Events Diary MONDAY 8 JULY
THURSDAY 4 JULY 8pm
Ian Shaw
p27
Anna Reid
p38
11.15am Ryan Drucker
p38
Jane Glover
p28
11.30am The Three Dukes
p39
1pm
Deschanel Gordon
p28
12.30pm Alan Barnes Swingtet
p39
3pm
Paul Lewis III
p29
3pm
Dante Quartet
p40
3pm
Buxton's Heritage and History
p29
3pm
Tracy Borman and Nicola Tallis
p40
4pm
Helen Rebanks
p30
p42
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
5pm
Threeway with Guest John Etheridge
7.15pm
La tragédie de Carmen
P22
5.30pm
Golda Schultz
p41
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
The Boatswain's Mate
p25
9pm
New Orleans Social Club
p42
FRIDAY 5 JULY 10am
10.30pm Emily Brown Quartet
p30
SATURDAY 6 JULY 10am
Florian Gadsby
p31
TUESDAY 9 JULY
11.15am Kleio Quartet
p31
Anne Lister, Gentleman Jack 11.30am and Buxton
p33
12.30pm Charles Spencer
P32
3pm
Paul Lewis IV
p33
12.30pm Alexandra Harris
p44
3pm
Nearly Dan In Concert
p33
3pm
Roderick Williams
p45
6pm
Dr Richard Gaunt
P34
3pm
Spa and Empire
P37
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
4pm
Rowan Moore
p44
7.15pm
Ernani
P18
5.30pm
Opera in the Cavern
p16
Ubunye
P34
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
P34
7.15pm
La tragédie de Carmen
P22
7.30pm
10.30pm Nobel, Wouters and Bouttery SUNDAY 7 JULY
Torsten Bell
p43
11.15am Milo Harper
p43
11.30am All Ale and Higher Buxton
p43
10am
WEDNESDAY 10 JULY
Festival Mass
p17
1pm
Jef Neve
p35
2pm
La Canterina
P24
3pm
Martin Roscoe and Fenella Humphreys
p35
Emile Souvagie and Hamish 11.15am Brown
3pm
Spa and Empire
P37
11.30am
11am
2
10am
3pm
Buxton's Heritage and History
p29
6pm
Zoe Rahman Octet
p36
6pm
Song at Six
P17
6pm
Opera Talk
7.15pm 9.30pm
Friends Day in the Assembly Rooms 10am
Christopher Somerville
On the Medicinal Use of Buxton Water
p79 p46 p46 p47
12.30pm Bettany Hughes
p47
3pm
Angela Hewitt
p48
P17
3pm
Anne Lister, Gentleman Jack and Buxton
p33
Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno
p20
4pm
Timandra Harkness
p47
Dean Stockdale Quartet
p37
6pm
Dr Peter Collinge
p48
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
Ernani
P18
Opera
THURSDAY 11 JULY
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
8.30pm
Jeremy Sassoon
p57
8.45pm
Zorada Temmingh
p58
Simon McDonald
p49
11.15am Samuel Ng and Kristiina Watt
p49
11.30am Spa and Empire
P37
12.45pm Opera Talk
P17
11.15am Ensemble Hesperi
p59
2pm
Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno
p20
11.30am All Ale and Higher Buxton
p43
3pm
Nigel Toon
p50
12.30pm Jonathan Dimbleby
p60
5pm
Voces8
p50
10am
5.30pm
Opera in the Cavern
p16
7.15pm
La canterina
p24
9pm
Judi Jackson
p51
FRIDAY 12 JULY 10am
David Reynolds
p52
MONDAY 15 JULY 10am
Helen Molesworth
p59
2pm
The English Concert
p61
2.30pm
Carmen Interactive Workshop
p62
3pm
The Common People
p61
4pm
Peter Clark
p62
5pm
Carmen Interactive Concert
p62
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno
p20
11.15am JKL Duo
p52
7.15pm
11.30am Buxton's Heritage and History
p29
12.30pm Frank Gardner
p53
TUESDAY 16 JULY
3pm
Gould Piano Trio
p53
3pm
Anne Lister, Gentleman Jack and Buxton
p33
4pm
Rory Cellan-Jones
p54
12.30pm Rob Rinder
p64
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
3pm
Kathryn Stott
p64
7.15pm
Ernani
P18
4pm
Sophie Grigson
p65
8pm
Nishla Smith
p54
4.45pm
Opera in the Cavern
p16
5.30pm
Opera in the Cavern
p16
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
La tragédie de Carmen
P22
8pm
Rhapsody in Blue
p65
SATURDAY 13 JULY Xinran
p55
12.30pm Caroline Lucas MP
p55
2pm
Hejira
p56
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
La tragédie de Carmen
P22
9pm
Mica Millar
p56
10am
Jane Cholmeley
p63
Beth Taylor and Malcolm 11.15am Martineau
p63
11.30am The Three Dukes
p39
10am
WEDNESAY 17 JULY Friends Day in the Assembly Rooms
p79
Giles Milton
p66
p17
11.15am Lumas Winds
p66
12.45pm Opera Talk
P17
11.30am Buxton's Heritage and History
p29
2pm
P18
3pm
Brodsky Quartet
p67
3pm
All Ale and Higher Buxton
p43
SUNDAY 14 JULY 11am
Festival Mass Ernani
10am
3pm
Delphine Trio with Maja Horvat
p58
3pm
Spa and Empire
P37
4pm
John Crace
p68
p17
6pm
Dr Amanda Blake Davis
p68
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
Ernani
P18
6pm
Song at Six
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
The Boatswain's Mate
p25
3
Events Diary
CONTENTS
THURSDAY 18 JULY
Donna Leon
p69
11.15am Sitkovetsky I
p70
10am
On the Medicinal Use of Buxton Water
p47
12.30pm Geoffrey Robertson KC
p69
12.45pm Opera Talk
P17
11.30am
2pm
Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno
p20
3pm
Sitkovetsky II
p71
3pm
Brian Klaas
p71
4.45pm
Opera in the Cavern
p16
5.30pm
Opera in the Cavern
p16
7.15pm
La canterina
P24
FRIDAY 19 JULY 10am
Martin Sixsmith
p72
11.15am Sitkovetsky III
p72
11.30am Buxton's Heritage and History
p29
12.30pm William Sieghart
p74
3pm
The Common People
p61
3pm
Sir Antonio Pappano Masterclass
p73
6pm
Sir Antonio Pappano
p73
6pm
Song at Six
p17
6pm
Opera Talk
P17
7.15pm
The Boatswain's Mate
p25
8.45pm
Faure' Buxton Musical Society
p74
SATURDAY 20 JULY 6am
Stile Antico I
p75
10am
Stile Antico II
p75
10am
Hannah Barnes
p75
Anne Lister, Gentleman Jack 11.30am and Buxton
p33
2pm
p75
Stile Antico III
12.30pm Clive Myrie
p76
2pm
La canterina
P24
6pm
Song at Six
P17
7.30pm
Carlos Acosta
P77
8pm
Jay Phelps
p76
SUNDAY 21 JULY
4
11am
Festival Mass
P17
6pm
Carlos Acosta
P77
P2
Diary Pages
P5
The BIF Experience
P6
Welcome pages
P18
Opera Information
p27
Events calendar
P78
The Friends of BIF
p80
Where to Stay
p84
Where to Visit
P90
Where to Eat
p95
Community and Outreach projects
p96
Venue Information
p98
Booking Information
p100
Map and Getting Here Information
The Festival Experience Buxton is a beautiful town, home to breathtaking architecture around every corner. There are plenty of green spaces to enjoy, an abundance of lovely cafes and restaurants, and our venues are all within a few minutes walking distance of each other. Admire views of the Peak District countryside from the town centre and get involved in the buzz of Festival life.
A TYPICAL DAY Live performance and music abound during the Festival. You can delve into one event, or make a day, a weekend, or a week of it, or join us for the entirety! Here’s what a typical day might look like: 10am
Start your day with an opinion-forming book talk 11.15am Relax at a concert in the glory of St John’s Church 12.30pm Join the big conversations of the day at a pre-lunch book event 3pm Indulge in more world-class music at St John’s 4pm Hear from leading academics, writers and speakers at an afternoon book talk 6pm Get insights into the operas from BIF’s creative teams at a pre-opera talk 7.15pm Spectacular opera, featuring world renowned singers, at Buxton Opera House 8pm Late-night jazz at the Palace Hotel or at the Pavilion Arts Centre
OUR HISTORY Buxton International Festival has been thrilling audiences since 1979. We have a reputation for offering often once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to hear sublime but rarely performed operas. Initially founded to help restore Buxton Opera House, the Festival has run every year bar 2020, when our Digital Series was launched. Internationally acclaimed singers, musicians and speakers are all attracted to the spa town, and our Young Artists Programme continues to introduce audiences to the rising stars of the future. 5
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
CEO’s WELCOME We are delighted to be recognised as one of The Times’ top 50 must-see festivals around the world.
W
elcome to Buxton International Festival, where artistic excellence and cultural vibrancy converge in a celebration of music, opera, books and more. We invite you to immerse yourself in the performances, discussions and collaborations that define our 2024 programme, and enjoy the natural beauty of the High Peak area as well as the charms of Buxton. ‘It would be a tragedy if funding cuts (to touring opera) reinforced the myth that a varied and vital art form is simply a pastime for the metropolitan elite.’ I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by the author of an editorial in The Guardian newspaper, who highlights research supporting the notion of extending opera funding beyond the capital to ensure the continued growth of this art form. Our ongoing collaboration with Norwich Theatre, which began with last year’s production of The Land of Might-Have-Been featuring music by Ivor Novello, continues this year with a co-production of Peter Brook’s adaptation of La tragédie de Carmen set to music by Bizet. Stephen Crocker, the Chief Executive and Creative Director of Norwich Theatre, shares our commitment to curating a programme designed to attract new audiences to opera. Similarly, when Stephen proposed that the festival become part of a national tour for his production of On Before, starring Carlos Acosta, Adrian and I seized the opportunity to present such an iconic figure in dance to our festival audience. We are particularly pleased that we could involve the BIF chorus and some of the Young Artists to accompany the dancers for our two performances on the last weekend.
6
It has been thirty years since The Orchestra of Opera North accompanied an opera at Buxton Opera House. I am grateful to Sir Richard Mantle, who suggested to me when he visited last year’s Festival, that another collaboration with the Festival was long overdue. A very warm welcome to the Opera North team and their musicians for BIF 2024. Last year, we were delighted to be recognised as one of The Times’ top 50 must-see festivals around the world. This achievement is a testament to the vision and hard work of our Artistic Director, Adrian Kelly, our Book Director, Victoria Dawson, and our Jazz Director, Neil Hughes. Once again, they have curated an outstanding line-up, bringing together the very best singers, musicians, speakers, and creative teams from across the United Kingdom and Europe to Buxton. We are grateful to the trustees of the Colwinston Charitable Trust for their generous grant, which underwrote our opera season and allowed us to present five BIF productions. The support from other generous Trusts and Foundations, corporate donors, High Peak Borough Council, syndicate members, and individual donors is indispensable in enabling us to organise the festival. A special mention, too, of the invaluable contribution of our two kindred organisations: the Friends of BIF, for their annual grant, and the BIF Foundation, which has supported the costs of The Orchestra of Opera North. I encourage you to embrace all that we have to offer and invite a friend to attend. See you in the summer. Michael Williams Chief Executive Officer
AT A GLANCE: OPERA
TICKET OFFER Book all 3 BIF Opera House productions and receive 10% off Ernani, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, La tragédie de Carmen
FRIDAY 5 JULY
SATURDAY 13 JULY
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN
7.15pm p22
7.15pm p22
SATURDAY 6 JULY
SUNDAY 14 JULY
ERNANI
ERNANI
SUNDAY 7 JULY
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE
7.15pm p18
LA CANTERINA 2pm p24
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO 7.15pm p20
MONDAY 8 JULY
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE 7.15pm p25
TUESDAY 9 JULY
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN 7.15pm p22
WEDNESDAY 10 JULY
ERNANI
7.15pm p18 THURSDAY 11 JULY
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO 2pm p20
LA CANTERINA 7.15pm p24
FRIDAY 12 JULY
ERNANI
7.15pm p18
2pm p18
7.15pm p25
MONDAY 15 JULY
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO 7.15pm p20
TUESDAY 16 JULY
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN 7.15pm p22
WEDNESDAY 17 JULY
ERNANI
7.15pm p18 THURSDAY 18 JULY
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO 2pm p20
LA CANTERINA 7.15pm p24
FRIDAY 19 JULY
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE 7.15pm p25
SATURDAY 20 JULY
LA CANTERINA 2pm p24
Join the Friends of BIF for early booking Annual membership starts from just £33 7
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Artistic Director’s WELCOME There is always an exciting discovery to be made at Buxton International Festival, whether it’s an extraordinary new singer or musician, a unique new venue like Poole’s Cavern, or an inspiring speaker.
