recent years, Glyndebourne has
forged an impressive reputation for delivering fresh and memorable productions of works by
Handel, with successes including Theodora, Rodelinda, Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo and Saul.
Czech conductor and baroque music specialist Václav Luks will make his Glyndebourne
debut leading the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. American soprano Joélle Harvey
takes the virtuoso title role, alongside British mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston as Juno and
British tenor Stuart Jackson as Jupiter.
The 2023 season also sees the return of two of the most iconic and long-running productions
in Glyndebourne history. Peter Hall’s magical staging of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, a fixture in the Glyndebourne repertoire since its premiere in 1981, will see Finnish
conductor Dalia Stasevska make her Glyndebourne debut leading the London Philharmonic
Orchestra and a cast that includes Tim Mead (Oberon), Liv Redpath (Tytania) and Brandon
Cedel (Bottom).
Also returning is John Cox’s much-loved 1975 production of Stravinksy’s The Rake’s
Progress, featuring iconic stage designs by David Hockney. The opera will be conducted by
Robin Ticciati and among the cast is New Zealand tenor Thomas Atkins as Tom Rakewell,
British soprano Louise Alder as Ann Trulove and British bass baritone Sam Carl as the
devilish Nick Shadow.
Completing the Festival lineup is a revival of Annabel Arden’s colourful and sunny 2007
production of Donizetti’s great romantic comedy L’elisir d’amore, conducted by British
conductor Ben Gernon and starring British soprano Nardus Williams as the feisty Adina and
Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan as her admirer Nemorino.
Glyndebourne Festival 2023 runs from 19 May – 27 August 2023
