‘GLYNDEBOURNE IS A MAGICAL PLACE’
Jules Crocker, 69, lives near Glyndebourne, East Sussex, and is front-of-house manager for the famous opera house. Jules has four grown-up children and seven grandchildren.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Glyndebourne Festival, which sees classic and modern operas brought to life on the site of the Grade Ii-listed country house. My team and I host 1,200 guests for each performance – 90,000 in total every summer.
The guests in their finery usually arrive a few hours before curtain up, so late afternoon at Glyndebourne is quite a scene. Whether it’s strolling in the fragrant rose gardens, enjoying the amazing art gallery, popping champagne corks by the lake, indulging in a cream tea or relaxing with a picnic, it is a true feast for the senses.
Performances start at around 5pm, with a 90-minute dining break, when guests can dine in one of our fabulous restaurants or socialise al fresco in the gardens. Some go all out with damask tablecloths and the best glassware, but I rather like to see folk just lying on a rug with a sandwich.
I joined Glyndebourne as an assistant stage manager 46 years ago, and I have run the front-of-house team for the last 30 years. Our aim is to make the Glyndebourne experience as special as possible, which is not too tricky – it’s a magical place.
There are always unexpected challenges, from fixing guests’ broken heels to sourcing lost trousers or shooing curious sheep away. Once, one of our leading ladies fell off the stage into the orchestra on top of the cellist!
The London Philharmonic Orchestra accompanies many of the operas with as many as 80 musicians. It’s quite a spectacle, as some individual operas also involve over 100 singers, performers, animals and children all on stage. The Glyndebourne Festival is run by Gus Christie, whose grandfather,
John, finished building the opera house in 1934 adjoining his family home. There is still a real family feel to the place. You don’t need to be an opera buff – from curious teens to loyal regulars in their 80s and 90s, everyone is welcome.
✢ Glyndebourne Festival runs from 16 May to 25 August. For tickets, visit glyndebourne.com
‘Some operas involve over 100 singers, performers and children’
Francesca Hegyi OBE, 51, lives in Leith, Edinburgh, and is the chief executive of the Edinburgh International Festival.
Seeing extraordinary musicians, dancers, singers and performers from all over the world in my home town of Edinburgh every August gives me an overwhelming sense of pride. With over 50 nations from six continents arriving for the International Festival this year, the city will become a true cultural melting pot. I’m honoured to play a part in organising this joyful event, which has been running since 1947.
Together with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the film, art and book festivals, there are six major arts festivals running concurrently in Edinburgh in August. You can almost touch the creative energy. Music is playing everywhere, the bars and restaurants open out onto the streets and there’s a real buzz in the air. You can enjoy everything from military bands to modern dance, ballet to book readings, opera to late-night comedy.
It’s so wonderful to welcome 3.5 million visitors every year.
Since violinist Nicola Benedetti became our festival director in October 2022, we’ve been working hard to open up new ways of accessing classical music, and we invite thousands of students from local primary schools to come along.
This year will be the sixth festival I’ve worked on. A key part of my role is making it all look seamless. Little do people know what’s going on behind the scenes! My dad often jokes that I must take the rest of the year off after August, but actually it’s busy all year round – we’re already looking at options for 2027.
For me, the magic is the unexpected discoveries you can make. This year, guests can watch concerts from beanbags in the Usher Hall. Later, it will be transformed into a 17th-century English tavern, complete with sea shanties and folk favourites for The Alehouse Sessions.
I love spending the three weeks of the festival walking around our 15 venues. A typical day usually tops 20,000 steps for me, but I always make sure to be in the Queen’s Hall at 11am for the oasis of calm that is the chamber music series.
The range and breadth of arts and culture in Edinburgh in August has to be seen to be believed – it just can’t be replicated anywhere else.
✢ The Edinburgh International Festival runs from 2-25 August. For tickets, visit eif.co.uk
‘Music is playing everywhere in the city – there’s a real buzz in the air’