Glyndebourne: Treats of the 2008 season

Danielle de Niese shot to fame at Glyndebourne singing Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare. She opens the festival in a new production of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea © Mike Hoban

Danielle de Niese

De Niese shot to fame at Glyndebourne singing Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare. The youthful soprano's exotic beauty and virtuoso technique mark her out as being on her way to the very top. She performed at the Brit Awards last week and her special association with Glyndebourne extends to being the partner of proprietor Gus Christie. This year she opens the festival in a new production of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea.

Maija Kovalevska

The young Latvian makes her Glyndebourne debut next week in Eugene Onegin. She's fast building a trail of super credentials in lyric soprano roles: she's sung Micaela in Carmen at the Met in New York and Mimi in La Bohème in Barcelona. With her pure voice and delicate appearance, she seems born to sing Tchaikovsky's Tatiana.

Adriana Kucerova

Slovakian mezzo-soprano Adriana Kucerova is familiar to Glyndebourne through its touring opera, with which she appeared in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore last autumn. Reviewing her, The Independent's critic reported that "star quality twinkled through every provocation". She sings Gretel in the new production of Hänsel und Gretel.

Massimo Giordano

A classic Italian tenor with a rich tone and powerful upper register, Giordano makes his Glyndebourne debut as Lensky in Eugene Onegin. Up-and-coming among the romantic heroes, he's appeared as Rodolfo in La Bohème, Cavaradossi in Tosca and Alfredo in La Traviata. Recently, he made waves in Verdi's Requiem in London with the LPO and Vladimir Jurowski.