T
his year’s programme of operas is in many ways our most ambitious yet. Ever since the very first Festival forty-five years ago, the emphasis has been on performing lesser-known works. But never before has the Festival created five new productions of its own in a single season. The chamber opera format that we have developed for the Pavilion Arts Centre has proved popular, and this year features The Boatswain’s Mate by Ethel Smyth, a composer whose works have enjoyed a new lease of life in recent years, as well as La canterina, a comic opera by Josef Haydn. In the Buxton Opera House, we present three contrasting works. Following on from recent seasons, which have featured works by all the three great bel canto composers, we present Ernani, the work which cemented Giuseppe Verdi’s reputation as their natural successor. Jamie Manton directs. George Friedrich Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno is one of the composer’s most inspired works, an oratorio written toward the beginning of the composer’s four-year stay in Italy. The Festival continues its collaboration with Christian Curnyn and the Early Opera Company. Peter Brook was one of the most influential theatre directors of the last century. La tragédie de Carmen is his take on Bizet’s ever popular opèra comique, exploring the personal dynamics between the protagonists. British-German stage director Katharina Kastening makes her Festival debut. But of course, the Festival is not just about opera. This will only be the third time that Neil Hughes has overseen the Festival’s jazz programme, and yet it is hard to imagine the Festival without it. Victoria Dawson continues to attract a breathtaking array of authors for her book festival, and this year is no exception. There are plenty of highlights to look forward to in our music programme as well. Golda Schultz is one of the world’s leading sopranos. Roderick Williams 8
is a firm Festival favourite, and young Scottish mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor is an emerging talent well worth discovering. Pianist Paul Lewis returns to complete his Schubert cycle which he started in 2023; Angela Hewitt presents an impressive programme spanning Bach, Beethoven and Brahms; and Kathryn Stott presents an eclectic programme of ‘postcards’ as she gives one of the final concerts of an illustrious career. As always, there are chamber ensembles of the highest order. The Brodsky Quartet returns with another of its fascinatingly varied programmes; the Sitkovetsky Trio is also back after a breathtaking Festival debut last summer, expanding to form a quintet for Schubert’s beloved Trout Quintet. We also have some uplifting performances of baroque music to look forward to. The English Concert will perform a sumptuous programme of Purcell and Bach, and Ensemble Hesperi returns to the Festival for a programme of Handel. Choral music also features strongly, with concerts by two of the country’s outstanding groups, Voces8 and Stile Antico. Towards the end of the Festival, we are visited by two of the most influential figures in British performing arts, the Cuban born ballet sensation Carlos Acosta and conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, who has been music director of the Royal Opera House for over twenty years. We are proud to welcome them both to Buxton, and I very much hope that you will also join us to experience another vibrant festival. Adrian Kelly Artistic Director
AT A GLANCE: MUSIC
Reserve your souvenir programme now and save! £12 if reserved before 1 June (£15 regular price)
FRIDAY 5 JULY
FRIDAY 12 JULY
PAUL LEWIS (SERIES III) 3pm p29
JKL DUO 11.15am p52
SATURDAY 6 JULY
GOULD PIANO TRIO 3pm p53
KLEIO QUARTET 11.15am p31
SUNDAY 14 JULY
PAUL LEWIS (SERIES IV) 3pm p33
FESTIVAL MASS 11am p17
SUNDAY 7 JULY
DELPHINE TRIO 3pm p58
FESTIVAL MASS 11am p17
SONG AT SIX 6pm p17
FENELLA HUMPHREYS AND MARTIN
ZORADA TEMMINGH 8.45pm p58
ROSCOE 3pm p35
SONG AT SIX 6pm p17 MONDAY 8 JULY
RYAN DRUCKER 11.15am p38 THE DANTE QUARTET 3pm p40 GOLDA SCHULTZ 5.30pm p41 TUESDAY 9 JULY
MONDAY 15 JULY
ENSEMBLE HESPERI 11.15am p59 THE ENGLISH CONCERT 2pm p61 CARMEN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP 2.30pm p62
CARMEN INTERACTIVE CONCERT 5pm p62
MILO HARPER 11.15am p43
TUESDAY 16 JULY
RODERICK WILLIAMS 3pm p45
BETH TAYLOR AND MALCOLM MARTINEAU 11.15am p63
OPERA IN THE CAVERN 5.30pm p16 WEDNESDAY 10 JULY
EMILE SOUVAGIE AND HAMISH BROWN 11.15am p46 ANGELA HEWITT 3pm p48
KATHRYN STOTT 3pm p64 OPERA IN THE CAVERN 4.45pm and 5.30pm p16
WEDNESDAY 17 JULY
THURSDAY 11 JULY
LUMAS WINDS 11.15am p66
SAMUEL NG AND KRISTIINA WATT
BRODSKY QUARTET 3pm p67
11.15am p49
VOCES8 5pm p50 OPERA IN THE CAVERN 5.30pm p16 9
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
AT A GLANCE: MUSIC THURSDAY 18 JULY
SITKOVETSKY I 11.15am p70 SITKOVETSKY II 3pm p71 OPERA IN THE CAVERN 4.45pm and 5.30pm p16 FRIDAY 19 JULY
Reserve your souvenir programme now and save! £12 if reserved before 1 June (£15 regular price)
SATURDAY 20 JULY
STILE ANTICO 6am, 10am, 2pm p75 SONG AT SIX 6pm p17 CARLOS ACOSTA 7.30pm p77 SUNDAY 21 JULY
SITKOVETSKY III 11.15am p72
FESTIVAL MASS 11am p17
SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO MASTERCLASS 3pm p73
CARLOS ACOSTA 6pm p77
SONG AT SIX 6pm p17 BUXTON MUSICAL SOCIETY 8.45pm p74
bechstein.co.uk
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For more information or to arrange a private piano consultation, call us on 0161 527 7677 or email info@bechstein.co.uk
Jazz Director’s WELCOME The bar’s set high for jazz in Buxton and we can’t wait for another incredible Festival. Get ready to tap your feet, feel the energy and enjoy the live music - it’s good for your soul!
I
‘m delighted to present my third jazz series at Buxton International Festival. We had so many great live performances in 2023, and so many sell-outs, and we aim to repeat those highs including a very special New Orleans show in the Opera House. Thank you for your continued support. Once again, we continue to take advantage of the amazing facilities on offer in Buxton by using the Palace Hotel, the Pavilion Arts Centre and Buxton Opera House as our main venues. These are all within close proximity of each other and the town’s many fine cafes and restaurants. The atmosphere in Buxton is an incredible thing to be a part of during the Festival. There’s a warmth and friendliness about the place that’s hard to beat. Jazz at The Palace If you prefer the intimacy and the darkness of the traditional jazz club, welcome to Jazz at the Palace, where you are up close and personal with the performers. We have a real powerhouse opening from Ian Shaw and his band on Thursday 4 July, and then we have gigs all the way through to Monday, from solos to octets, piano and sax, to afro-jazz. The set-up at the Palace Hotel works brilliantly; sit back, have a beer or a whisky, and relax as we bring you an incredible selection of live music.
in the iconic Opera House at 9pm and will be the grand finale of our opening jazz weekend extravaganza. Following the opening jazz weekend, we have some wonderful concerts amongst the operas, books and music events during the following two weeks. In 2024, we celebrate the centenary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and who better to direct a live performance than Ronnie Scott’s Artistic Director, James Pearson, and Buxton favourite Lizzie Ball? They present a stellar septet, which weaves its way through many American classics. We also have the full Jeremy Sassoon Orchestra playing the music of Ray Charles, and we finish the festival with a live concert of A Kind of Blue, the iconic album by Miles Davis. There’s so much to look forward to. Please come and say hello. Neil Hughes Jazz Director
Last year, the first Monday of the Festival saw an outstanding gig with Wynton Marsalis. The day took on a star-studded event of it’s own.This year, we bring you the New Orleans Social Club. It’s Adrian Cox’s warm, rich and bluesy sound, steeped in the music of New Orleans, with the passion that embodies the essence of the city. We’ll weave from New Orleans Rags to Blues, with the feel of Jelly Roll Morton and the elegance of Ellington. Expect an evening of live music that draws you in and takes you on a journey full of personality. The Adrian Cox Quintet, PLUS a strings section AND Strictly Come Dancing’s Tommy Blaize, will be 11
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
AT A GLANCE: JAZZ THURSDAY 4 JULY
IAN SHAW 8pm p27 FRIDAY 5 JULY
DESCHANEL GORDON 1pm p28 EMILY BROWN QUARTET 10.30pm p30 SATURDAY 6 JULY
NEARLY DAN 3pm p33 UBUNYE 7.30pm p34 NOBEL, WOUTERS AND BOUTTERY 10.30pm p34
SUNDAY 7 JULY
JEF NEVE 1pm p35 ZOE RAHMAN OCTET 6pm p36 DEAN STOCKDALE QUARTET 9.30pm p37
MONDAY 8 JULY
ALAN BARNES SWINGTET 12.30pm p39
NEW ORLEANS SOCIAL CLUB 9pm p42 THURSDAY 11 JULY
JUDI JACKSON / MADELINE BELL 9pm p51
FRIDAY 12 JULY
NISHLA SMITH 8pm p54 SATURDAY 13 JULY
HEJIRA 2pm p56 MICA MILLAR 9pm p56 SUNDAY 14 JULY
JEREMY SASSOON’S RAY CHARLES ORCHESTRA 8.30pm p57 TUESDAY 16 JULY
RHAPSODY IN BLUE CENTENARY SHOW 8pm p65
Presented by Lizzie Ball and James Pearson SATURDAY 20 JULY
JAY PHELPS - A KIND OF BLUE 8pm p76
THREEWAY WITH JOHN ETHERIDGE 5pm p42
BIF JAZZ DAY, WEEKENDER AND WEEKENDER PLUS TICKETS Enjoy a long weekend of jazz at discounted rates during BIF’s opening weekend! Pick a Day ticket, a Weekender ticket or a Weekender Plus ticket to get a host of benefits: Jazz Weekender Plus tickets include entry to all jazz gigs from Thurs 4 July to Mon 8 July, including the fabulous New Orleans Social Club at Buxton Opera House AND a seat in the stalls for La tragédie de Carmen on Friday 5 July 2024. Tickets cost £209 a saving of over £100.
Jazz Weekender tickets include entry to all jazz gigs from Sat 6 July to Mon 8 July 2024, including the fabulous New Orleans Social Club at Buxton Opera House. Tickets cost £160, a saving of over £50. Jazz Day tickets include entry to jazz events on Fri 5, Sat 6, Sun 7 or Mon 8 July. They cost from £50, with savings of up to 24%.
Book Festival Director’s WELCOME Storytelling is what Buxton International Festival is all about. Whether it’s true or imagined it’s always opinion-forming and it always takes place in the most glorious of settings.
I
hope that with this year’s book festival we seek to dissect the international and to travel the world across history, conflict, art, diplomacy, international law and much more. Four books this year touch on the West’s relationship with Russia. Anna Reid, Giles Milton and Jonathan Dimbleby cover the West’s intervention into the outcome of the Russian Revolution, the allies’ secret post-war mission to court Stalin, and the importance of the Soviet army to the endgame of the Second World War respectively. Geoffrey Robertson KC looks at the difficulties of bringing Putin to trial for his illegal invasion of Ukraine. The heroism, tenacity and contribution of foreign correspondents are celebrated with Martin Sixsmith’s heartbreaking story of resistance and collaboration in wartime Holland, while Frank Gardner discusses his dual career as both BBC Security Correspondent and bestselling thriller writer. Former and current BBC employees are well-represented. Clive Myrie is a chief news correspondent with a bestselling memoir. Rory CellanJones narrates an astonishing family story of secrets and lies within the same organisation. Further frequent media voices include Xinran, once Chinese radio personality now bestselling author; Lord McDonald, former Head of the Diplomatic Service; Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation; and Caroline Lucas, long-serving Green MP for Brighton Pavilion.
Donna Leon is one of The Times’ 50 Greatest Crime Writers. Donna’s Commissario Brunetti crime novels are set in Venice and have been translated into many languages. Donna’s memoir Wandering Through Life considers nearly nine decades of travel, opera and eating. Sophie Grigson is a much-loved cookery writer who now counts Puglia as home. Italy is a slightly unintended but serendipitous theme this year. Dame Jane Glover’s Mozart in Italy is written with a profound understanding of both Italian music and country. Sir Antonio Pappano is an English-Italian conductor and pianist. His new memoir, My Life in Music, proclaims the restorative properties of classical music. Art and poetry are represented by celebrated ceramicist Florian Gadsby, landscape is discussed by acclaimed cultural historian Alexandra Harris and the Poetry Pharmacist himself, William Sieghart, will be here to prescribe an aid to broken hearts and other life challenges. Last year, Buxton felt as watery as Venice. Surely this year we deserve (Tuscan) blue skies and the faint scent of lemon groves. What I guarantee we can deliver is storytelling - mostly true, occasionally imagined, always opinion-forming and the warmth of our special BIF welcome. Victoria Dawson Book Festival Director
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2023 7 July BIF 2024 4 – 24 21 July
AT A GLANCE: BOOKS FRIDAY 5 JULY
JANE GLOVER 10am p28
Mozart in Italy: Coming of Age in the Land of Opera
HELEN REBANKS 4pm p30 The Farmer’s Wife
SATURDAY 6 JULY
FLORIAN GADSBY 10am p31 By My Hands: A Potter’s Apprentice
PUMP ROOM TALK: DR RICHARD GAUNT 6pm p34 Living with the Georgians
CHARLES SPENCER 12.30pm p32 A Very Private School: A Memoir MONDAY 8 JULY
ANNA REID 10am p38
A Nasty Little War: The Western Intervention into the Russian Civil War
TRACY BORMAN AND NICOLA TALLIS 3pm p 40 Elizabeth I: Woman and Girl, Princess and Queen TUESDAY 9 JULY
TORSTEN BELL 10am p43
Great Britain? How To Get Our Future Back
ALEXANDRA HARRIS 12.30pm p44
The Rising Down: Lives in a Sussex Landscape
ROWAN MOORE 4pm p44
PUMP ROOM TALK: DR PETER COLLINGE FRHistS 6pm p48
Buxton Crescent and its People 1780-1840 THURSDAY 11 JULY
SIMON MCDONALD 10am p49
Beyond Britannia: Reshaping UK Foreign Policy
NIGEL TOON 3pm p50
How AI Thinks: How we built it, how it can help us, and how we can control it FRIDAY 12 JULY
DAVID REYNOLDS 10am p52
Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him
FRANK GARDNER 12.30pm p53 Invasion: The new Luke Carlton Thriller
RORY CELLAN-JONES 4pm p54 Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC SATURDAY 13 JULY
XINRAN 10am p55
The Book of Secrets: A Personal History of Betrayal in Red China
CAROLINE LUCAS MP 12.30pm p55
Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story MONDAY 15 JULY
HELEN MOLESWORTH 10am p59
Property: The myth that built the world
Precious: The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time
WEDNESDAY 10 JULY
JONATHAN DIMBLEBY 12.30pm p60
CHRISTOPHER SOMERVILLE 10am p46 Walking the Bones of Britain: A 3 Billion Year Journey from the Outer Hebrides to the Thames Estuary
BETTANY HUGHES 12.30pm p47
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
TIMANDRA HARKNESS 4pm p47 Technology is Not the Problem
Endgame 1944: How the Soviet Army Won World War Two
PETER CLARK 4pm p62
The Men of 1924: Britain’s First Labour Government TUESDAY 16 JULY
JANE CHOLMELEY 10am p63
A Bookshop of One’s Own: How a Group of Women Set Out to Change the World
ROB RINDER 12.30pm p64 The Suspect 14
SOPHIE GRIGSON 4pm p65
Exploding Tomatoes and Other Stories: The Food and Flavours of Southern Italy WEDNESDAY 17 JULY
GILES MILTON 10am p66
The Stalin Affair: The Allies’ Secret Mission to Wartime Moscow
JOHN CRACE 4pm p68
Depraved New World: Please Hold, The Government Will Be With You Shortly
PUMP ROOM TALK: DR AMANDA BLAKE DAVIS 6pm p68 Derbyshire and the Making of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein THURSDAY 18 JULY
DONNA LEON 10am p69
Wandering Through Life: A Memoir
GEOFFREY ROBERTSON KC 12.30pm p69
The Trial of Vladimir Putin
BRIAN KLAAS 3pm p71
AT A GLANCE: WALKS BUXTON’S HERITAGE AND HISTORY p29 FRIDAY 5 JULY 3pm
SUNDAY 7 JULY 3pm
FRIDAY 12 JULY 11.30am
WEDNESDAY 17 JULY 11.30am FRIDAY 19 JULY 11.30am
ANNE LISTER, GENTLEMAN JACK AND BUXTON p33 SATURDAY 6 JULY 11.30am
WEDNESDAY 10 JULY 3pm FRIDAY 12 JULY 3pm
SATURDAY 20 JULY 11.30am
SPA AND EMPIRE p37 SUNDAY 7 JULY 3pm
TUESDAY 9 JULY 3pm
THURSDAY 11 JULY 11.30am SUNDAY 14 JULY 3pm
Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters
THE THREE DUKES: ARISTOCRAT, COLLECTOR AND ACADEMIC p39
FRIDAY 19 JULY
MONDAY 8 JULY 11.30am
MARTIN SIXSMITH 10am p72
My Sins Go With Me: A Story of Heroism and Betrayal in the Dutch Resistance
WILLIAM SIEGHART 12.30pm p74
The Poetry Pharmacy Forever: New Prescriptions to Soothe, Revive and Inspire
SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO 6pm p73 My Life in Music
TUESDAY 16 JULY 11.30am
ALL ALE AND HIGHER BUXTON p43 TUESDAY 9 JULY 11.30am
MONDAY 15 JULY 11.30am
WEDNESDAY 17 JULY 3pm
SATURDAY 20 JULY
ON THE MEDICINAL USE OF BUXTON WATER p47
HANNAH BARNES 10am p75
THURSDAY 18 JULY 11.30am
Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children
CLIVE MYRIE 12.30pm p76 Everything is Everything
WEDNESDAY 10 JULY 11.30am
THE COMMON PEOPLE p61 MONDAY 15 JULY 3pm FRIDAY 19 JULY 3pm
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
OPERA IN THE CAVERN
Tues 9, Thurs 11, Tues 16, Thurs 18 Poole’s Cavern £45
Extraordinary Performances in a Breathtaking Space We are taking things underground for 2024! Join us on these intimate tours beneath the earth where you can marvel at the beautifully illuminated rock sculpted galleries whilst listening to stunning renditions from sensational operas. Your journey begins with a glass of fizz just outside the Roman Chamber of Poole’s Cavern. You will then be guided through the magnificent underground passages, rich in stalactite and stalagmite formations, legend and history. Sturdy footwear is essential, as is warm clothing. The first half of the tour is wheelchair accessible, but the final part is not accessible for those with mobility issues. The whole event will last for 1-hour. 16
NEW VENUE FOR 2024
OPERA TALKS Buxton Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre £3
SONG AT SIX
Sun 7, Sun 14, Fri 19, Sat 20 Pavilion Gardens FREE
Make sure you don’t miss these free 15-minute concerts, performed by members of the Festival’s Young Artists Programme. Take a breath of fresh air in the beautiful surroundings of Pavilion Gardens, relax, and have your spirits lifted by these talented young singers.
