GLYNDEBOURNE, England — Can you do justice to Wagner with only 30 musicians in the orchestra pit because of social distancing?
That was one of countless questions facing the managers of Glyndebourne, an opera house set in idyllic countryside in southern England, as they planned the 2021 summer festival whilst under COVID-19 lockdown.
“The prospect of doing Wagner with an orchestra of only 30 really didn’t seem to make sense,” said Sarah Hopwood, managing director of Glyndebourne, recounting discussions about whether to go ahead with a production of “Tristan und Isolde”.
Instead, a bigger orchestra will sit on stage, which has more space than the pit, and the principal sing…
Keep on reading: Wagner with half an orchestra? An English festival’s thorny COVID choices