Glyndebourne Festival [key], opera festival given each summer since 1934 on the estate of John Christie at Glyndebourne, near Lewes, Sussex, England. The festival is known for its elegant setting and the formal dress of its listeners, who picnic on surrounding lawns. The productions, under the directorship of Fritz Busch, were suspended in 1938 and resumed after the end of World War II in 1947. After Busch's death, Vittorio Gui directed the festival (1951–63). Since then, musical directors have been John Pritchard (1964–77), Bernard Haitink (1978–88), Sir Andrew Davis (1989–2000), Vladimir Jurowski (2001–13), and Robin Ticciati (2014–). A new 1,200-seat auditorium replaced the smaller old hall in 1994.
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