Join our creative teams for insights into the history, music and vision behind this year’s operas. There will be opera talks for Ernani, La tragédie de Carmen, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno and The Boatswain’s Mate on the dates listed below, in the venues where the operas are taking place.
ERNANI
Buxton Opera House Sat 6 Wed 10 Fri 12 Sun 14 Wed 17
6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 12.45pm – 1.15pm 6pm – 6.30pm
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO Buxton Opera House
FESTIVAL MASSES St John’s Church Donations welcome
FREE
The Festival Masses are a Sunday morning favourite: beautiful choral masses in the wonderful acoustic of St John’s Church. They are presented by the Buxton Music Society and the Buxton Madrigal Singers, conducted by Michael Williams, with Sam Hayes as Choral Director. Sun 7 July 11am – 12.10pm Buxton Madrigal Singers and Soloists W Mozart Missa Brevis CK258 (sometimes known as the Spaur Mass) Sun 14 July 11am – 12.10pm Buxton Musical Society and Festival Soloists J Haydn Maria Theresa Mass Sun 21 July 11am – 12.10pm Buxton Madrigal Singers T de Victoria Missa O Quam Gloriosum est Regnum
Sun 7 6pm – 6.30pm Thurs 11 12.45pm – 1.15pm Mon 15 6pm – 6.30pm Thurs 18 12.45pm – 1.15pm
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN Buxton Opera House Fri 5 Tues 9 Sat 13 Tues 16
6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE Pavilion Arts Centre Mon 8 Sun 14 Fri 19
6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 17
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
ERNANI GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813–1901) A Buxton International Festival Production, featuring The Orchestra of Opera North. Ernani is the opera that propelled Verdi to worldwide fame, but has since become one of his lesser-performed works. It was his first collaboration with librettist Francesco Maria Piave, a hugely successful pairing that was followed by La traviata and Rigoletto. The story is one of vengeance, conspiracy, and love; set in a world where honour and chivalry are valued above all else. It centres on the outlaw Ernani who is plotting to depose Don Carlos, the King of Spain, to avenge his father’s murder. The woman he loves, Elvira, is engaged to her guardian, the grandee de Silva, against her will. When the young lovers plan to elope they are discovered by de Silva and the king, who kidnaps Elvira for himself. What price is Ernani prepared to pay to rescue the woman he loves, and for justice? As the horn sounds for the moment of his reckoning, will there be a happy ever after? Ernani will be conducted by the Festival’s Artistic Director Adrian Kelly. Director Jamie Manton makes a welcome return to Buxton, following his critically acclaimed production of Eugene Onegin (2019). Since then, he’s enjoyed great success with English National Opera, The Canadian Opera Company and Nevill Holt Opera. British soprano Nadine Benjamin MBE leads an international cast featuring tenor Roman Arndt, baritone André Heyboer and bass Alastair Miles. Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play Hernani by Victor Hugo. Sung in Italian with English surtitles. “With Ernani, Verdi came into his own. The vocal writing demands an intensity that is unmistakably the trademark of the great operas that were to follow.” Adrian Kelly
DAT E S & T I M E S Sat 6 July Wed 10 July Fri 12 July Sun 14 July Wed 17 July
7.15pm 7.15pm 7.15pm 2pm 7.15pm
VENUE Buxton Opera House
TICKETS £25 - £88
Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of BIF Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk
C R E AT I V E T E A M Adrian Kelly Conductor Jamie Manton Director Sami Fendall Designer CAST Roman Arndt Ernani André Heyboer Don Carlo Alastair Miles Don Ruy Gomez de Silva Nadine Benjamin Elvira Jane Burnell Giovanna Emyr Lloyd Jones Don Riccardo Theo Perry Jago Duration: 3 hours, including a 20-minute interval.
TICKET OFFER
Book all 3 BIF Opera House productions and receive 10% off Ernani, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, La tragédie de Carmen 18
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) A Buxton International Festival Production with the Early Opera Company. Handel is known for bringing emotion to life, for dazzling vocal fireworks and epic drama, and this oratorio is no exception. Composed in the spring of 1707, it sees him at his most confident, combining rousing choruses, beguiling arias, and colourful orchestral writing. The story is full of hidden meaning and moral stance, with the characters of Pleasure, Time and Disillusion taking on human form to battle for the soul of Beauty. Vain Beauty initially commits herself to a hedonistic lifestyle, but Time and Disillusion cannot be ignored for long. As she wrestles with temptation, she must face the inevitability of her own demise and decide whether she can find greater contentment on a more virtuous path. Christian Curnyn, one of the UK’s leading conductors specialising in baroque repertoire, returns to Buxton for this production with the award-winning Early Opera Company, following their triumphant Acis and Galatea in 2021. He leads a world-class cast, featuring rising star Hilary Cronin in the role of Piacere. Director Jacopo Spirei has a great affinity for baroque music. Since La donna del lago (Buxton 2022) he has directed productions in Lisbon, Parma and Barcelona. Libretto by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili. Sung in Italian with English surtitles. ‘Handel’s early masterpiece includes some of his most expressive writing. This work fuses allegory with real emotionality, and I cannot wait to see Jacopo and Christian bring it to life’ Adrian Kelly
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DAT E S & T I M E S Sun 7 July Thurs 11 July Mon 15 July Thurs 18 July
7.15pm 2pm 7.15pm 2pm
VENUE Buxton Opera House
TICKETS £25 - £88
Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of BIF Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk
C R E AT I V E T E A M
Christian Curnyn Conductor Jacopo Spirei Director Anna Bonomelli Designer CAST Anna Dennis Bellezza (Beauty) Hilary Cronin Piacere (Pleasure) Hilary Summers Disinganno (Disillusion) Jorge Navarro Colorado Tempo (Time) Duration: 3 hours including a 20-minute interval.
TICKET OFFER
Book all 3 BIF Opera House productions and receive 10% off Ernani, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, La tragédie de Carmen
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN Peter Brook’s adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera (1893–1951) A Buxton International Festival and Norwich Theatre Production, with the Northern Chamber Orchestra. A brutal, gritty tale of self-destruction fuelled by lust, set to some of the most famous music in opera. Peter Brook’s adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen does not hold back, stripping the opera to its essentials whilst focussing on themes of obsession and jealousy.
DAT E S & T I M E S Fri 5 July Tues 9 July Sat 13 July Tues 16 July
7.15pm 7.15pm 7.15pm 7.15pm
VENUE
When Don José falls for the fiery and ambitious Carmen their tragic fates are sealed. His childhood sweetheart is eschewed, and they begin a visceral journey that descends to madness and murder.
Buxton Opera House
La tragédie de Carmen includes elements of Georges Bizet’s opera as well as the original Prosper Mérimée novella on which Bizet’s opera was based. Brook adapted the script with academy award-winning screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, re-examining it from a new perspective. The original score was adapted for a chamber orchestra by Marius Constant and the show premiered in the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris in November 1981.
Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s,
Director Katharina Kastening has created new productions for Oper Frankfurt, Opéra National de Lorraine, and Opera Northern Ireland. The cast is led by the charismatic Irish mezzo-soprano, Niamh O’Sullivan. Sung in French with English surtitles. “La tragédie de Carmen reframes one of the best-known operas with a compelling, theatrical perspective. I expect the atmosphere in the Opera House to be electric” Adrian Kelly
TICKETS £25 - £74
who are part of the Friends of BIF Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk
C R E AT I V E T E A M Iwan Davies Conductor Katharina Kastening Director Bettina John Designer CAST Niamh O’Sullivan Carmen Elgan Llŷr Thomas Don José Steffan Lloyd Owen Escamillo Erin Rossington Micaëla Cameron Cook Zunig, Lillas Pastia and Garcia Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
TICKET OFFER
Book all 3 BIF Opera House productions and receive 10% off Ernani, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, La tragédie de Carmen
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
LA CANTERINA Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) DAT E S & T I M E S Sun 7 July Thurs 11 July Thurs 18 July Sat 20 July
2pm 7.15pm 7.15pm 2pm
VENUE Pavilion Arts Centre
TICKETS £45
Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of BIF Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk
C R E AT I V E T E A M Toby Hession Conductor Lysanne Van Overbeek Director CAST Helen Maree Cooper Don Ettore Dominic Mattos Apollonia Jonah Halton Don Pelagio Jane Burnell Gasparina Duration: 1 hour and 10 minutes.
A Buxton International Festival production. La canterina, ‘The Singing Girl’, is the farcical tale of would-be singer, Gasparina, a money-grabbing minx who is down on her luck. Aided by her friend Apollonia - who is disguised as her mother and rather adept at procuring wealthy suitors for ‘her daughter’ - the tricksters exploit the affections of young callers, one of whom is Gasparina’s lascivious singing teacher. Rent-free living, money, diamonds and promises flow. When they are discovered, can they charm their way out of it, and will all be forgiven and forgotten? The two-act opera buffa showcases Haydn’s operatic style, blending wit, charm and melodic 24
invention. Toby Hession makes his debut in Buxton, conducting the Buxton Chamber Collective. The young cast is led by soprano Jane Burnell and countertenor Dominic Mattos. Director Lysanne van Overbeek also makes her Festival debut. Based on the intermezzo from Niccolò Piccinni’s opera L’Origille. “Haydn’s music is always sparkling with humour, and in this short work, he particularly relishes the silliness of the plot” Adrian Kelly
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE Ethel Smyth (1858–1944) DAT E S & T I M E S Mon 8 July Sun 14 July Fri 19 July
7.15pm 7.15pm 7.15pm
VENUE Pavilion Arts Centre
TICKETS £45
Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of BIF Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk
C R E AT I V E T E A M Rebecca Warren Musical Direction/Piano Nick Bond Director CAST
A Buxton International Festival production. Death was never going to confine the force of nature that was Ethel Smyth to obscurity for long. A trailblazing composer, conductor and feminist; she was a breaker of windows for the suffragettes, and a breaker of glass ceilings for women musicians of the Victorian era. During her life she met discrimination towards her work with defiance, becoming the first woman to have an opera performed at the New York Met and the first female composer to become a Dame. Given that the tune for the suffragette’s anthem March of the Women is in the overture, it is unsurprising that The Boatswain’s Mate is often considered Smyth’s most ‘feminist’ opera. There’s also speculation that the protagonist is based on her friend Emmeline Pankhurst. The Boatswain’s Mate is a battle of the sexes, that centres on the feisty Mrs Waters, a widowed
Joshua Baxter Harry Benn Theo Perry Ned Travers Elizabeth Findon Mrs Waters Richard Woodall Policeman Rebecca Anderson Mary Ann Duration: 1 hour and 20 minutes.
landlady who has no desire to remarry. When one of her suitors, an ex-boatswain, attempts to ludicrously win her hand by concocting a fake robbery, she retaliates with aplomb. Smoking gun in hand, she proves she has no need for a knight in shining armour, but also perhaps that she’s not completely hardened to the idea of love. Nick Bond directs, following his successes with Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig (2021) and assistant-directing La sonnambula (2023). Music and libretto by Ethel Smyth, based on a story of the same name by W W Jacobs. 25
BUXTON FRINGE 2024 3-21 JULY * *
*
Music Theatre Comedy Dance Visual Arts Film Street Theatre Spoken Word
*
Children’s Events
*
* & more!
www.buxtonfringe.org.uk DOWNLOAD THE FREE BUXTON FRINGE APP!
BFF-Festival brochure advert-2024.indd 1
23/11/2023 19:37
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
IAN SHAW GREEK STREET FRIDAY Thursday 4 July Jazz at The Palace Ian Shaw Vocals Jamie Safir Piano/Keys Conor Chaplin Basses David Preston Guitars Alex Haines Slide guitar Ian Thomas Drums Matt Kent Guest/ Backing Vocals Polly Gibbons Guest/ Backing Vocals Mica Townsend Guest/Backing Vocals
8pm – 10pm £20
Walks
Thursday 4 July The multi-award-winning Ian Shaw and his 8-piece band open our long weekend of jazz with his new album. Performing songs from Greek Street Friday (Silent Wish Records), he reflects on his lifelong love of people and places, with an album that echoes the highs and melancholy poetry of city living. Co-written and produced by Jamie Safir (Will Young, Mica Paris, Birdy, Kylie Minogue), the album has a lyrical fearlessness that echoes Bowie, Bernie Taupin, Billy Joel, Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell. Expect an evening of fresh, bluesy and funky music.
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Friday 5 July
JANE GLOVER
Friday 5 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12
Mozart in Italy: Coming of Age in the Land of Opera At thirteen years old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who had captured the hearts of northern Europe. However, his father Leopold was now determined to conquer Italy. Together they made three visits, all vividly recounted by acclaimed conductor, biographer and broadcaster Dame Jane Glover. Father and son travelled from the theatres and concert salons of Milan to the church-filled streets of Rome, to Naples and to Venice, the carnivalesque birthplace of public opera. Mozart met the challenge of writing Italian opera for Italian singers and audiences, and provoked responses from admiration to hostility.
