Opera Scotland

Così fan tutte 1949Glyndebourne Opera

Read more about the opera Così fan tutte

The repertoire for the 1949 Glyndebourne programme at Edinburgh involved a repeat of the successful Così fan tutte - a typical Glyndebourne offering, with seven performances.   The second choice, with no fewer than eleven performances, was Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, a work that has scarcely featured in the company's repertoire since - nor has it been seen at the Festival.

The success of the previous year's run of Così prompted an immediate repeat, with Gui returning as well as two of the singers, the Swiss soprano Suzanne Danco, and the Moldovan tenor Petre Munteanu.  He returned to Scotland as a veteran half a century later, singing Cavaradossi and Canio with the Ellen Kent organisation.  The Bosnian soprano Sena Jurinac made a notable debut, becoming an instant favourite.  The Australian baritone John Brownlee was the regular Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva at Glyndebourne in the thirties, and had sung Alfonso there in 1938.  This was his last season with the company.