Glyndebourne comes to MK Gallery
Member News
A new chamber opera, glass human,
that has its world premiere at Glyndebourne this autumn, will be performed in the intimate setting of MK Gallery’s Sky Room on Saturday 5 November.
To stage a live operatic performance is a first for the Gallery and its visitors. This privilege is made even more significant as it one of only five venues in the UK selected to host glass human.
Starring three soloists and members of the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra, glass human was created by composer Samantha Fernando and writer and sound artist Melanie Wilson and is being staged by director Lucy Bailey and designer Joanna Parker.
The two performances – 2pm, 4pm – at MK Gallery are timed so that audience members can move next door to MK Theatre ahead of Glyndebourne’s mainstage opera, Puccini’s La bohème. Those attending at 2pm will have the added delight of a post-performance talk with composer, Samantha Fernando.
glass human is 45-minute performance about three isolated voices finding their way towards each other, charting a journey from emotional and social fragmentation to connection and meaning. Rooted in three contemporary experiences of loneliness – a young woman finding her identity, a refugee searching for stability and an older man living with grief and cognitive decline – the work explores the forces that separate us from each other and the threads we follow to join back together again. All the characters are fictitious but informed by real people who the creative team met during their research for the piece.
Composer Samantha Fernando said: ‘The characters reflect three very different experiences of loneliness but also a shared desire to connect with another person. That’s something they are all striving for, something we can all relate to, I think.’
Scored for viola, cello, accordion, harp and percussion, glass human will be performed by five musicians from the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra who appear on stage alongside three soloists – soprano Anna Cavaliero, mezzo-soprano Camille Malady and bass Stephen Bowen. Performances will be conducted by Ashley Beauchamp.
To book tickets
Glyndebourne: Glass Human Tickets | Milton Keynes Theatre in Milton Keynes | ATG Tickets
And there’s even more opera to be enjoyed at the Gallery – for free. On Wednesday 2 November ahead of the evening performance of La bohème at Milton Keynes Theatre, players from Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra’s Pit Perfect Talent Development Scheme will bring an informal programme of instrumental music to the Sky Room.
Pit Perfect is Glyndebourne’s development scheme for young professional instrumentalists. All Pit Perfect players are recent conservatoire or university graduates seeking professional experience, vital to their development. The scheme is unique in the UK in offering these young professionals paid opera orchestra experience for up to three months during the autumn months.
Visitors will be able to enjoy a light lunch in the Gallery Café before enjoying this special, intimate musical performance by musicians at the beginning of their careers.
To book tickets