DESCHANEL GORDON Friday 5 July 1pm – 3pm Jazz at The Palace £20
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Still only in his twenties, pianist Deschanel Gordon is fast becoming a big name on the London jazz scene. Born in Hackney, he attended youth programmes such as the Hackney Creative Jazz Ensemble and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy. Having graduated from Trinity Laban, he went on to win the BBC Young Jazz Musician competition in 2020. His sound is steeped in swing with influences ranging from gospel to reggae to neo-soul. He has worked with the likes of Nubya Garcia and Courtney Pine, as well as performing with his own trio. ‘The piano man to watch’ London Jazz News
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Friday 5 July
PAUL LEWIS
PIANO Schubert Series III Friday 5 July 3pm – 5pm (including interval) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 F Schubert Piano Sonata No. 4 in A minor, D537 Piano Sonata No. 9 in B, D575 Piano Sonata No. 18 in G, D894 Internationally regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation, Paul Lewis CBE returns to Buxton to complete the survey of Schubert’s piano sonatas he began last year (see also Saturday 6 July). His numerous awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year and three Gramophone awards. ‘Lewis brought his customary intelligence and intensity… with endless shifts in colour and weight. The fearsome technical demands…were met with unshowy dexterity.’ The Guardian
BUXTON’S HERITAGE tour is for you! Learn about the development of this beautiful spa town and the many faces it has AND HISTORY had over the years. Hear the story of its thermal
Are you new to Buxton? Then this guided walking
Friday 5 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
waters and visit some of its iconic buildings. Enjoy a gentle amble around Lower Buxton with a Discover Buxton tour guide. This is a wheelchair accessible route, but features uneven pavements, inclines and a small hill. 29
Friday 5 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN 7.15pm See p22
HELEN REBANKS Friday 5 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12
The Farmer’s Wife As dawn breaks on the farm, Helen Rebanks makes a mug of tea, relishing the few minutes of quiet before the house stirs. Within the hour the sounds of her husband, James, and their four children will fill the kitchen. There are also six sheepdogs, two ponies, 20 chickens, 50 cattle and 500 sheep to care for. Helen is a farmer’s wife. Hers is a story that is rarely told, despite being one we think we know. Weaving past and present, Helen shares the days that have shaped her and provides a portrait of a Lake District farmhouse that beautifully captures the unsung work of keeping a home and raising a family. ‘Beautiful and very honest’ Caitlin Moran
EMILY BROWN QUARTET Friday 5 July 10.30pm – Late Jazz at The Palace £15
Few singers are less interested in taking a musical journey in a straight line than Emily Brown. Jazz may be rocked, folk may be funked, and ballads may be taken deeper than a diving bell. Though the route can be unpredictable, the destination is always certain: pure entertainment. BIF’s Jazz Director Neil Hughes was bowled over when he saw this quartet at Seven Arts in Leeds. Expect a power-packed 90 minutes of fun. Emily Brown Vocals Will Power Guitar Steve Crocker Bass Caroline Boaden Drums
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Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
FLORIAN GADSBY Saturday 6 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12
Walks
Saturday 6 July This event is sponsored by
By My Hands: A Potter’s Apprentice Florian Gadsby has devoted his life to pottery, refining his technique towards the point of perfection and as his skill has grown, so has his social media following, which numbers in the millions. Based at a studio in North London, he releases three new collections per year, characterised by simple forms and sharp edges, which sell out in a matter of minutes. In By My Hands, Florian tells the story of his artistic awakening and of the sheer discipline which has led him to become the cultural sensation he is today.
KLEIO QUARTET
VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO Saturday 6 July St John’s Church
11.15am – 12.15pm £25, Balcony £20
J Bach Chorale: ‘O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross’ (O man, bewail your great sin), BWV 622 J Haydn String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76 No. 2 in D minor, ‘Fifths’ A Dvořák String Quartet No. 13 in G, Op. 106 Prize-winners at the Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition 2023, the Kleio Quartet are quickly establishing themselves as an internationally recognised quartet. Described by Alina Ibragimova as ‘a wonderfully dedicated group of musicians who bring assuredness and freshness to everything they play’, they formed at the Seiji Ozawa International Chamber Academy in 2019 and have performed in major international venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Victoria Hall, Cadogan Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and DR Koncerthuset and the Black Diamond, Copenhagen.
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Saturday 6 July
CHARLES SPENCER
Saturday 6 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Buxton Opera House £15
A Very Private School: A Memoir In a poignant memoir, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, recounts the trauma of being sent away from home at age eight to attend a boarding school. A Very Private School offers a clear-eyed, firsthand account of a culture of cruelty at the school Spencer attended in his youth and provides important insights into an antiquated boarding system. Drawing on the memories of many of his schoolboy contemporaries, as well as his own letters and diaries from the time, he reflects on the hopelessness and abandonment he felt aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness and the appalling inescapability of it all. Exploring the long-lasting impact of his experiences, Spencer presents a candid reckoning with his past and a reclamation of his childhood.
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This event is sponsored by
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
NEARLY DAN IN CONCERT
THE SPIRIT AND SOUND OF STEELY DAN Saturday 6 July 3pm – 5.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £25 The spirit and sound of Steely Dan arrives in Buxton, on a tour that’s taken in Jazz Café London and Concorde 2 in Brighton. Nearly Dan is less of a tribute and more of a homage, and is a saviour to the growing legions of Dan fans, desperate to hear the meticulously crafted grooves and allusive lyrical style of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Nearly Dan’s approach is faithful, though not reverential, and relaxed but as tight as their namesakes. They bring their own unique spirit and spontaneous humour to every concert.
ANNE LISTER, GENTLEMAN JACK AND BUXTON Saturday 6 July 11.30am – 1pm Meet at the entrance to the Buxton Crescent Hotel £15
Walks
Saturday 6 July
PAUL LEWIS
PIANO Schubert Series IV Saturday 6 July 3pm – 5pm (including interval) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 F Schubert Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D958 Piano Sonata No. 20 in A minor, D959 Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat, D960 Paul Lewis performs regularly as a soloist with the world’s great orchestras and is a frequent guest at prestigious international festivals including Lucerne, Mostly Mozart (New York), Tanglewood, Salzburg, Edinburgh, and the BBC Proms where, in 2010, he became the first pianist to perform a complete Beethoven piano concerto cycle in one season. He concludes his survey of Schubert’s piano sonatas (see also 5 July) with the three sonatas written in the last year of the composer’s life.
Join a Discover Buxton actor and guide to take a gentle promenade with ‘Anne Lister’ during her 7-week visit to Buxton, while she muses on friendships, the Ladies of Llangollen and those, like herself, who defied social conventions. The route is wheelchair accessible. It features some dropped kerbs but is mainly staged within the grounds of the Pavilion Gardens
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
UBUNYE
Saturday 6 July 7.30pm – 10pm Pavilion Arts Centre £22
Vibrant Afro-jazz band Ubunye’s new show features powerful vocalists from South Africa’s Kwa Zulu Natal region, combined with a dynamic rhythm section and horn players from Leeds and Manchester. The music is a unique blend of contemporary jazz, Afro-pop and traditional ‘Isigqui’ Zulu music. ‘A really crowd-pleasing show…full of life, love and vitality that completely lifts the spirit that joins audience and performers into one.’ David Porter, Hull Jazz Festival Xolani Mbatha Vocalist Nokuthula Zondi Vocalist David Evans Songwriter/MD and keyboards Sam Dutton Taylor Bass Steve Hanley Drums Nik Svarc Guitar Emma Johnson Tenor Sax Aaron Wood Trumpet
Saturday 6 July
PUMP ROOM TALK: DR RICHARD GAUNT Saturday 6 July The Pump Rooms
6pm – 7pm £12
Living with the Georgians Dr Richard A Gaunt, Associate Professor in History at Nottingham University, takes us beyond many people’s senses of Georgian England as a place of tea-sets, lavish country houses, dancing, men in wigs, and ladies in bonnets. His talk goes behind the surface of these popular images to consider major social themes during the period. Buoyed by new sources of wealth and influence, Georgian England offered exciting new opportunities for getting and spending, social climbing, and town life, but it was a society of stark contrasts between rich and poor.
NOBEL, WOUTERS AND BOUTTERY Saturday 6 July Jazz at The Palace
10.30pm - Late £15
This modern creative jazz trio was specially formed for this Festival, featuring musicians performing with pianist Jef Neve (see 7 July). Trumpeter Teus Nobel, bassist Nathan Wouters and drummer Jens Bouttery have all ‘earned their stripes’ recording and performing with renowned artists and bands all over the world. Recent albums include After Hours (Nobel, 2023), Oak (Wouters, 2023) and The List (Bouttery, 2021). They bring a mixture of American jazz tradition and the European ECM sound, with a hint of classical music.
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Teus Nobel Trumpet Nathan Wouters Double bass Jens Bouttery Drums
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Sunday 7 July
FENELLA HUMPHREYS AND MARTIN ROSCOE
VIOLIN AND PIANO
Sunday 7 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 C Saint-Saëns Violin Sonata No. 1 Op. 75 G Fauré Romance Op. 28 G Fauré Andante Op. 75 G Enescu Impromptu Concertant L Boulanger Nocturne and Cortège M Ravel Sonate Posthume G Fauré Violin Sonata No. 1 in A, Op. 13
JEF NEVE
THAT OLD FEELING Sunday 7 July 1pm – 3pm Jazz at The Palace £22 Jef Neve introduces his new album with music that takes you on a journey and makes you smile, from Damien Rice to Marvin Gaye along with his own works. ‘Can you remember that last time you had a great afternoon with friends?’ asks Jef Neve. ‘That afternoon that you will never forget, because you enjoyed it so much? Then suddenly, in the middle of that afternoon full of laughter and fun, this warm sentiment of happiness overwhelms you? Well, that, exactly that moment when your heart is completely fulfilled, that’s the feeling on which I built this album: That Old Feeling.’
With an extraordinary career spanning over five decades, Martin Roscoe is unarguably one of the UK’s best-loved pianists. Violinist Fenella Humphreys, winner of the 2023 BBC Music Magazine Premiere Recording Award, has attracted critical admiration and audience acclaim with the grace and intensity of her remarkable performances. Together, they mark the centenary of Fauré’s death with music by Fauré himself, his own teacher, Saint-Saëns, two of his distinguished pupils, Enescu and Ravel, and the remarkably gifted Lili Boulanger.
Jef Neve Piano Monique Harcum Vocals Sam Merrick Vocals Nathan Wouters Bass Jens Bouttery Drums Teus Nobel Trumpet Andy Dhondt Saxophone Pieter Kindt Bass trombone 35
Sunday 7 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
BUXTON’S HERITAGE AND HISTORY Sunday 7 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
ZOE RAHMAN OCTET
COLOUR OF SOUND Sunday 7 July 6pm – 8pm Jazz at The Palace £25
Ivor Novello winner Zoe Rahman fronts an all-star 8-piece band, with music from her most ambitious and uplifting recent album. Colour of Sound combines Zoe’s unique and powerful writing with thrilling arrangements and dynamic performances to create an album of jazz at its highest level. It’s a splash of colour and a bold statement beautifully realised that is Zoe Rahman’s most compelling work to date. ‘Rahman’s playing is always intricate and surprising. An outstanding, bravura set’ The Guardian Zoe Rahman Piano Rowland Sutherland Flute and Alto Flute Camilla George Alto Sax Idris Rahman Tenor Sax and Clarinet Mark Armstrong Trumpet Rosie Turton Trombone Gene Calderazzo Drums Alec Dankworth Double Bass
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See p29 for information about this walk.
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
SPA AND EMPIRE Sunday 7 July 3pm – 5pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
Take a stroll, with a Discover Buxton tour guide, through the vastness of the British Empire recorded on the headstones of those who came to seek health in a small provincial spa town high in the Derbyshire Hills. This walk will take you back to the 19th century when visitors flocked to take the waters. You will hear some of their family stories and about the intimate lives of the citizens of Buxton, often at a vulnerable time in their lives. This route is not wheelchair accessible. It features uneven pavements, a graveyard and a hill.
Sunday 7 July FESTIVAL MASS 11am See p17
LA CANTERINA 2pm See p24
SONG AT SIX 6pm See p17
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO
7.15pm See p20
DEAN STOCKDALE QUARTET
CELEBRATING OSCAR Sunday 7 July 9.30pm – 11pm Jazz at The Palace £15
The Dean Stockdale Quartet brings together four of the UK’s finest jazz musicians to showcase the music of the great Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson. Performing new arrangements of Oscar’s compositions and music from famous albums such as Night Train, We Get Requests and The Canadiana Suite, this is a show that brings the infectious swing and virtuosity that symbolised Oscar’s groups.
‘Stockdale’s playing is consistently engaging and uniformly excellent.’ JazzMann Dean Stockdale Piano Tim Williams Guitar Gavin Barras Bass Gaz Hughes Drums
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Monday 8 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
RYAN DRUCKER
PIANO
Monday 8 July St John’s Church
11.15am – 12.15pm £20, Balcony £18
J Brahms Ballades Op. 10, No. 3 and 4 E Dohnányi Winterreigen (Winter Round-dance) Op. 13 J Corigliano Fantasia on an Ostinato J Strauss II, transc L Godowsky Künstlerleben (An Artist’s Life)
ANNA REID
Monday 8 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12
A Nasty Little War: The Western Intervention into the Russian Civil War Overshadowed by the First World War, the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War was one of the most ambitious military ventures of the 20th century. In 1918, it drew in 180,000 troops from fifteen different countries in theatres ranging from the Caspian Sea to the Arctic. Initially launched to prevent Germany from exploiting the power vacuum in Eastern Europe, the Intervention morphed into a bid to destroy the Bolsheviks on the battlefield. Allied armaments, supplies, and loans could not prevent Russia’s anti-Bolshevik armies from collapsing, and the Allies were forced to retreat. Acclaimed journalist Anna Reid explores how the humiliation sapped British imperial swagger, chastened American idealism, and stoked militarism and nationalism in France and Germany. 38
Belgian pianist Ryan Drucker, based in Manchester, is celebrated for his intelligent playing and formidable technique. He appeared at the Wigmore Hall at the age of sixteen and has since played in distinguished venues throughout the UK and in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and Switzerland. He has also broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and is a piano and chamber music tutor for Yorkshire Young Musicians at Leeds College of Music.
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
THE THREE DUKES: ARISTOCRAT, COLLECTOR AND ACADEMIC
Monday 8 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
Walks
Monday 8 July
Learn about the development of Buxton under the Cavendish family, from their nearby stately home of Chatsworth House. Hear how the different characters of the 5th, 6th and 7th Dukes of Devonshire shaped the town as we know it today. Enjoy a circular walk around Lower Buxton with a Discover Buxton tour guide. This route is not wheelchair accessible and features uneven pavements, inclines and a small hill.
ALAN BARNES SWINGTET Monday 8 July 12.30pm – 3pm Jazz at The Palace £20 After the phenomenal concert with Wynton Marsalis at BIF in 2023, it was decided that this band was too good to exist for a oneoff appearance. Here it is again, this year without Wynton, but still propelled by the unstoppable rhythm team of Will Sach (bass) and Will Cleasby (drums) and featuring the superb stylings of Daniel Higham on trombone. They will be playing Alan’s new arrangements, ranging from New Orleans through to swing
and mainstream jazz. With nifty section work interspersed with great solos, this is the perfect Festival ensemble. Alan Barnes Saxophones and Clarinet David Newton Piano Will Sach Bass Will Cleasby Drums Daniel Higham Trombone Pete Horsfall Trumpet
39
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Monday 8 July
TRACY BORMAN & NICOLA TALLIS
Elizabeth I: Woman and Girl, Princess and Queen Monday 8 July 3pm – 4pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12
Two of Britain’s bestselling Tudor historians, Tracy Borman and Nicola Tallis, come together to discuss Elizabeth as princess and as queen. Before she was three years old Elizabeth had been both a princess and then a bastard following the execution of her mother. After losing several stepmothers and then her father, the teenage Elizabeth was confronted with the predatory attentions of Sir Thomas Seymour. She faced further jeopardy during the bloody reign of her half-sister Mary. Against all the odds Elizabeth succeeded to the throne and became one of the most celebrated monarchs in British history.
