Welsh opera singer flies to Sussex in helicopter to save show

An opera singer was flown hundreds of miles from west Wales to the south of England to save a show after a tenor and his understudy fell ill.

Adam Gilbert got the call at midday on Tuesday for a show that evening.

It meant the Welsh freelancer had to get to Glyndebourne, East Sussex, from Ceredigion - 280 miles (450km) away.

The opera house decided to charter a helicopter, which landed with just minutes to spare for the production of Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers.

Adam, 33, from Cenarth, had rehearsed in April for the production at Glyndebourne Festival 2022.

But with Rodrigo Porras Garulo playing the role of Marc, he never expected to make the stage.

"I certainly didn't expect this when I woke up yesterday morning," he said.

His plan had been to take his three-year-old son to see the seals at Cardigan Island before the urgent call came from Glyndebourne asking if he could "drop everything and get on my way".

With the railways out of action due to strike action, he got in the car and made it to Bristol when the opera house called back to say a helicopter would be waiting for him in Bath.

"I've never been in a helicopter before," he said.

"I was just trying to keep calm and chilled rather than getting worked up because being stressed makes [singing] harder.

He said the first act was already under way, with Rodrigo doing his best to sing, when he arrived.

"It was a very bizarre... with my bag running over a field. A bit like Tom Cruise... but actually more like Mr Bean."

He said freelance singers had to "live in the moment " so he put on his suit, had a quick warm up and a sandwich, then he was on stage.

"Considering the situation and I happy with how it went."

"It was one of those evenings," said Glyndebourne's artistic director Stephen Langridge.

"Talk about the show must go on."

He said operas normally have just one understudy, but with Covid infections still around and the fact The Wreckers is known to very few singers, he decided to get the "extra insurance".

"We were all over Google Maps wondering when he would arrive," Mr Langridge said.

"When it was clear he wouldn't make it we chartered the helicopter to pick him up.

"The promo beneath our name is 'no ordinary opera' which can be hard to live up to sometimes, but [last night] was certainly not ordinary, not one to forget."

He said the rail strike meant many audience members had spent hours driving to the show, so cancelling was "not an option".

"So nobody questioned [the helicopter charter], nobody got out their calculators, we said 'we just have to do it'.

"If they made a movie, they'd have to call it Topgun Tenor."