New work inspired by Dame Vera Lynn tours Sussex care homes

The tour will conclude with a visit to New Tyne in Worthing on Thursday, November 21.

Spokeswoman Eleanor Crawforth said: “Glyndebourne has a long history of undertaking music projects within the community, particularly those supporting people who have a diagnosis of dementia. This autumn, it is extending its acclaimed Good Company initiative, which takes professional opera singers and orchestral musicians into care facilities for interactive sessions with residents and staff.”

Comprising a Glyndebourne singer and five instrumentalists from the Glyndebourne Sinfonia, it is the largest tour to care homes and day centres since the initiative was launched in 2021. The musicians are performing a new work, Sincerely Yours, inspired by the letters sent to Dame Vera Lynn during the period in which she hosted her long-running BBC radio show of the same name. The show, which began in 1941, went out on the BBC World Service every Sunday night for the duration of the war and became hugely popular with soldiers overseas, who sent in up to 2,000 song requests every week.

Directed by Fiona Dunn, the piece follows the life of one special listener, Sam, in a series of imagined letters sent in to the Sincerely Yours radio show between 1967–2024. The letters are interspersed with performances of operatic highlights which may be familiar to care home residents, including Carmen’s Habanera aria, The Drinking Song (Brindisi) from Verdi’s La traviata, Delibes’ Flower Duet and Puccini’s O mio babbino caro.

Mezzo soprano and member of the Glyndebourne Chorus Rachel Roper performs the role of Dame Vera Lynn and sings the operatic highlights. The five professional instrumentalists (playing cello, violin, flute, oboe and percussion) become The Glyndebourne Radio Orchestra, inspired by the house band of the Sincerely Yours radio show.

The piece also features a new original song, Write Me a Letter, by composer Lucy Armstrong and librettist Hazel Gould. Armstrong is a participant of Balancing the Score, Glyndebourne’s talent development programme for emerging composers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in the world of opera. The care home sessions culminate in a rousing performance of some of Dame Vera Lynn’s most popular songs, including We’ll Meet Again. Residents are encouraged to sing along and play instruments alongside the Glyndebourne musicians.

Venues include Parris Lawn care home in Ringmer, Romans care home in Southwick and Clifden House in Seaford. The tour also sees a full-day session at Glyndebourne for local people living with dementia run by Raise Your Voice, a longstanding former Glyndebourne initiative which has now become an independent charity based in Lewes. Further visits include care homes Burleys Wood and Greensleeves in Crawley and Seaview Nursing Home in St Leonards-on-Sea and Old Hastings House in Hastings, plus a session at Age Concern Eastbourne and a visit to Orchardown Residential and Convalescent Home, also in Eastbourne. A performance at Rookwood Care Home in Burgess Hill is also planned.

Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones said: “When I first heard about this project I was really delighted. It's amazing how people with dementia react to music and will remember songs when they literally can't remember anything else. I am so pleased to be able to support this wonderful show and know that it will be a huge success.”