DANTE QUARTET
STRING QUARTET
Monday 8 July 3pm – 5pm (including interval) St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20 F Bridge Three Idylls E Elgar String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83 J Brahms String Quartet in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 The Dante Quartet, one of the UK’s finest ensembles, is known for its imaginative programming and impassioned performances. The quartet was founded in 1995 and chose its name to reflect the idea of an epic journey. Frequently heard on Radio 3, the quartet has appeared many times at London’s Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, and at some of the UK’s foremost festivals and music societies. 40
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Monday 8 July
GOLDA SCHULTZ AND GARY MATTHEWMAN
SOPRANO AND PIANO
Monday 8 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm Buxton Opera House £20 – £50 W Mozart Als Luise die Briefe (When Luise burned the letters), K520 Das Lied der Trennung (Song of separation), K519 An Chloë (To Chloe), K524 F Schubert Suleika I, D720 Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the spinning wheel), D118 Romanze aus ‘Rosamunde‘ (Song from ‘Rosamunde’), D797 Gretchens Bitte (Gretchen’s plea), D564 Suleika II D717 C Schumann Liebst du um Schönheit (If you Love for beauty’s Sake), Op. 12 No. 4 Warum willst du and’re fragen (Why do you ask other people) Op. 12 No. 11 Am Strande (On the shore) R Strauss Four Songs, Op. 27 Ruhe, meine Seele! (Rest, my soul) Cäcilie (Cecilia) Heimliche Aufforderung (Secret invitation) Morgen! (Tomorrow) Internationally renowned South African soprano Golda Schultz is as at home on the opera stage as she is as a soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras, and in song recitals. Trained in Cape Town, New York and Munich, she had early operatic success in Salzburg, Glyndebourne and Munich. Concerts with Finnish Radio Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester, Leipzig, led to today’s thriving international career. 41
Monday 8 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
THREEWAY
WITH SPECIAL GUEST JOHN ETHERIDGE Monday 8 July 5pm – 7pm Jazz at The Palace £20
Ben Crosland formed the trio in 2004 with Steve Waterman and Steve Lodder, to explore the subtle and open possibilities of a group without drums. The band is approaching its 20th anniversary and, to mark the occasion, it is recording an album of new compositions with guitar legend John Etheridge as special guest. The album will be launched at this event. ‘Three stellar musicians…as near to perfection as anyone could want.’ Peter Vacher, Jazzwise Ben Crosland Bass Steve Lodder Piano Steve Waterman Trumpet/Flugel John Etheridge Guitar
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE 7.15pm See p25
NEW ORLEANS SOCIAL CLUB
ADRIAN COX JAZZ QUINTET, WITH A STRING QUARTET AND BBC STRICTLY COME DANCING’S TOMMY BLAIZE Monday 8 July
9pm – 10.15pm
The Opera House
An all-star cast closes Buxton International Festival’s opening jazz weekend, fronted by one of the world’s leading New Orleans clarinettists Adrian Cox. He’ll be playing alongside guestsinger Tommy Blaize, from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, and a string quartet led by the hugely respected Gabriella Swallow. Expect an evening of the highest quality musicianship with some of the most loved figures on the jazz scene. The show features music composed by Cox, as he introduces his new project Clarinet Fantasy, inspired by clarinettist Barney Bigard’s 1940s album Fantasy for Clarinet. 42
£29 – £44
‘Utterly beautiful; what a musician Adrian Cox is’ Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2 Adrian Cox Clarinet/Vocal Denny Ilett Guitar Will Barry Piano Will Sach Double Bass Shaney Forbes Drums Michael Jones Violin Ciaran McCabe Violin Eoin Schmidt-Martin Viola Gabriella Swallow Cello Tommy Blaize Vocals
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Tuesday 9 July
TORSTEN BELL Tuesday 9 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Great Britain? How To Get Our Future Back We all want to know what on earth is going on. Why real wages are flatlining but taxes are rising, and public services are still collapsing. Why our children can’t afford a house and why our neighbours are using foodbanks. We are all yearning for a way out of the repeated economic crises, generational divisions and political dysfunction that dominate our lives. Most of all we want our – and Britain’s – future back. In Great Britain? Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, makes a hopeful case for reclaiming a different future: by building an investment nation of good work, resilient communities and secure homes, a society in which both burdens and prosperity are shared.
ALL ALE AND HIGHER BUXTON
Tuesday 9 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
MILO HARPER
HARP
Tuesday 9 July 11.15am – 12.15pm The Assembly Rooms £20 G Fauré Impromptu pour la Harpe, Op. 86 F Poulenc Novelette in E minor, arr. M Harper B Britten Suite for Harp, Op. 83 JS Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, arr. M Harper S Coleridge-Taylor ‘Deep River’, arr. M Harper H Renié Pièce Symphonique Milo Harper is devoted to showcasing the artistic possibilities of the harp; he explores its history and poeticism by thoughtfully curating/ transcribing music from both recognised and historically under-represented composers. Currently based in London, he is a soloist on the Munster Trust Recital Scheme and Harp Fellow for the Philharmonia Orchestra’s MMSF scheme. This performance is made possible thanks to the Munster Musical Trust.
Discover the people and stories of Higher Buxton whilst searching for the town’s oldest pub. See the cobbled streets and lime-washed houses of the old village, visit the oldest known standing building, St Anne’s Church, and visit one of its most beloved shops. Take a meandering walk from Lower Buxton to the far end of Higher Buxton with a Discover Buxton tour guide. This route is not wheelchair accessible and features uneven pavements, steps and a steep hill. 43
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Tuesday 9 July
ALEXANDRA HARRIS Tuesday 9 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 The Rising Down: Lives in a Sussex Landscape When acclaimed cultural historian, author of Romantic Moderns and Weatherland, Alexandra Harris returned to her childhood home of West Sussex, she realised that she barely knew the place at all. By focusing on one small patch of England, Harris finds ‘a World in a Grain of Sand’ and opens vast new horizons, becoming our intimate companion as we travel on visionary journeys through space and time. From the painter John Constable and the modernist writer Ford Madox Ford to the lost local women who left little trace, these electrifying encounters - spanning the Downs, Poland, Australia, Canada - inspired her to imagine lives that seemed distant yet were deeply connected through their shared landscape. Who has stood here, Alexandra asks, and what did they see?
ROWAN MOORE Tuesday 9 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Property: The myth that built the world Property carries a great promise: that it will make you rich and set you free. But it is also a weapon, an agent of displacement and exploitation. In Britain, it has led to a new class division between those who own and those who don’t. Rowan Moore, the architecture critic for The Observer, presents a powerful analysis of our concept of property ownership; from 16th century enclosures to the present day, of life in the developer-led boomtown of Gurgaon in India, of a giant experiment in co-operative living in the Bronx, to the impacts of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘property-owning democracy.’ He asks: how have we come to view our homes as investments and how could things be reformed to enable the social wealth of property to be returned to society?
44
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
SPA AND EMPIRE Tuesday 9 July 3pm – 5pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
Tuesday 9 July
OPERA IN THE CAVERN Tuesday 9 July Poole’s Cavern
See p37 for information about this walk.
5.30pm – 6.30pm £45
See p16 for more information on this event.
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN 7.15pm See p22
RODERICK WILLIAMS AND ROGER VIGNOLES
BARITONE AND PIANO Knights and Legends Tuesday 9 July St John’s Church
3pm – 5pm (including interval) £30, Balcony £25
Roderick Williams is one of the most sought-after baritones of his generation, with a wide repertoire spanning baroque to contemporary. Festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and Melbourne. He was Artist in Residence at the 2023 Aldeburgh Festival and was one of the featured soloists at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023. In a career spanning five decades, pianist
Roger Vignoles has become recognized throughout the world as a leading exponent of the art of song. Today’s programme is in three sections: English, including songs by Vaughan Williams; German, including Clara and Robert Schumann, Brahms and Wolf; and French, including Machaut, Honegger, Poulenc and Ravel. Featured poets include Tennyson, Goethe and Apollinaire. 45
Wednesday 10 July Friends Day
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
EMILE SOUVAGIE AND HAMISH BROWN
This event is sponsored by
CLARINET AND PIANO
Wednesday 10 July 11.15am – 12.15pm St John’s Church £20, Balcony £18 R Schumann Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 A Berg 4 Stücke, Op. 5 F Poulenc Clarinet Sonata G Pierné Canzonetta, Op. 19 G Gershwin Three Preludes, transcribed by Charles Neidich
CHRISTOPHER SOMERVILLE Wednesday 10 July Pavilion Arts Centre
10am – 11am £12
Walking the Bones of Britain: A 3 Billion Year Journey from the Outer Hebrides to the Thames Estuary Travelling a thousand miles and across three billion years, the walking correspondent of The Times, Christopher Somerville, sets out to interrogate the land beneath our feet, and how it has affected every aspect of human history from farming to house construction, the Industrial Revolution to the current climate crisis. In his thousand-mile journey, Somerville follows the story of Britain’s unique geology; travelling from the fossil-rich rocks of the Isle of Lewis, formed when the world was still molten, down the map south eastwards across bogs, over peaks and past quarry pits to the furthest corner of Essex where new land is being formed by nature and man. 46
Emile Souvagie is the current principal clarinettist of Opera Ballet Flanders. In 2023, he won the Gold Medal in the Royal OverSeas League’s Annual Music Competition. Last season he was an academist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. Hamish Brown is a British pianist, arranger, composer and conductor based in London. An award-winning and versatile artist, he has performed as a vocal accompanist, chamber musician, orchestral pianist and soloist at numerous prestigious venues across the UK and abroad.
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
ON THE MEDICINAL USE OF BUXTON WATER
Wednesday 10 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
Walks
Wednesday 10 July Friends Day
Are you a sceptic or a believer? Join Discover Buxton on a gentle stroll around Lower Buxton and find out more about the town’s thermal mineral waters, once known as a cure for anything that may ail you. We look at the properties of the water, hear tales of their impact and track their medicinal use through the centuries. This walk is on a wheelchair accessible route but features uneven pavements, inclines and a small hill.
TIMANDRA HARKNESS Wednesday 10 July Pavilion Arts Centre
BETTANY HUGHES Wednesday 10 July Buxton Opera House
12.30pm – 1.30pm £15
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Seven Wonders of the World were staggeringly audacious impositions on our planet. They were also brilliant adventures of the mind, test cases for the reaches of human imagination. Now only the great pyramid remains fully standing, yet the scale and majesty of these seven architectural wonders still enthral us today. Historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes will walk us through the landscapes of both ancient and modern time and ask why we wonder, create and choose to remember the wonder of others. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World reinforces the exciting and nourishing notion that humans can make the impossible happen.
4pm – 5pm £12
Technology is Not the Problem We already know how much of our data is collected and used to profile and target us. The real question is why, knowing all this, do we keep going back for more? Technology has delivered a world that we expect to revolve around us, our needs and preferences, and our unique personalities. Each of us willingly yields up the most intimate facets of our behaviour and interests in return for a world that’s exponentially easier to navigate. Ours is the Personalised Century, where we view ourselves primarily in terms of ‘what’ rather than ‘who’ we are – the objects of others’ recognition, rather than the subjects and authors of our own lives. Interrogating the historical currents that have brought us here, comedian, broadcaster, mathematician and statistician, Timandra Harkness envisages a messier, riskier and less comfortable world than the one into which we’re sliding. 47
Wednesday 10 July Friends Day
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
ANGELA HEWITT
PIANO
Wednesday 10 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval ) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 J S Bach Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830 L v Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 (Moonlight) D Scarlatti Three keyboard sonatas: Kk460 in C major; Kk519 in F minor; Kk466 in F minor J Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 One of the world’s leading concert pianists, Angela Hewitt appears regularly in recital and with major orchestras throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia. She is also an award-winning recording artist whose performances of Bach – including all of his major keyboard works for the Hyperion record label – have established her as one of the composer’s foremost interpreters.
ERNANI 7.15pm See p18
FRIENDS DAY 11am – 3pm The Assembly Rooms See p79
PUMP ROOM TALK: DR PETER COLLINGE Wednesday 10 July 6pm – 7pm The Pump Room £12
48
Buxton Crescent and its People, 1780-1840 Historian Peter Collinge returns to Buxton with stories of those who lived in, worked in and relaxed in the Crescent. The Georgians were dazzled by what they referred to as ‘Bath in miniature’. The fashionable and urbane availed themselves of what its hotels, lodging houses and shops had to offer. They swept through its arcade, paraded in its grand Assembly Room, took the waters and bathed in the mineral baths. Underpinning all were the hoteliers and lodging house keepers and a myriad of servants.
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Thursday 11 July
SAMUEL NG AND KRISTIINA WATT VIOLA DE GAMBA AND THEORBO Thursday 11 July St John’s Church
SIMON MCDONALD Thursday 11 July Pavilion Arts Centre
10am – 11am £12
Beyond Britannia: Reshaping UK Foreign Policy What should the future of British foreign policy look like? For too long successive governments have shied away from acknowledging uncomfortable truths about the decline of Britain’s military capabilities. Lord McDonald was the British ambassador to Germany and later permanent under-secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and head of the Diplomatic Service. He argues that the UK’s significant soft-power strengths can be harnessed to expand our international influence. Such a shift will only be possible, he says, if we first acknowledge the challenges of Brexit and the need to reduce our unrealistic hard-power ambitions. Excellence in areas that other countries care about will keep the UK internationally relevant in a way that nostalgia for a lost pre-eminence will not.
11.15am – 12.15pm £20, Balcony £18
M Marais Pièces de Viole, Livre IV - Suite No. 1 in D minor F Couperin Pièces de Viole - Suite No. 1 in E minor M Marais Pièces de Viole, Livre IV - Suite No. 2 in D major As a cellist and viol player, Samuel Ng works with ensembles such as The English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, Gabrieli Consort and Players, and Irish Baroque Orchestra. He has appeared at the Vienna Philharmonic Ball and the BBC Proms, and has performed and broadcast as a chamber musician in Europe. Lutenist Kristiina Watt enjoys a busy schedule in the UK and abroad. Recent concerts include performances with Rachel Podger, the Illyria Consort, and a chamber tour with the Academy of Ancient Music. This performance is made possible thanks to The Musicians’ Company Young Artists’ Programme.
SPA AND EMPIRE
Thursday 11 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
See p37 for information about this walk. 49
Thursday 11 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
NIGEL TOON Thursday 11 July Pavilion Arts Centre
3pm – 4pm £12
How AI thinks: How we built it, how it can help us, and how we can control it Our search engines are becoming answer engines. Artificial intelligence is already revolutionising sectors from education to healthcare to the creative arts. But how does an AI understand sentiment or context? How does it play and win games that have an almost infinite number of moves? Nigel Toon, the founder of Graphcore and a leading AI entrepreneur, explores how we can work with AI to produce insights and innovations that are beyond human capacity, from writing code in an instant to unfolding the elaborate 3D puzzles of proteins. We stand at the brink of a historic change that will disrupt society and at the same time create enormous opportunities for those who understand how AI thinks.
VOCES8
VOCAL ENSEMBLE Thursday 11 July 5pm – 7pm (including an interval) The Octagon £30 – £35
OPERA IN THE CAVERN
Thursday 11 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm Poole’s Cavern £45
See p16 for more information on this event. 50
The Grammy-nominated British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading musicians, orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos which is shared both online and in person. Their programme of sacred and secular music ranges from the Renaissance – Lassus, Gibbons – via Mendelssohn, Gershwin and Nat ‘King’ Cole, to the present day, with Ola Gjeilo, Caroline Shaw, and singer-songwriters including Paul Simon, Enya and Kate Rusby.
