The Glyndebourne Festival was in abeyance for the duration of the war, but some operations did continue, with a number of regular performers taking part in this national tour of The Beggar's Opera. The edition used was the hugely successful one created twenty years earlier by Frederic Austin for the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, where it had enjoyed a long run and a national tour. Here, with the threat of air raids ensuring a programme note with salutary warnings, eight performances were given, including three matinees - perhaps school parties were treated to the show.
Roy Henderson sang in several early Glyndebourne seasons, and Audrey Mildmay, Mrs John Christie, had been the driving force behind her husband's establishment of the Glyndebourne Festival in 1934. She is also frequently credited with originating the idea of the Edinburgh Festival - perhaps this was the visit that inspired her. Constance Willis was another old Glyndebourne hand, and this must have been one of her last engagements, as she died later that year, still in her forties. Joseph Farrington, the Lockit, had been a member of the Covent Garden company in 1936, singing Wotan, among other roles on tour.
The great names of London theatre were also involved. The show was directed by John Gielgud, using designs from the famed Motley studio. Macheath was played by another great actor, Michael Redgrave, who also possessed a serviceable light baritone voice, highly appropriate for this role.
The cast is from a programme in the Edinburgh City Library.
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