LONDON — A British opera institution known for black tie picnics hopes to draw in a new generation by staging a "hiphopera," a reworking of Mozart's melodies set to sampled drum beats and pulsing bass lines.
Glyndebourne, which has staged operas for more than 70 years on a country estate in East Sussex, aims to shed its exclusive image with a modern twist on Mozart's Così fan tutte, The Guardian reported Monday [August 15].
Tickets for the production, which is expected to open in March, will start at £5 (7 euros; US$9), the newspaper said. Normally, Glyndebourne tickets can cost up to £155 (225 euros; US$280) each.
"Mozart was young himself and Così's themes, about two young men testing their lovers' fidelity, are constant, " Katie Teale, the head of Glyndebourne's education department was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Glyndebourne spokeswoman Emma Whelan said she would not discuss the production until October, after details were finalized.
The new production of Così fan tutte, often translated as "All women are like that," has been provisionally titled "School4Lovers" and will be a co-production with German and Finnish companies, The Guardian said. There are plans to tour Finland, Germany and the Baltic states, the report said.
The opera's setting will shift from 18th-century Naples to an inner-city London public housing estate and the main characters will be roadies embarking on a rap tour instead of soldiers headed for war, The Guardian said.
"Glyndebourne education has done some excellent work in the past and I'm sure this project won't turn out to be as gimmicky or simplistic as it might sound," Opera magazine's Deputy Editor Erica Jeal told The Associated Press.
Glyndebourne is known for picnics in the gardens during opera intervals, or intermissions — and patrons in formal attire, sipping Pimms with smoked salmon. During the "hiphopera," however, opera-goers can watch graffiti artists and breakdancers.
"We want to have the place jumping," hip hop producer Charlie Parker, who is one of the production's creative consultants, was quoted as saying by The Sunday Times. "Traditional British people have to start re-examining themselves and their culture in terms of addressing the new age."
