Glyndebourne Kicks Off 49th Tour at the Marlowe Theatre

The 49th consecutive Glyndebourne Tour is preparing to hit the road, with The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury its first stop.

This year's three productions are Mozart's comedy Così fan tutte, Rossini's vibrant IL Barbiere di Siviglia, and Brett Dean's critically-acclaimed new opera of Hamlet, Glyndebourne's five-star smash of the summer festival.

On the tour, which runs from the end of this month until early December, some 11,350 miles will be travelled in 13 "Megacube" lorries with 24/7 transportation and setup. There are 210 performers, 140 musicians, 100 production staff and technicians (from Glyndebourne and each venue), 92 boxes of makeup including 30 litres of blood (for Hamlet alone) and 25 litres of white make up powder (again, for Hamlet alone - the cast are made up with ghostly white faces).

Glyndebourne's Head of Makeup Sarah Piper explained: "Hamlet in particular requires blood, and lots of it - we've got no less than six characters bloodied by the end. We have spent a lot of time perfecting our own formula, suitable for stage and convincing for the audience. Each litre takes three hours to prepare. Also, given the spectacular design of this production by Set Designer Ralph Myers and Costume Designer Alice Babidge, we are transporting 25 litres of white make-up powder. A huge amount, but the results are stunning!"

Dave Turner, Head of Stage at Glyndebourne added: "The Glyndebourne Tour is one of the biggest touring arts companies in the UK - a large operation that requires a huge commitment from all of the teams involved. Technical and production staff service the tour around the clock, with scenery from each production loaded onto lorries immediately after each performance, making way for our next performance."

The hard work and dedication to maintaining Glyndebourne's exacting production standards, whilst ensuring the performances are as accessible and affordable to audiences as possible, has resulted in Glyndebourne being awarded a further four years of Tour funding by the Arts Council.

In June it was confirmed that Glyndebourne will continue to receive £1,629,055 per year in funding from Arts Council England (ACE) for the period of 2018-22. This will cover around 30 per cent of the projected annual costs of Glyndebourne Tour.

In Glyndebourne Tour tradition, the bright young stars of opera are brought to the fore and given the chance to shine in leading roles. This year British tenor David Butt Philip, a former Jerwood Young Artist and winner of the 2011 John Christie Award, steps up to perform the title role in Brett Dean's Hamlet, having previously sung the role of Laertes in the hugely-acclaimed premiere of the same production in June this year.

Performing opposite him as Ophelia is British soprano Jennifer France who was shortlisted in the Young Singer category at the 2017 International Opera Awards.

Glyndebourne Tour 2017 is at The Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday 31 October to Friday 3 November. For performance details and to book tickets, call the Box Office on 01227 787787, or go to marlowetheatre.com.