The Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, music and (since 2000) a literary series, held in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England since its beginnings in July 1979. The 2020 festival would have run but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis. The 2023 Buxton International Festival will run 6–23 July.

Origins of the present-day Festival

The origins of the Festival date to September 1937, when an annual drama festival was first held (running until 1942) in conjunction with the London-based

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

Company under

Lilian Baylis Lilian Mary Baylis CH (9 May 187425 November 1937) was an English theatrical producer and manager. She managed the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres in London and ran an opera company, which became the English National Opera (ENO); a theatre ...

. In addition to plays at the

Buxton Opera House Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musical th ...

, the festival ran a summer school at the adjoining

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

. The Festival as it exists today came about because of the inspiration in the 1970s to encourage the restoration of the Buxton Opera House, a classic

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

building. The conductor Anthony Hose (then Head of Music at

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

) and Malcolm Fraser (then lecturing in opera at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

) saw its potential as a venue for an opera festival. With David Rigby, who provided the business input, they spent three years planning the first Festival while the restoration was in progress. The restored Buxton Opera House became the venue for the first Buxton Festival in 1979 with presentations of ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' (in its first complete performance in Britain), followed by

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

' ''The Two Fiddlers''.

Productions and performers

Productions have included rarely performed operas (such as

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

Let's Make an Opera ''The Little Sweep'', Op. 45, is an opera for children in three scenes by the English composer Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Eric Crozier. ''Let's Make an Opera!'' ''The Little Sweep'' is the second part of a stage production entitled ...

'' (1980);

Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan school and of the Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il matrimonio segreto'' (1792); most of his ...

's ''

Il matrimonio segreto ' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play ''The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed o ...

'' (1981 and 1993); Kodály's ''

Háry János ''Háry János'' is a Hungarian folk opera by Zoltán Kodály with a Hungarian libretto by Béla Paulini and Zsolt Harsányi. The opera, in four acts, is in the manner of a ''Singspiel and is based'' the comic epic ''The Veteran'' (''Az obsitos'') ...

'' (in its British stage premiere in 1982);

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

's '' Griselda'' (1983, but not seen anywhere since its original

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

presentation in 1735); Cherubini's

Médée ''Médée'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Pierre Corneille in 1635. Summary The heroine of the play is the sorceress Médée. After Médée gives Jason twin boys, Jason leaves her for Creusa. Médée ...

(1984, in its original French dialogue never seen in Britain); and, from 1986, many productions of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's operas, as well as many others by Cimarosa (in 1989 it presented three). Performers have included

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

Rosalind Plowright Rosalind Anne Plowright (born 21 May 1949) is an English opera singer who spent much of her career as a soprano but in 1999 changed to the mezzo-soprano range. Life and career Rosalind Plowright was born in Worksop and studied at the Royal ...

, Alan Opie,

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

, Cleo Laine, John Ogdon, Alan Bates,

Dame Janet Baker Dame Janet Abbott Baker (born 21 August 1933) is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.Blyth, Alan, "Baker, Dame Janet (Abbott)" in Sadie, Stanley, ed.; John Tyrell; exec. ed. (2001). ''New Grove Dictionary ...

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...

Margaret Price Dame Margaret Berenice Price (13 April 194128 January 2011) was a Welsh soprano. Early years Price was born in Blackwood, near Caerphilly in South Wales. Born with deformed legs, she underwent surgery at age four and suffered pain in he ...

Lesley Garrett Lesley Garrett, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality. She is noted for being at home in opera and "crossover music". Early life Garrett was born in the ...

and

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

. The current resident orchestra at the festival () is the

Northern Chamber Orchestra The Northern Chamber Orchestra (NCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. Established in 1967, the orchestra gives concerts at Heritage Centre, Macclesfield and The Stoller Hall, Manchester as well as a Christmas concert at Tatto ...

