Glyndebourne gave its 2026 Festival to two operas the house had never staged, Tosca and L'Orfeo, alongside Ariadne auf Naxos and three returning productions.
Glyndebourne’s 2026 Festival opened at Glyndebourne, under the South Downs outside Lewes in East Sussex, on Thursday 21 May 2026 and ran to Sunday 30 August. Its summer rested on two operas the house had never staged.
Ted Huffman directed Glyndebourne’s first Tosca, Puccini’s opera of political terror and desire, with Caitlin Gotimer in the title role. Robin Ticciati, the house’s Music Director, conducted his first Puccini there.
William Kentridge made his Glyndebourne debut with Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, composed in 1607 and among opera’s founding works. Krystian Adam sang the title role under Jonathan Cohen.
Laurent Pelly directed the third new production, Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, with Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Ariadne. Three revivals completed the programme: Mariame Clément’s Il turco in Italia from 2021, Michael Grandage’s Billy Budd from 2010, and David McVicar’s 2015 staging of Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
The Festival kept its long dinner interval, when guests picnic in the gardens or dine in the restaurants, and raised the curtain early to allow for it.
Tosca closed the season on 30 August, with the final performances of Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Ariadne auf Naxos in the same last week.