London - Gustave Flaubert named Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the sea as ‘the three finest things God ever made’.
If you were looking for a fourth thing to add to that list, you might easily nominate Glyndebourne, the sublime opera house buried deep in the Sussex countryside near Lewes (and which is currently staging Don Giovanni in its repertoire).
For 80 years, a visit to Glyndebourne - with its extended interval for a leisurely picnic in the glorious grounds - has been a great British tradition.
It has long been a key part of the London “Season” (placing it alongside Royal Ascot, Trooping the Colour, the Henley Regatta and Wimbledon). Performances start in the late afternoon so that Londoners can catch a handy post-lunch train to Sussex. And the opera finishes in plenty of time for the last train home.
Like the majority of “Season” events, Glyndebourne is an occasion to see and be seen – so the chance to dress up in your finery should not be missed.
You may well be thinking, however, that opera is not your thing, particularly with tickets costing up to £200 each. Well, you may want to reconsider.
While there were people arriving in Rolls-Royces for a performance earlier this month, there were plenty of others (like me) splashing out on a rare summer treat, taking the opportunity to rub shoulders with high society, and sip a glass or two of champagne in the afternoon sunshine.
If you’re making the journey to deepest Sussex, my advice would be to make a mini-break of it - stay in a nearby grand hotel, such as Ashdown Park, which will happily supply a picnic for you to enjoy during the interval.
At the end of the Mozart opera (spoiler alert!), evil Don Giovanni is dragged to hell. But choose a night at this opera house and you will have been dragged straight to heaven.
* The Ashdown Park Hotel (ashdownpark.com) offers a summer getaway package which includes complimentary Sussex cream tea on arrival, a three-course dinner and bed-and-breakfast accommodation package from £135 per person per night. The hotel is also hosting forest picnics throughout the summer from £19.50 per person. The opera season continues at Glyndebourne (glyndebourne.com) until August 24 – tickets are available from £95.
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