. The festival continues to present less well-known opera from celebrated composers, alongside a programme of classical concerts, jazz and a thriving Literary Series. 2014's operas included

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

's ''

The Jacobin ''The Jacobin'' (''Jakobín'' in Czech), Op. 84 (B. 159), is an opera in three acts by Antonín Dvořák to an original Czech libretto by Marie Červinková-Riegrová. Červinková-Riegrová took some of the story's characters from the story by A ...

'',

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

's ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

'' and a concert performance of

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

''. The Festival presented its first Autumn Literary Weekend in 2014. This developed into The Big BIF Weekend in 2019 - a combination of opera, music and book events, which last took place in October 2021. The festival has been followed by the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, which normally runs for three weeks in August each year in Buxton but moved to Harrogate for 2014.

Buxton Festival Fringe

The Buxton Festival Fringe is an annual open arts festival running at approximately the same time as the Buxton Festival. This year's Fringe dates are 6–24 July 2022. The festival hosts comedy, theatre, dance, music, street performances, film, performance art, talks and shows for children as well as other impromptu events. The festival celebrated its 40th Fringe in 2019 with 220 entries adding up to over 500 individual performances and making this the biggest Buxton Fringe to date. It is one of the largest fully independent Fringes in the United Kingdom, along with

Brighton Festival Fringe Brighton Fringe is an open-access arts festival held annually in Brighton, England. It is the largest annual arts festival in England and one of the largest fringe festivals in the world. The programme of 2018 included 1008 events at over 166 v ...

and

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. The 2020 Fringe was mainly online with a few physical events. There were 101 events. Since 2011, Underground Venues has been programming events at the newly refurbished Pavilion Arts Centre and Studio with Ed Reardon,

Isy Suttie Isobel Jane "Isy" Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress, and writer. She played Dobby in the British sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. ...

Henning Wehn Henning Wehn (; born 10 April 1974) is a German stand-up comedian based in the UK. Career Wehn studied Business Administration in Münster and worked in customer relations. In 2002, he moved to the United Kingdom to work in the marketing dep ...

and

Terry Christian Terence Christian (born 8 May 1960) is a British broadcaster, journalist and author. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late night entertainment show '' The Word'' (1990–1995) and six series o ...

being among the artists who have featured. A new managed venue, The Market Place, ran for a year in 2014 and 2017 saw the arrival of another new managed venue, The Rotunda. The Green Man Gallery in Buxton has also become a significant managed venue for the Fringe.

Buxton Rock Festival of the 1970s

On 26 September 1969 an all-night Blues Festival was held in the

Buxton Pavilion Gardens Buxton Pavilion Gardens is a Victorian era, Victorian landscaped public park in the spa town of Buxton in Derbyshire. The River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye flows through the gardens, which are a Grade II* listed public park of Special Historic Inter ...

. Fleetwood Mac and many other top bands performed. During the early 1970s, it was best known as one of the UK's most prominent rock festivals, with most major rock bands of the day appearing, including

Mott The Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fail ...

, The Faces, Lindisfarne, Canned Heat,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, Nazareth, Edgar Broughton Band,

Groundhogs The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Medicine Head, Brewers Droop, Roy Wood and Wizzard. During July 2007 it was the subject of several features on Jeff Cooper's 'Cooper Collection' show on

106.6 Smooth Radio Smooth East Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station for the East Midlands, 107.4 MHz, 97.2 MHz, 106.8 MHz 106.0 MHz which replaced Saga 106.6 FM at 6am on Monday 26 March 2007. It is owned by Communicorp UK and operated b ...

References

External links

Arts Derbyshire - Buxton Festival Fringe

Buxton Festival website

Buxton Fringe official website
{{Authority control

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

Opera in the United Kingdom Opera festivals Festivals in Derbyshire Busking venues Theatre festivals in England Music festivals established in 1979 Music festivals in England 1979 establishments in England

Origins of the present-day Festival

Productions and performers

Buxton Festival Fringe

Buxton Rock Festival of the 1970s

See also

References

External links