[lit-ideas] Audrey Mildray -- The Mystery Behind Her

In a message dated 3/24/2009 7:10:20 P.M.  Eastern Daylight Time, 
ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
My current  recommendation--which was going to wait for Geary's  
return, but as  Moses knew, fine reads wait for no man--is  Tony  
Hawks, "Round  Ireland with a Fridge."
----  


My current recommendation is 
 
Blunt,
"John Christie, of Glyndebourne".
The book itself is rather on the bore side, with apologies to George and  Gus 
(Christie's son and grandson respectively).
But the panorama the book paints on Audrey Mildray is exquisite.
She _was_ a 'moderate' soprano, as John told his mama:
 
     "Mother,
      I fell in love with a moderate  soprano"
 
----
 
Anyway, the root of the music in Christie was due to a woman who rented  
rooms of his Glyndebourne, from what I understood.
It was when he was 48 that he met, via this lady, I think, Audrey Mildray  -- 
and the rest 
is the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
 
The book makes heavy read for those who don't care (as I don't) for inner  
politics at Covent Garden. But indeed it seems Christie's was a campaign 
against 
 the Establishment as he saw it. Agate and many other critics would not take  
Glyndebourne seriously -- why would they. Londoners are known to be 
parochial.  Agate is especially hurting in his letter to The Times ("I'm more 
accustomed to  orange peels than orange groves, sorry; and I do find Mozart's 
operas  
boring").
 
Christie was a darling -- an inegenu, etc. -- His first official season was  
1934 and I have to find a checklist of all the seasons up to the present one.  
This season, which is the 75th Anniversary, has some interesting schedules. 
Gus  Christie has written a good 'editorial', entitled, "Surprisingly".
 
-----
 
Audrey took part of the first productions, which was mainly Mozart.
Then came the war ('phoney') and the reopening.
The 'stagione' continued except for 1992, when the season was posponed for  
refurbishment of the theatre (or 'house').
 
I indeed collect DVDs of Glyndebourne productions and find them very good.  
The Glyndebourne Rossini "Ermione" for example is a jewel. For who else but The 
 Glyndebournites would care to revive this delight of opera seria?
 
--------
 
Etc. Mildray is partly interred in Sussex (Glyndebourne) and partly in  
Devon. Christie's memorial was at Westminster. 
 
Cheers,
 
J. L. Speranza
    Buenos Aires, Argentina; etc. 
 
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