Glyndebourne - The Present Theatre

The Present Theatre

By the late 1980s the theatre's expansion, which had proceeded in a somewhat piecemeal fashion, included an agglomeration of outbuildings which housed restaurants, dressing rooms, storage and other facilities. It became clear to George Christie that a completely new theatre - and not just an enlargement of the old one - was necessary. Having chosen the architect Michael Hopkins of Hopkins Architects in a design competition, Christie announced in 1990 that a new theatre, capable of seating 1,200 people, would be constructed in 1992.

The old theatre hosted its last festival in 1992, and construction of a brand-new theatre was under way. It was completed at a cost of some £34 million, 90 per cent of which was raised through donations, so giving the donors control over 28 per cent of the seats. The inaugural performance in the new theatre on 28 May 1994, given sixty years to the day after the old theatre's first performance, was once again Le nozze di Figaro.

The design of the theatre, a large brick oval building, has resulted in a four-level, horseshoe-shaped auditorium with main level seating, two balconies, and a gallery topped with a circular roof. The over sixty-foot-high stage building is semi-circular in shape and allows for the efficient flying and storage of scenery.

The acoustics, by Derek Sugden and Rob Harris of Arup Acoustics, have been widely acclaimed.

Sales of festival tickets have always been high, but in the 2011 season a new record was set with 99.3 percent of all tickets sold. In the same season, two operas were relayed live online via The Guardian's website, reaching 40,000 viewers worldwide.