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
JUDI JACKSON / MADELINE BELL
Thursday 11 July 9pm – 11pm Buxton Opera House £20 – £30
Walks
Thursday 11 July
This late-night show, with two outstanding artists, opens with the incredible Madeline Bell. The legendary New Jersey-born singer makes her Opera House debut, after selling out at the Pavilion Arts Centre last year. She performs with her long-time collaborator, the BBC and Parliamentary award-winning singer, pianist and broadcaster, Ian Shaw. Judi Jackson headlines. After winning Vocalist of the Year at the 2020 Jazz FM awards, she has continued to put her world-class talent in the spotlight. Last year saw her sell out at London’s Jazz Café. Jackson’s American Songbook live show includes her interpretations of songs from jazz greats such as Nina Simone, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and her original soul-infused music to create an unforgettable performance. ‘A stand-out performer who is destined to be a star’ Neil Hughes, BIF’s Jazz Director
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO
2pm See p20
LA CANTERINA 7.15pm See p24 51
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Friday 12 July
JKL DUO
GUITAR AND FLUTE Friday 12 July 11.15am – 12.15pm The Assembly Rooms £20 The International Poet L Snowden Breton Fantasy on Ye Jacobites S Lawrence The Lea Rig S Stevenson The Deil’s Awa wi’ the Exciseman & Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonny Doon A Anand John Anderson, My Jo F Leineri The Betrayed Melody (after Robert Burns) S Lawrence Red Red Rose V Antipov Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad? (Fantasia on a Theme by Robert Burns) C Machado Auld Lang Syne Samba R K Versluys Ae Fond Kiss
DAVID REYNOLDS Friday 12 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12
Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him Winston Churchill followed his own star. He yearned to be ‘great’, to gain historical immortality. And he did so through deeds and words: his actions as a soldier and politician, gilded by his writings as a journalist and historian. But Churchill’s path to greatness was also defined by the leaders he encountered along the way – friends and foes, at home and abroad. Men of power such as Hitler and Mussolini, Roosevelt and Stalin, David Lloyd George, Neville Chamberlain and Charles de Gaulle. And the haunting presence of the adored father who had seen nothing of merit in his troublesome son. In these men Churchill discerned greatness, or its absence, in ways that influenced his own career. 52
The JKL DUO comprises Glasgow-based Italian guitarist Jacopo Lazzaretti and Scottish flautist Kerry Lynch. They released their debut album The International Poet in 2023, and have performed it extensively in concert around Scotland, and on Vatican Radio. This performance is made possible thanks to The Musicians’ Company Young Artists’ Programme.
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Friday 12 July
BUXTON’S HERITAGE AND HISTORY Friday 12 July 11.30am – 1pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
See p29 for information about this walk.
FRANK GARDNER
Friday 12 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Buxton Opera House £15 Invasion: The new Luke Carlton Thriller Frank Gardner has been the BBC’s Security Correspondent since 2002. In 2004, while filming in Saudi Arabia, he was ambushed by terrorists, shot multiple times and left for dead. He survived and returned to active news reporting within a year. Frank will discuss both his career and his acclaimed series of bestselling thrillers, including his new novel Invasion. It’s 2024, and China is massing troops on its coast across the Strait from Taiwan. This time it looks like they’re serious about invasion. But Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service has an agent in play: someone close to the top of the Chinese Communist Party and who’s ready to pass on vital secrets that could defuse the escalating situation. As the handover takes place in a Hong Kong back street cafe, the agent’s MI6 handler is snatched before she can transmit the data back to London and disappears.
GOULD PIANO TRIO
Friday 12 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 J Haydn Piano Trio No. 32 in A major, Hob XV:18 H Grime Three Whistler Miniatures J Brahms Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 B Smetana Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15 The Gould Piano Trio has been compared in the Washington Post to the great Beaux Arts Trio for its ‘musical fire’ and ‘dedication to the genre’ and has remained at the forefront of the international chamber music scene for over a quarter of a century. Their many appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall have included the complete piano trios of Dvořák, Mendelssohn and Schubert, and they returned to this iconic venue to present a Beethoven cycle in the 2022 – 2023 season. 53
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Friday 12 July
ANNE LISTER, GENTLEMAN JACK AND BUXTON Friday 12 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet at the entrance to the Buxton Crescent Hotel £15 See p33 for information about this walk.
RORY CELLAN-JONES Friday 12 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC Former BBC correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones knew he was the child of a brief love affair between two unmarried BBC employees. But until his mother died and he found a previously unknown file labelled ‘For Rory’ he had no idea of their beginnings or ending. This is a compelling account of a relationship between two colleagues (two romantics) and the restrictive forces of post-war respectability and prejudice that ended it. It is also an evocation of the progressive, centrifugal force at the centre of all their lives - the BBC itself. The drama moves from wartime radio broadcasts to the glamour of 1950s television studios, to the golden era of BBC drama. His father directed The Forsyte Saga and Rory could only watch from the corridors. 54
NISHLA SMITH WITH STRING QUARTET
THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK Friday 12 July 8pm – 10.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £20
Award-winning jazz singer Nishla Smith brings her trio and a sparkling string quartet to Buxton for an evening celebrating the best jazz standards of the Golden Age of Song. Joined by some of the UK’s foremost musicians, Nishla will present a selection of the 20th century’s best-loved songs, from Bewitched to Paper Moon. Nishla is an artist driven by a desire to tell stories. Her unique musical sensibility drives a prolific array of musical projects. She’s recently worked for Opera North, the London Jazz Festival and Manchester Collective. ‘Smith’s singing is an entrancing beauty… she creates a darkly gorgeous interior sonic world.’ Downbeat USA Nishla Smith Vocals Tom Harris Piano Misha Mullov-Abbado Bass Kai Chareunsy Drums Bridget O’Donnell Violin Sophie Hudgell Violin Lucy Nolan Viola Peggy Nolan Cello
ERNANI 7.15pm See p18
Opera
Music
XINRAN
Saturday 13 July Pavilion Arts Centre
Jazz
Books
Walks
Saturday 13 July
10am – 11am £12
The Book of Secrets: A Personal History of Betrayal in Red China Following the lives of military intelligence officer Jie and his wife Moon, The Book of Secrets, weaves recently found material into a narrative that not only illuminates the shadowy world of intelligence in China, but also the emotional tragedies that political extremism inflicted on those working within. Drawing on Jie’s own vivid biography of his youth, activist and bestselling author Xinran pieces together Jie’s trajectory as he joins the great hope of the Chinese young - the Communist Party - and becomes a loyal cadre
until the late 1970s when, as a chief in the security forces, he makes a decision that will poison his family against him. Xinran was the host of a pioneering Chinese radio show Words on the Night Breeze, which invited women to discuss their issues live on air.
CAROLINE LUCAS MP Saturday 13 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Buxton Opera House £15 Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story Caroline Lucas is the MP for Brighton Pavilion and is the UK’s first and only Green Party MP. With the UK increasingly divided, England has re-emerged as a potent force in our culture and politics. But Caroline suggests there are other stories, equally compelling, about who we are: about the English people’s radical inclusivity, their deep-rooted commitment to the natural world, their long struggle to win rights for all. And she sketches out an alternative Englishness: one that we can all embrace to build a greener, fairer future.
This event is sponsored by
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Saturday 13 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
HEJIRA Saturday 13 July Pavilion Arts Centre
2pm – 4.30pm £20
It was Joni Mitchell’s 80th birthday last year, and there couldn’t be a better time for celebrating the major works of one of the greatest singersongwriters of the 20th century. Hejira is a 7-piece band set up to celebrate and honour Mitchell’s masterpieces, drawing the body of its repertoire from her outstanding live album Shadows And Light. Expect an afternoon of the great songs from her back catalogue. Hattie Whitehead Vocals and guitar Ollie Weston Tenor and soprano saxophones Chris Eldred Keyboards Pete Oxley Guitar Dave Jones Bass Rick Finlay Drums Mark Cecil Percussion
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN 7.15pm See p22
MICA MILLAR Saturday 13 July Pavilion Arts Centre
9pm – 10.30pm £25
Releasing her debut album Heaven Knows to critical acclaim in June 2022, Mica Millar has quickly become one of the UK’s brightest new soul stars, picking up Jazz FM’s prestigious ‘Soul Act of The Year 2022’ award, alongside a nomination for ‘Breakthrough Act of The Year’, and featuring on the front cover of the iconic Blues & Soul magazine. ‘Outstanding. The future of British Soul Music is in very safe hands.’ Christian Bragg, Jazz FM
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Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Sunday 14 July
FESTIVAL MASS 11am See p17
SONG AT SIX 6pm See p17
JEREMY SASSOON’S RAY CHARLES ORCHESTRA Sunday 14 July 8.30pm – 10.30pm Buxton Opera House £20 - £30
Jeremy is one of the UK’s most in-demand singer-pianists, renowned for his distinctive natural soulful voice, his jazz and blues piano style, a repertoire of stunning arrangements, and a charismatic, engaging personality. His powerful 18-piece big band tribute to the music of Ray Charles has captured the imagination of jazz, blues and soul audiences alike. Get ready for a spectacular show. ‘It’s a mark of true showmanship when a performer knows when to change the speed or the vibe, taking the audience on an emotional journey, and that’s exactly what Jeremy Sassoon does’ London Jazz Review
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Sunday 14 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
SPA AND EMPIRE
Thursday 11 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
ERNANI 2pm See p18
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE 7.15pm See p25
See p37 for information about this walk.
ZORADA TEMMINGH
THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Film with live organ accompaniment
Sunday 14 July 8.45pm – 10.15pm (including a ten-minute pre-screening talk) St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20
DELPHINE TRIO WITH MAJA HORVAT
CLARINET, CELLO, PIANO AND VIOLIN Sunday 14 July St John’s Church
3pm – 4pm £25, Balcony £20
O Messiaen Quatuor pour la fin du Temps Founded in 2020 at the Royal College of Music, the Delphine Trio brings together three passionate young musicians from opposite sides of the globe: Australian clarinetist Magdalenna Krstevska, Dutch cellist Jobine Siekman, and South African pianist Roelof Temmingh. They were finalists in the 2022 Royal Over-Seas League Competition in London, and in December 2023 their debut album was issued by the Dutch label TRPTK. They are joined by prize-winning violinist Maja Horvat for Messiaen’s monumental and profoundly moving wartime Quartet. This performance is made possible thanks to The Musicians’ Company Young Artists’ Programme. 58
Zorada Temmingh is a renowned organ improvisor who has performed in South Africa, the UK, the USA, Switzerland, Belgium, Israel and Namibia. She was the first South African to do soundtrack improvisations for silent movies. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is her third performance at BIF, following successes with The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2019) and Phantom of the Opera (2023).
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Monday 15 July
ENSEMBLE HESPERI
RECORDERS, VIOLIN, CELLO & HARPSICORD Handel in the Strand
Monday 15 July 11.15am – 12.15pm The Assembly Rooms £20
HELEN MOLESWORTH
Monday 15 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12
Precious: The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time Helen’s career has spanned the global gem and jewellery industry. For ten years she was a jewellery specialist for Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London and Geneva, where she handled sales of global importance, including the private jewellery collection of HRH The Princess Margaret in 2006. Precious is a sweeping history of humanity’s love affair with jewels. As the V&A’s Senior Jewellery Curator, Helen takes you behind the curtain of what you see in a museum, illuminating the deeply human stories that lie behind them. Journey back through the generations of women who wore pearls as a signifier of femininity, and marvel at the role these glistening objects have played in changing depictions of feminism - from Marie Antoinette to Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor to Coco Chanel.
J Oswald ‘The Poppy’ from Airs for the Seasons (Summer) G F Handel Trio Sonata in B Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, HWV 386b, E de Gambarini Minuet and ‘Cariglion’, from Lessons and Songs, Op. 2 J Oswald ‘A Sonata on Scots Tunes’, from A Curious Collection of Scots Tunes H Playford ‘Peggy’s the Prettiest’ and ‘My Lady Hope’s Scotch Measure’ from A Collection of Original Scotch Tunes R Bremner ‘Maggie Lauder’ from A Harpsichord or Spinnet Miscellany H Purcell Sonata 1 in B minor, Z802, from Ten Sonatas in Four Parts G P Telemann Trio Sonata in G Minor, TWV 42:g9 We are delighted to welcome back Ensemble Hesperi, who performed for the Liberata Collective’s sell-out production of Orlando last summer. Ensemble Hesperi is an award-winning period ensemble with a passion for showcasing Early Music through intelligent and research-led programming. Since 2019, the ensemble has gained a strong reputation for championing rarely-heard music, bringing forgotten stories to life through joyful collaborations with guest artists, dancers, and actors.
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Monday 15 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
JONATHAN DIMBLEBY Monday 15 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Buxton Opera House
£15
Endgame 1944: How the Soviet Army Won World War Two After three years of stalemate, during which the Germans occupied and ravaged large parts of the Soviet Union and its republics, with the breaking of the German siege of Leningrad in January 1944, Stalin and his generals were able to consider striking back. In June 1944, they launched Operation Bagration, during which more than two million Red Army soldiers began an offensive. The results were almost immediate and devastating. Drawing on new sources, Jonathan Dimbleby chronicles this decisive year. He covers the military, political and diplomatic aspects in his trademark accessible and evocative style, illuminating the major conflicts, partisan fighting, and the war within a war in Ukraine.
This event is sponsored by
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Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
ALL ALE AND HIGHER BUXTON
Monday 15 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
See p43 for information about this walk.
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO
7.15pm See p20
Walks
Monday 15 July
THE COMMON PEOPLE Monday 15 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
We often hear the stories of the wealthy who visited the town but what of the people who served and supported these people? Join a Discover Buxton guide to hear the stories of the working lives and conditions of those who served and supported the wealthy visitors to the town. This route is wheelchair accessible, features some dropped kerbs, inclines and a small hill.
THE ENGLISH CONCERT
ORCHESTRA AND SOLOISTS Kristian Bezuidenhout Director/Harpsichord Monday 15 July 2pm – 4pm (including an interval) £35, Balcony £30 The English Concert is an outstanding orchestra: exceptional, in the world-renowned quality, ambition and variety of its live and recorded output; unique, in the zeal of its players for working and performing together; unwavering, in its desire to connect with its audience throughout the world. Under the artistic direction of Harry Bicket and principal guest Kristian Bezuidenhout, The English Concert has earned a reputation for combining urgency, passion and fire with precision, delicacy and beauty.
St John’s Church
H Purcell Ode for St Cecilia’s Day: ‘Welcome to all the pleasures’ H Purcell Suite from the theatre music, with ‘Evening Hymn’ interspersed J S Bach Cantata: ‘Komm, du süße Todesstunde’ (Come, death’s sweet hour), BWV 161 J S Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, BWV 1049
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Monday 15 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
PETER CLARK
Monday 15 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12
The Men of 1924: Britain’s First Labour Government Ramsay MacDonald’s Labour government of 1924 consisted, as governments had for generations, of twenty white, middle-aged men with a Christian background. But that is where the similarities with previous governments ended, for the election of Britain’s first Labour administration witnessed a radical departure from government by the ruling class. A majority of the new cabinet had left full time education by the time they were fifteen. Two were illegitimate, one was a foundling, three were from Irish immigrant families, another three had worked in coal mines before they were teenagers. The Men of 1924 is a vivid portrayal of the years preceding, and the arrival of, the first Labour government and the new breed of politician it heralded.
