New work by the English artist Rachel Kneebone will be exhibited at Glyndebourne Festival 2017, which opens for public booking on 5 March. The London-based artist has created three new sculptures inspired by two of the operas being staged at the Festival this summer - Cavalli’s Hipermestra and a new opera based on Hamlet by composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn.
The exhibition takes place in the third year of a collaboration between
Glyndebourne and White Cube, and is housed in a state-of-the-art gallery
in the Glyndebourne gardens. It will be open to audiences throughout the
Festival which runs from 20 May to 27 August 2017.
Furthermore, an exhibition by Rachel Kneebone including her largest and
most ambitious single installation, 399 Days, can be seen at the
Victoria and Albert Museum from 1 April 2017 until early 2018.
Rachel Kneebone
‘399 Days’
(2012-13), Porcelain and mild steel (540 x 287 x 283 cm). © Rachel Kneebone. Photo © White Cube (Jack Hems).
Rachel Kneebone’s intricate porcelain sculptures address and question the
human condition: taking themes of renewal, transformation, the life cycle
and the experience of inhabiting the body.
Gus Christie, Executive Chairman of Glyndebourne, said: ‘A visit to
Glyndebourne has always been about more than opera, and in recent years
the experience has been further enhanced by exhibitions from some wonderful
artists on the White Cube roster. This year we’re delighted to be
exhibiting sculpture by Rachel Kneebone and I look forward to seeing the
pieces she has created.’
The 2017 Glyndebourne Festival opens with the UK’s first-ever production of Hipermestra, a rarely-performed work by the influential baroque
composer Francesco Cavalli. The team behind the production are director
Graham Vick and William Christie, a pioneer in the rediscovery of baroque
music who will conduct the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Other Festival highlights include the world premiere of a brand new opera
based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the work of Australian composer
Brett Dean and Canadian librettist Matthew Jocelyn. The cast of outstanding
singers includes Allan Clayton, Barbara Hannigan and John Tomlinson.
The third new production of the season is Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito directed by Claus Guth and conducted by
Glyndebourne's Music Director Robin Ticciati.
The season is completed with revivals of Verdi’s La traviata,
Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos.
La Traviata (2014). Photo credit: Richard Hubert Smith.
The Festival can once again be accessed on stage, on screen and online as
part of Glyndebourne’s efforts to make its operas available to broad
audiences. Three Festival productions will be screened in cinemas UK-wide
and broadcast for free online in partnership with Telegraph Media Group.
Public booking for Glyndebourne Festival 2017 opens online at 6.00pm on
Sunday 5 March. Tickets from £10. Visit glyndebourne.com.
Glyndebourne Festival 2017 runs from 20 May - 27 August 2017. View the trailer.