Glyndebourne on Tour has announced its programme for autumn 2011. Three productions – Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Puccini’s La bohème and Handel’s Rinaldo – will tour the UK from October 8, taking in six regional venues. Once again, the tour is led by Jakub Hrůša, now in his second year as music director.

Hrůša conducted an exuberant Don Giovanni on last year’s tour, and has impressed critics with his high level of musicianship and ability to galvanise the forces around him. The 30-year-old Czech conductor, who studied with the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Jiří Bělohlávek, is also music director of the Prague Philharmonia and principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.

Hrůša follows in the footsteps of Robin Ticciati, whose long association with Glyndebourne on Tour led to his promotion, announced earlier this year, to music director of the main festival from 2014. For Hrůša, however, the focus remains on the music: “Every year, Glyndebourne on Tour presents three operas, and it’s always been the right of the music director to perform the one closest to his heart,” he told Gramophone. “That is definitely the case with La bohème for me, which I think is one of the most universal pieces of theatre of all time. La bohème was Puccini’s first masterpiece, and the composer was on his truest terms with it…just on the edge of sentiment but always saved from kitsch by his genuine art. The story that Puccini worked out musically is pure theatre which pulls everyone in. Above all, David McVicar’s production makes it even more powerful.”

Since its inaugural tour in 1968, Glyndebourne’s touring company has grown in reputation, due in particular to the opportunities it gives to young singers; great artists spotted early in their careers include Thomas Allen, Gerald Finley and Philip Langridge. But the focus of the touring company remains the same as it ever was: to make the work of the Glyndebourne Festival accessible to audiences throughout the country.

Since 1998, contemporary opera has been a priority, leading to a number of new commissions including Harrison Birtwistle’s The Second Mrs Kong in 1994 and Jonathan Dove’s Flight in 1998. In 1986, an education department was established to complement the activities of Glyndebourne on Tour. Still flourishing 15 years on, the department is responsible for this year’s Performances for Schools, Opera Experience and Opera Land schemes. The latter, launched last year, is designed to help children discover more about opera.