Brett Dean's Hamlet

“Glyndebourne’s latest commission is unmissable — this is the operatic event of the year.” —The Sunday Times

Shakespeare's plays are quite literally the stuff operas are made of—more than three hundred operas have been inspired by his works—but some of his plays have lent themselves more easily to opera than others. Hamlet, with its tortuously dark plot and twisted characters, has proved to be a particular challenge—that is, until now!This summer, Glyndebourne presents Australian composer Brett Dean's newest contribution to the Shakespearean opera canon: a Hamlet whose many-layered music weaves long vocal lines with repetitive rhythmic figures and electronics. The libretto is based entirely on Shakespeare's text, although it occasionally redistributes lines among characters, including the famed 'To be, or not to be' soliloquy. The cast features stars at the top of their vocal game, with tenor Allan Clayton—whose "slow-burning intensity carries the tragedy to the bitter, grisly end" (The Guardian)—at the center of it all as Hamlet. The London Philharmonic performs brilliantly under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski, at Glyndebourne for the first time since he handed over his music directorship there four years ago.

“A magnificent new opera... don’t miss it!” —The Times

Photo: Richard Hubert Smith © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd.