The magnificently restored Buxton Opera House

With a King, a Queen, a Duke and rather more aces than the usual pack, Buxton's 29th annual festival plays yet another strong hand again this year with a particularly varied programme of opera, music and literature.  With over 110 events in 17 days, including 7 Operas, 16 Literary speakers, 36 concerts, an afternoon ballet, cooking demonstrations, workshops, walks, a ghost tour and much more, it’s easy to see why the Festival attracts over 36,000 people to the heart of the Peak District each year from all over the UK and abroad.

Buxton Festival is actually the UK’s largest and opera festival and the only one dedicated almost exclusively to producing rarely performed opera, featuring a highly acclaimed programme of operatic gems that cannot be seen elsewhere. Under the General Directoship of Aidan Lang for  seven years until 2006, Buxton Festival has a reputation for excellence and maintains its national profile as the UK’s leading festival of its kind.

This year marks the festival's first year under Andrew Greenwood’s directorship. Andrew is an accomplished conductor, with over 25 years’ experience working with major opera companies around the world.  ‘Buxton Festival is the leading festival of its kind in the UK and I am delighted to be taking over from Aidan Lang as Artistic Director at this exciting time when the Festival is doing so well.  I very much look forward to the next three years’ he says.

Set in the heart of Derbyshire's Peak District and within easy travelling distance of both  Manchester and Sheffield, the festival's unique setting in the historic spa town of Buxton, allows visitors to enjoy top-class opera in the magnificently restored Edwardian  Opera House with its  beautiful gold interior. Classical music recitals, Literary talks and lots of other   events take palce in many of Buxton’s elegant hotels, churches and other venues, including the unique Devonshire Dome, a splendid building that was originally established as a naturopathic hospital.

Some musical and operatic  highlights for 2007 include:

Donizetti’s triumphant Roberto Devereux, which recounts the story of the fearsome Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex in their tempestuous relationship. Sung in Italian. Dates: 6, 9, 13, 17, 21 July.

Offenbach’s Bluebeard – a slick comedy (only Offenbach could do it!) of marriage and deceit about the world's most infamous serial bigamist. Dates: 7, 10, 14, 18, 22 July.

Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, sung in Italian. Dates: 8, 16, 20 July

Purcell’s King Arthur (Sing Hey! for the honour of Old England!) Dates: 9, 17 July

The UK premiere of Georg Benda’s operatic setting of   Romeo and Juliet  Dates: 12, 15 July.

Jonathan Dove’s lyrical Tobias and the Angel. Dates: 9, 11,13 July.

Belgian composer Philippe Boesmans' chamber opera  Julie (2005) – based on Strindberg's Miss Julie with a libretto by Luc Bondy.  Date: 19 July.

A special evening recital with Dame Felicity Lott, plus concerts by Emma Kirkby, Jonathan Lemalu, Alice Coote, Ann Murray, Robin Blaze, pianists Peter Donohoe and  Lukas Vondracek and  the Pavel Haas Quartet.

The thing about Buxton is that it allows visitors to see a wide range and vast number of performances in just a few days and the friendly atmosphere provides a warm welcome to newcomers and many loyal patrons alike.  As always,  there's a huge range of educational events at the core   of the  programme and the  local community is seriously involved with a range of events from a community opera through to  concerts and workshops aiming to introduce more people to opera and to encourage creativity and learning through music.  The festival has involved over 15,000 people in creative projects in the last few years.

There really is something for everyone once again   and as I said last year, Gilbert and Sullivan fans can stay on for the G&S Festival which follows on a week after  the main festival closes. Robert Farr and Raymond Walker will report  from Buxton for Seen and Heard.


Bill Kenny


Full details are available now: To  receive a brochure Tel: 01298 70395 or Email:  heather@buxtonfestival.co.uk.

Festival Web Site: www.buxtonfestival.co.uk

Festival Box office: 0845 12 72190 (local rate call)

Book online at:  www.buxtonfestival.co.uk

Buxton G & S Festival Web Site is Here