Glyndebourne Festival Illustrations 2018

Background

Since 1934, Glyndebourne Manor House near Lewes, in East Sussex, England has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

In the 1930s, John Christie and Audrey Mildmay built a theatre with a 300-seat auditorium and an orchestra pit capable of holding a symphony orchestra. A brand new 1,200-seat theatre was built in the 1990s.

The Glyndebourne Festival takes place Each summer from May to August. Their programme consists of around 6 world-class operas per season. A key part of the Glyndebourne Festival experience is their 90-minute interval – a chance to enjoy a picnic in the gardens.

The Illustrations

Glyndebourne Festival Illustrations 2018 – Painted Collage – Shadric Toop

Shadric Toop was commissioned to create a set of six images for the marketing campaign for the 2018 Festival. Previously, Glyndebourne primarily used stage photography to promote its operas. This was the first time each opera on the festival schedule was to have its own illustration.

The final illustrations were created by over-painting collages with oil paint. The images were used inside the Glyndebourne Festival 2018 brochure and on the website.

This over-painted collage illustration style was subsequently recommissioned for two more seasons; the 2019 Festival and Tour and the 2020 Festival and Tour. The 2020 season was ultimately shelved due to the pandemic.

Included in the 2018 set are the following operas:

Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)

Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)

Giulio Cesare (George Frideric Handel)

Pelléas et Mélisande (Claude Debussy)

Saul (George Frideric Handel)

Vanessa (Samuel Barber)

Glyndebourne Festival Illustrations 2018 – The Client’s Response

‘Shadric was creative and inspiring in his interpretation of our brief. He worked very closely with us to create the images we wanted – and produced real works of art. He delivered everything on time and was a joy to work with.’

Karen Anderson
Head of Content Production, Glyndebourne

Full image credits
Madama Butterfly: painted collage by Shadric Toop, original photography by Clive Barda
Der Rosenkavalier: painted collage by Shadric Toop, original photography by Bill Cooper
Giulio Cesare: painted collage by Shadric Toop, original photography by Tristram Kenton
Pelléas et Mélisande: original photography and painted collage by Shadric Toop
Saul: painted collage by Shadric Toop, original photography by Bill Cooper
Vanessa: painted collage by Shadric Toop, original photography in public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Brochure design: originally by Ned Campbell, 2018 update by Fenton & Partners
Glyndebourne website design by Made Media