CARMEN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP AND PERFORMANCE Monday 15 July 2.30pm – 6pm The Octagon £20*
PERFORMANCE Monday 15 July 5pm – 6pm The Octagon £15
Become part of a creative process, gain insights into the workings of our Artistic Director and sing alongside professionals. This exciting workshop is a chance to join in the making of Bizet’s Carmen, led by the Festival’s Artistic Director, Adrian Kelly, and Iwan Davies, conductor of La tragédie de Carmen. A director will guide participants through the themes in the piece. Amateur singers are invited to sing the 62
choruses alongside the Buxton Festival Company, who take on the four protagonist roles from the opera. An abridged version of the opera will then be performed at the end of the afternoon. The event starts with an informal cup of tea at 2.30pm and concludes with a performance. You are welcome to join as a participant from the start or as an audience member from 5pm. * Ticket with chorus participation
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Tuesday 16 July
BETH TAYLOR AND MALCOLM MARTINEAU
MEZZO-SOPRANO AND PIANO Tuesday 16 July St John’s Church
JANE CHOLMELEY Tuesday 16 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 A Bookshop of One’s Own: How a Group of Women Set Out to Change the World Silver Moon was the dream of three women – a bookshop with the mission to promote the work of female writers and create a muchneeded safe space for any woman. Founded in 1980s London against a backdrop of homophobia and misogyny, it was a testament to the power of community. It became Europe’s biggest women’s bookshop and hosted a constellation of literary stars from Margaret Atwood and Maya Angelou to Angela Carter. While contending with dayto-day struggles common to other booksellers, plus the additional burdens of misogyny and the occasional hate crime, Jane Cholmeley and her booksellers created a thriving business. But they also played a crucial and relatively unsung part in one the biggest social movements of our time.
THE THREE DUKES: ARISTOCRAT, COLLECTOR AND ACADEMIC
11.15am – 12.15pm £25, Balcony £20
Glaswegian mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor, praised for her ‘warm, caressing timbre’ and ‘sensational coloratura’, has already made notable debuts across Europe and the UK, and is an active arts accessibility advocate. One of the leading accompanists of his generation, Malcolm Martineau has worked with many of the world’s greatest singers. He was the Artistic Director of the 2011 Leeds Lieder+ Festival. Their programme includes songs by H Purcell, A Honegger, R Hahn, R Schumann, W Rihm, G Tailleferre, F Schubert, H Howells, G Holst, M Mussorgsky, F Scott, V d’Indy, J Weir, and the traditional ‘Annie Laurie.’
Tuesday 16 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 See p39 for information about this walk.
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Tuesday 16 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
ROB RINDER
In conversation with Julian Glover Tuesday 16 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Buxton Opera House
£15
The Suspect Rob Rinder is a barrister turned writer and broadcaster. In 2014, while still a practising barrister, he began starring in his reality court show Judge Rinder, and he now uses his legal knowledge working in the media to make the law more accessible. He is also the author of three books and a columnist for The Sun and The London Evening Standard newspapers. His participation in Who Do You Think You Are? retraced the story of his Holocaust survivor grandfather and received a BAFTA. The BBC series he presented, The Holocaust, My Family and Me, was aired to wide critical acclaim. The Suspect is Rob’s second legal thriller and at the Festival he will talk about his extraordinary career to date.
KATHRYN STOTT
PIANO
Tuesday 16 July (including interval) St John’s Church
3pm – 5pm £30, Balcony £25
J S Bach Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C BWV 846 L Boulanger Thème et Variations G Fauré Barcarolle No. 4 in A flat Op. 44 M Ravel Jeux d’eau E Grieg Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Op. 65 No. 6 A Piazzolla Milonga, arr. K Yamamoto D Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue No.24 in D minor Op. 87 G Fitkin Scent R Rodgers ‘My Favourite Things’, arr. S Hough C Shaw Gustave Le Gray F Chopin Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4 in A minor P Grainger Molly on the Shore C Vine Short Story G Fitkin Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly ‘At the age of five, I made friends with the upright piano in our living room. That was the beginning of my musical journey, one which continues as you read this.’ In fact, this recital forms part of Kathryn Stott’s last professional tour. Her wideranging programme includes music by Fauré, to mark the centenary of his death, and a new work by Graham Fitkin.
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Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Tuesday 16 July
SOPHIE GRIGSON Tuesday 16 July Pavilion Arts Centre
4pm – 5pm £12
Exploding Tomatoes and Other Stories: The Food and Flavours of Southern Italy Sophie Grigson is a cook, food writer and television presenter with over 20 books to her name and 11 television series for BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery. In 2019 she sold, or gave away, most of her belongings and packed herself into her purple car to move to Puglia - the place she now calls home. Driving along the coastal ‘instep’ of southern Italy, Sophie travelled between little fishing ports and explored Puglia’s gay capital, then headed into the wild hills of Basilicata and Calabria’s high Sila famed for its chestnuts and mushrooms. In Exploding Tomatoes she charts the local delicacies, ingredients and producers and through recipes and stories, immerses you in the beauty, culture, food and characters of Southern Italy.
RHAPSODY IN BLUE CENTENARY SHOW AND OTHER AMERICAN CLASSICS
PRESENTED BY LIZZIE BALL AND JAMES PEARSON Tuesday 16 July 8pm – 10.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £25
OPERA IN THE CAVERN
Tuesday 16 July 4.45pm – 5.45pm and 5.30pm – 6.30pm Poole’s Cavern £45 See p16 for more information on this event.
Festival favourite Lizzie Ball returns to Buxton with longtime collaborator and Ronnie Scott’s Artistic Director James Pearson. Together, they present an incredible tour-de-force of the music of George Gershwin and other American classics. Experience the thrill of Gershwin’s first hit Swanee as Paul Whiteman may have played it, The Man I Love in the style of Oscar Peterson and Lady be Good as Benny Goodman might have performed it in duo with Stephane Grappelli. The show includes a special concert arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue, which celebrates its centenary this year. James Pearson Piano Lizzie Ball Violin/Vocals Tom Dunnett Trombone Jon Shenoy Saxes/Flute James Turner Percussion Connor Chaplin Bass Matt Skelton Drums
LA TRAGÉDIE DE CARMEN 7.15pm See p22
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Wednesday 17 July Friends Day
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
LUMAS WINDS
FLUTE, OBOE, FRENCH HORN, BASSOON, CLARINET Wednesday 17 July 11.15am – 12.15pm St John’s Church £20, Balcony £18 G Ligeti Six Bagatelles D Shostakovich Suite for Wind Quintet (arr. Palmquist) V Coleman ‘Vocalise’, from Afro-Cuban Concerto C Nielsen Wind Quintet Op. 43 L Schifrin La Nouvelle Orléans Lumas Winds is a dynamic, young chamber ensemble based in London. Winners of the 71st Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Prize in 2023, Lumas are committed ambassadors for wind chamber music and the rich variety of repertoire that it offers. They are Making Music’s Phillip and Dorothy Green Young Artists and took up an Aldeburgh residency in March 2024 as Britten Pears Arts Young Artists.
GILES MILTON Wednesday 17 July Pavilion Arts Centre
10am – 11am £12
The Stalin Affair: The Allies’ Secret Mission to Wartime Moscow In the wake of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, a select team of British and Americans were given two vital goals: to befriend Stalin and to keep the Red Army fighting on the Eastern Front. A multi-millionaire railroad magnate Averell Harriman and his fashionable and brilliant daughter, Kathy, were initially sent to London with orders to build a close working relationship with Winston Churchill. In Moscow, Averell then successfully wrangled Stalin into becoming a much-needed partner of the Allies. Aided by the gloriously eccentric Archie Clark Kerr, the trio got to know the Soviet leader more intimately than anyone else and learnt that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying masterplan for the post-war world. 66
This performance is made possible thanks to the Royal Over-Seas League
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Wednesday 17 July Friends Day
BUXTON’S HERITAGE AND HISTORY Wednesday 17 July 11.30am – 1pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
BRODSKY QUARTET
STRING QUARTET Wednesday 17 July 3pm – 5pm (including interval) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25
See p29 for information about this walk.
I Stravinsky 3 Pieces for String Quartet, I Zebeljan Polomka B Britten String Quartet No. 1 D Shostakovich 2 Pieces I Zebeljan Dark Velvet C Debussy String Quartet Since forming in 1972, the Brodsky Quartet has performed over 3,500 concerts on the major stages of the world and released more than 70 recordings. A natural curiosity and an insatiable desire to explore has propelled the group in a number of artistic directions and continues to ensure them not only a prominent presence on the international chamber music scene, but also a rich and varied musical existence.
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Wednesday 17 July Friends Day
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
ALL ALE AND HIGHER BUXTON
Wednesday 17 July 3pm – 5pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
See p43 for information about this walk.
PUMP ROOM TALK: DR AMANDA BLAKE DAVIS Wednesday 17 July 6pm – 7pm The Pump Room £12
JOHN CRACE Wednesday 17 July Pavilion Arts Centre
4pm – 5pm £12
Depraved New World: Please Hold, The Government Will Be With You Shortly Another month, another prime minister – how many have we been through now? But fear not: despite all the nonsense that has spewed forth from Westminster over the past two years, John Crace’s brilliantly lacerating political sketches have provided the nation with some desperately needed relief. Taking in everything from Partygate, BoJo’s drawn-out farewell and the disastrous reign of Liz Truss, to the psychodrama of the Tory leadership contest(s), the return of Rishi Sunak and the shenanigans of his impressively inept colleagues, Depraved New World is a worryingly funny collection, which captures British politics at its most absurd from The Guardian’s Political Sketch Writer. 68
Derbyshire and the Making of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Dr Amanda Blake Davis is a Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Derby. She specialises in Romantic literature, particularly Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells the tale of a creature stitched together from disparate parts. The narrative itself is also a composite of letters, diaries, and travel writing, describing the creature and its creator’s journeys from Switzerland to the Arctic. But Derbyshire also features on this journey. This talk will explore the region as a hub of eighteenth-century Enlightenment thought and its influence on Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ideas of science, revolution, and the imagination.
ERNANI 7.15pm See p18
FRIENDS DAY 11am – 3pm The Assembly Rooms See p79
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Thursday 18 July
DONNA LEON Thursday 18 July Pavilion Arts Centre
10am – 11am £12
Wandering Through Life: A Memoir Donna Leon is the internationally bestselling author of the Guido Brunetti mysteries. From a childhood in the company of her New Jersey family, with frequent visits to her grandfather’s farm and summers spent selling homegrown tomatoes by the roadside, Leon has long been open to adventure. In 1976, she made the spontaneous decision to teach English in Iran, before finding herself swept up in the early days of the 1979 Revolution. After teaching stints in China and Saudi Arabia, she finally landed in Venice. Leon vividly animates her decades-long love affair with Italy, her adoration of opera (especially Handel’s vocal music), her advocacy for the environment embodied in her passion for bees and her eager imagination for crime as she watches unsuspecting travellers on trains.
GEOFFREY ROBERTSON KC Thursday 18 July Pavilion Arts Centre
12.30pm – 1.30pm £12
The Trial of Vladimir Putin Geoffrey Robertson KC has a distinguished career as a trial and appellate counsel in Britain and in international courts. He has served as a UN appeal judge and was the first president of its war crimes court in Sierra Leone. He is also founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers, Europe’s largest human rights practice. Geoffrey examines how Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in effect destroys the purpose of the United Nations by exposing the fatal flaw in its 1945 Charter: that all five permanent UN members have a veto on any Security Council action. He explores the difficulties of bringing Putin to trial and why the popular campaign for a court to try him in absentia would not work. Must any future peace agreement include an amnesty for Putin (though, that amnesty would not be valid in international law)? 69
Thursday 18 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
SITKOVETSKY TRIO I Thursday 18 July St John’s Church
11.15am – 12.15pm £30, Balcony £25
C Chaminade Piano Trio No. 2 in A minor L v Beethoven Piano Trio in D, Op. 70, No. 1, ‘Ghost’
The trio received BBC Music Magazine’s Chamber Music Award, 2022, for its disc of trios by Ravel and Saint-Saëns.
Sitkovetsky Trio has established itself as an exceptional piano trio. Their thoughtful and committed approach has brought the ensemble critical acclaim and invitations to renowned concert halls around the world.
Following its appearance at last year’s Festival, the trio returns for three recitals, beginning with trios by Cécile Chaminade and Beethoven. See also 3pm this afternoon, and 11.15am, Friday 19 July.
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Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
Walks
Thursday 18 July
ON THE MEDICINAL USE OF BUXTON WATER LA CANTERINA 2pm See p24
Thursday 18 July 11.30am – 1.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15
See p47 for information about this walk.
BRIAN KLAAS SITKOVETSKY TRIO II
Thursday 18 July 3pm – 5pm (including interval) St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 C Schumann Andante, from Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17 F Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49 Interval L v Beethoven Piano Trio in B flat, Op. 97, ‘Archduke’ Sitkovetsky Trio’s second recital in their threerecital Buxton series opens with the lyrical third movement, almost a song without words, of Clara Schumann’s only Piano Trio. Felix Mendelssohn’s D minor Trio was hailed by Robert Schumann as ‘the master-Trio of the age.’ Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’ Trio is one of the genre’s greatest masterpieces. See also 11.15am, Friday 19 July.
Thursday 18 July Pavilion Arts Centre
IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO
3pm – 4pm £12
7.15pm See p20
Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters If you could rewind your life to the very beginning and then press play, would everything turn out the same? And would you remain blind to the radically different possible world you unknowingly left behind? In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas dives deeply into the phenomenon of random chance and the chaos it can sow, taking aim at most people’s neat and tidy storybook version of reality. Drawing on social science, chaos theory, history, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Brian provides a brilliantly fresh look at why things happen – all the while providing mind-bending lessons on how we can live smarter, be happier and lead more fulfilling lives.
OPERA IN THE CAVERN
Thursday 18 July 4.45pm – 5.45pm and 5.30pm – 6.30pm Poole’s Cavern £45 See p16 for more information on this event.
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Friday19 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
SITKOVETSKY III
WITH WILL DUERDEN, DOUBLE BASS AND ROSALIND VENTRIS, VIOLA Friday 19 July St John’s Church
11.15am – 12.15pm £30, Balcony £25
S Perkin New work for double bass and piano, world premiere. F Schubert Piano Quintet I A. D667, ‘Trout Quintet’ In the last of Sitkovetsky Trio’s three recitals (see also 11.15am and 3pm, Thursday 18 July), they are joined by Rosalind Ventris playing viola and Will Duerden on double bass, for a performance of Schubert’s ever-popular ‘Trout’ Quintet, which includes a delightful set of variations on his song of that name.
MARTIN SIXSMITH Friday 19 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12
My Sins Go With Me: A Story of Heroism and Betrayal in the Dutch Resistance In the darkest days of the war, Anna-Maria van der Vaart sheltered Allied pilots, gave refuge to persecuted Jews and participated in audacious acts of sabotage. She survived when others didn’t, a witness to their courage and to the terrible treachery that betrayed them to the Nazis. A chance meeting with Martin Sixsmith in 2019 led to Anna-Maria telling him her story. She spoke of the comrades with whom she had contact or whose deeds she recollected, the people she helped and others who were determined to destroy them, and a time when there were traitors in every Resistance cell. Martin worked for the BBC as the Corporation’s correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels and Warsaw from 1980 to 1997.
