The Oscar-winning actress, 62, took to the Park Stage at midday on Saturday with Richter and his musicians, billed as their first performance since the release of their collaboration The Blue Notebooks, which was released in 2004.
The project was the second album by the German-born British classical instrumentalist Richter and takes its name from Franz Kafka’s The Blue Octavo Notebooks, a collection of the author’s diaries first published in 1953.
Across the album, Swinton reads from these books along with extracts of poetry by Czesław Miłosz.
Opening Saturday’s performance at Glastonbury alongside actress Swinton, Richter told the crowd: “Good morning, it’s amazing that so many of you got out of bed this morning really.
“It’s great to be here, really great to be here. It’s my first time playing here and it’s just an honour to be opening up this stage today,” he added.
“So we’re going to play for you a piece called The Blue Notebooks which was written in 2003.
“It’s kind of a protest record.
“It’s in response to what was happening in politics around the build-up to the Iraq war where politics was turning into a branch of fantasy literature and I was really struck with doubt about what was happening.
“And I thought about Kafka, who’s the patron saint of doubt, and I thought about making a piece which expressed everything, and so we recorded this piece in 2003.
“Please welcome this amazing band, and please welcome Tilda Swinton, who’s going to read for us.”
As the music began, Swinton, dressed in a sky-blue trouser suit and sunglasses, recited her lines.
The orchestra featured violinists and cellists alongside Richter’s digital sound production.
Thousands gathered by the stage and remained attentive throughout as they moved through the piece.
During the performance, a naked man walked in front of the stage behind the crowd barrier before being escorted away by security.
Swinton has starred in an array of films throughout her career, from independent to blockbuster, and has received a host of awards.
She won the best supporting actress Oscar and Bafta in 2007 for her role in legal thriller Michael Clayton.
The actress gained wider recognition for her portrayal of the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia series and as the Ancient One in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