Before that, Will Duerden and Wu Qian give the world premiere of a new work by Sam Perkin, whose Freakshow the trio performed at last year’s Festival.
BUXTON’S HERITAGE AND HISTORY Friday 19 July 11.30am – 1pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
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£15
See p29 for information about this walk.
SONG AT SIX 6pm See p17
Opera
Music
Jazz
SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO MASTERCLASS Friday 19 July 3pm – 4.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £45 Join internationally renowned conductor Sir Antonio Pappano for a very special Buxton International Festival Masterclass featuring him coaching some outstanding young opera singers. Sir Antonio Pappano has conducted at numerous international opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera New York, and the State Operas of Vienna and Berlin. He has been Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden since 2002 and takes up the position of Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in September 2024.
Books
Walks
Friday 19 July
SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO
Friday 19 July 6pm – 7pm Buxton Opera House £15
My Life in Music With his passionate new memoir, the celebrated Music Director of the Royal Opera House explores classical music, its restorative qualities and wider cultural influence. In 1969, decades before he was chosen as conductor for the Coronation of King Charles, Sir Antonio Pappano was a ten-year-old boy accompanying his father’s singing lessons. My Life in Music tells the moving tale of this legendary conductor who, nurtured in childhood by his parents and their dedicated work ethic, goes on to conduct at many of the most influential opera houses of Europe and North America. This event is sponsored by
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Friday 19 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
THE COMMON PEOPLE Friday 19 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House
£15
See p61 for information about this walk.
THE BOATSWAIN’S MATE 7.15pm See p25
WILLIAM SIEGHART Friday 19 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12
The Poetry Pharmacy Forever: New Prescriptions to Soothe, Revive and Inspire William Sieghart CBE is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and author of the hugely successful Poetry Pharmacy and Poetry Pharmacy Returns. He was the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry and in 1994 founded National Poetry Day. After the tumult of the last years, William Sieghart prescribes the perfect poem for a variety of life’s ailments, offering hope and comfort to readers in need. He draws on the emails he received from the public during multiple lockdowns, as well as tried-and-true classics from his in-person pharmacies, to create an essential anthology of poetry for our times. Whether you’re searching for guidance, hope, or simply a moment of beauty, The Poetry Pharmacy Forever provides solace, joy and inspiration.
BUXTON MUSICAL SOCIETY
TENOR AND BARITONE SOLOISTS FROM THE FESTIVAL COMPANY ORCHESTRA OF BUXTON MUSICAL SOCIETY Friday 19 July St John’s Church
8.45pm – 9.45pm £20, Balcony £18
O Respighi ‘Primavera’ (Spring), from Trittico Botticelliano (Botticelli Tryptich) F Martin Pavane Couleur du Temps (Pavane – The Colour of Time) G Puccini Messa a Quattro Voci (‘Messa di Gloria’) Now completing its eightieth season, Buxton Musical Society is the town’s foremost classical music performing group. Over the past eight decades it has given performances of a huge range of choral and orchestral repertoire, including the great oratorios of Elgar, Handel, Mendelssohn and Haydn. For this concert, we welcome Festival-goers and friends as guest singers, and members of the Young Instrumentalist Programme as guest players. Sam Hayes conducts.
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Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
BOOK ALL THREE CONCERTS FOR JUST £40
STILE ANTICO
THREE CHORAL EVENTS Saturday 20 July 6am – 6.45am (with refreshments available from 5.30am), 10am – 10.45am and 2pm – 2.45pm St John’s Church £15/concert or £40 for all three concerts. Stile Antico is firmly established as one of the world’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Working without a conductor, its twelve members have thrilled audiences on four continents with their colourful and vibrant performances of Renaissance polyphony. The group has appeared at many of Europe’s most important venues, including Wigmore Hall and Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
Walks
Saturday 20 July
HANNAH BARNES Saturday 20 July Pavilion Arts Centre
10am – 11am £12
Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) was set up initially to provide talking therapies to young people who were questioning their gender identity. But in the last decade GIDS has referred more than a thousand children for medication to block their puberty. In the same period, the number of young people seeking GIDS’s help exploded, increasing twenty-five-fold. The profile of the patients changed too: from largely pre-pubescent boys to mostly adolescent girls, who were often contending with other difficulties. Award-winning journalist Hannah Barnes has had unprecedented access to thousands of pages of documents, and well over a hundred hours of personal testimony from GIDS clinicians, former service users and senior Tavistock figures. The result is a disturbing and gripping parable for our times. Shortlisted for The Orwell prize for political writing.
5.30am Arrival and Coffee 6am – 6.45am ‘Toward the Dawn’ charts a course from twilight to sunrise, exploring the medieval experience of night, including music by Byrd, Lassus, Nico Muhly and Taverner. 10am – 10.45am ‘Garden of Heavenly Delights’. Love, both human and divine, explored in settings of the biblical Song of Songs, by Palestrina, Guerrero, Hieronymus Praetorius and others. 2pm – 2.45pm ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’. Shepherds, nymphs and birds abound in the Arcadian gardens, brought to life by Byrd, Josquin and Monteverdi, plus Huw Watkins’ The Phoenix and the Turtle. 75
Saturday 20 July
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
ANNE LISTER, GENTLEMAN JACK AND BUXTON Saturday 20 July 11.30am – 1pm Meet at the entrance to the Buxton Crescent Hotel £15 See p33 for information about this walk.
This event is sponsored by
CLIVE MYRIE
Satuday 20 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Buxton Opera House £15
Everything is Everything As a Bolton teenager with a paper round, Clive Myrie read all the newspapers he delivered from cover to cover and dreamed of becoming a journalist. In his deeply personal bestselling memoir, he tells how his family history has influenced his view of the world, introducing us to his Windrush generation parents, a great grandfather who helped build the Panama Canal, and a greatuncle who fought in the First World War and later became a prominent Jamaican police detective. He reflects on how being black has affected his perspective on the issues that he’s encountered in his thirty years reporting. He tells of his pride in his roots, but his determination not to be defined by his background in dealing with the challenges of race and class to succeed at the highest level. 76
JAY PHELPS A KIND OF BLUE Saturday 20 July 8pm – 10.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £20 Jay Phelps has curated an exceptional show which brings together the best of Miles Davis from 1958 and 1959. Prior to the release of Kind of Blue, Miles was busy in the studio, working with the same line-up of musicians. In 1958 the album ’58 Miles was released, setting the stage for the world’s greatest jazz album of all time the following year. Phelps and his hand-picked lineup feature music from both albums. Jay Phelps Trumpet Donovan Hafner Alto Sax Maddy Coombs Tenor sax John Turville Piano Jim Bashford Drums James Owston Bass
LA CANTERINA 2pm See p24
SONG AT SIX 6pm See p17
Opera
Music
Jazz
Books
CARLOS ACOSTA
Saturday 20 July 7.30pm – 9.10pm Buxton Opera House SOLD OUT Sunday 21 July 6pm – 7.40pm Buxton Opera House SOLD OUT
Walks
Sunday 21 July
Norwich Theatre and Valid Productions present On Before. Carlos Acosta makes his Buxton debut with his show On Before; an intensely personal evening of dance created, directed, and performed by the legendary Cuban dancer. The show pays homage to Acosta’s late mother and features choreography by world-renowned artists, including Russell Maliphant, Kim Brandstrup, and Will Tuckett, alongside Acosta’s choreography. On Before tells the story of a doomed relationship between a man and a woman, and is set to a diverse musical repertoire ranging from Handel to Cuban contemporary composer Omar Puente. It culminates in a moving finale with a live choir performing Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium. The choir features members of BIF’s Young Artist Programme and members from BIF’s opera choruses. The show sees Acosta perform both as a soloist and alongside Laura Rodríguez, a founding member of his Cuban dance company, Acosta Danza. Carlos was trained through the Cuban state ballet system and danced at the Bolshoi when he was just 16. He is now acknowledged globally as one of the finest dancers of his generation.
‘Sophisticated beautifully thought-out work’ The Observer ‘A journey worth following’ The Telegraph ‘Dance with beauty and style’ The Guardian 77
Chair of the Friends’ WELCOME The breadth and quality of the events within these pages is testament to the sustained endeavour and ambition of the Festival team. That said, it’s important to acknowledge that the offering for you this July is only possible due to the continued generous support from the Friends of BIF. Numbers have grown again this year and we’re working hard to ensure you’ll be rewarded by another rich and uplifting Festival experience.
Join the Friends of Buxton International Festival Today Annual Membership starts from just £33
It’s been heartening to see our under 35 ‘Next Generation’ Friends cohort increase again – unlock any book event for just £5 with all other events only £10. Next Gen booking opens on Tuesday 2 April 2024, so set a reminder in your diary now. The two Festival Friends’ Days feature on Wednesday 10 and 17 July. We invite all of you to drop into the Crescent’s stunning Assembly Rooms between 11am and 3pm for an opportunity to hear yet more live music, share your Festival experience and have an informal catch up and a cuppa. Members of the Festival’s Young Artist Programme will be performing at 1pm and 2pm with input from our talented interns during the rest of the day. This event is free to attend and there’s no need to book. All are welcome. We’re excited to meet Friends old and new during what’s shaping up to be another very special fortnight of performance. Please do spread the word and help us grow our audiences even further – pass on this brochure (after you’ve booked!) or share the details through your networks via our website or social media channels. The generosity and kindness of the Buxton Friends is a rather special thing to be part of. Thanks, as ever, for your support. Pete Spriggs Chair, Friends of Buxton International Festival
Pete Spriggs with members of 78
the Treske Quartet at the 2023 AGM
JOINING OUR COMMUNITY UNLOCKS A WHOLE HOST OF BENEFITS: • Priority booking for all Festival events • Six tiers of membership starting from just £33 • Regular newsletters during the year - via email and post • Be the first to hear exclusive festival news & announcements • Invites to special events throughout the year, including meals, dinners, recitals and more
Wednesday 10 &
Wednesday 17 July 11am – 3pm
The Assembly Rooms FREE
NEXT GENERATION FRIENDS Under 35s can get tickets from £5 with our Next Generation membership – which is free to join. Search ‘Friends’ on buxtonfestival.co.uk
UPCOMING FRIENDS’ EVENTS – ALL WELCOME
TRILOGY ENSEMBLE
Join us for a recital from the Trilogy Ensemble with a programme of mostly female composers to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Friday 8 March
11.30am – 12.30pm Lee Wood Hotel £12 (£10 in advance)
JAZZ AT TISSINGTON HALL Thursday 20 June 6.30pm – 8.30pm Tissington Hall
FRIENDS’ DAYS DURING THE FESTIVAL
£40
‘MEET THE ARTISTS’ DRINKS RECEPTIONS Wednesday 10 & 17 July 6pm – 7pm
Buxton Crescent Hotel
£20
You are warmly invited to the majestic Assembly Rooms at the Buxton Crescent Hotel each Wednesday of the Festival. Members of The Friends of BIF will be hosting free recitals throughout the day, alongside tea and coffee. Do drop by to enjoy live music, the Festival displays, and the chance to find out more about this thriving organisation. Friends’ Days are sponsored by Noble Caledonia
We are delighted to extend an invitation on behalf of Sir Richard FitzHerbert to experience the picturesque setting of Tissington Hall for a ‘Summer Starter’ of drinks, canapés and jazz, courtesy of the glorious Emily Brown Trio (also performing at this year’s Festival).
The ‘Meet the Artist’ drinks receptions are an opportunity to chat to some of the artists performing in this year’s operas and celebrate the Festival’s Friends’ Days in the luxury of The Blue Room at the Buxton Crescent Hotel. Tickets available via buxtonfestival.co.uk/whats-on
Visit buxtonfestival.co.uk for more information on how to join the Friends’ 79
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Buxton Crescent Health Spa Hotel
Healing Power of Nature
WHERE TO STAY
Escape to our adults-only bed and breakfast guesthouse in Buxton. The Old Manse is the perfect accommodation for those who want to enjoy a home-from-home environment combined with good old-fashioned hospitality. We are situated in a peaceful neighbourhood, just a step away from Buxton’s main attractions and vibrant Market Square with its pubs and restaurants.
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
NUMBER ONE GEORGE MANSIONS
CO M P TO N GUEST HOUSE
At the heart of historic Buxton, this ground floor Apartment is within walking distance of the Opera House and Pavilion Gardens. Sleeping 4 this accommodation comprises of a spacious living room, one double bedroom, fitted kitchen, bathroom and private parking for 1 vehicle.
A beautiful Victorian guest house with all its original features. We are a family business that creates a warm homely feeling on a warmly low price. We are in the heart of Buxton, within close walking distance to the Opera House and other attractions.
Muse Escapes offers luxurious selfcatering holiday experiences in the Peak District, epitomized by Foxlow Grange, an elegant Edwardian manor. Proudly holding a Visit England 5 Star Self-Catering rating, our properties promise comfort, style, and unforgettable stays from couples to groups.
07969 129005 Apartment 1 George Mansions Buxton SK17 6AY NumberOne.Buxton@gmail.com
07484 200254 4 Compton Road Buxton SK17 9DN comptonguesthouse.co.uk
0114 4893773 Foxlow Grange Buxton SK17 9LU museescapes.com
B A N YA N T R E E
L A N E E N D S COT TAG E
GEORGIAN SUITE
Banyan Tree luxury en-suite rooms are available in the heart of Buxton, situated on a quiet residential street, off the market place. They are a 5-mins walk away from Buxton Opera House, and central to the bars, restaurants, and beautiful countryside. Each room is suitable for 2 or more guests. A TV, WIFI, towels, tea and coffee are provided.
A beautiful 18th Century cottage on the edge of the Peak District National Park and overlooking National Trust’s Lyme Park Cage.
A brand new converted onebedroom apartment, nestled in the heart of Buxton’s historic Grade 2 George Mansions building. Immerse yourself in luxury, stylish interiors, a king-size bed, inviting lounge with views of the Devonshire Dome. Enjoy the self-contained kitchen with coffee machine. 2 minutes from the Opera house and Pavilion Gardens. 5 minutes walk from station. Book your enchanting escape now!
07870 479997 9 Market Street Buxton SK17 6JY wardy656@gmail.com https://www.airbnb.co.uk/ rooms/649069151688545410
07817 742556 Buxton Old Road Disley SK12 2AY laneendscottage@gmail.com cottages.com/cottages/laneends-cottage-uk38639
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Buxton is just a 20-minute drive or train journey away. This luxury 4 star accommodation has stunning views and a location perfect for lovers of the great outdoors. Book direct with the owner to ensure the best price.
MUSE ESC APES
07980 416843 George Mansions St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6AY
Georgiansuitebuxton@gmail.com
Instagram: Georgiansuitebuxton
WHERE TO STAY
BIGGIN HALL CO U N T R Y H O U S E H OT E L
H AW T H O R N FA R M B & B & S E L F C AT E R I N G C O T TAG E S
Biggin Hall has 21 en-suite bedrooms. Situated in the Peak District National Park just a 15-minute drive from the heart of the Festival. 13 dog-friendly rooms in converted outbuildings and 8 rooms in the main hall. Biggin Hall also features an award-winning restaurant. Book directly for our best available rate.
A 16th Century Grade II listed Farmhouse full of character. One of the oldest buildings in Buxton, originally owned by the Duke of Devonshire, now with its fifth owners. We have 4 B&B rooms, 2 in the farmhouse and 2 in the barn conversion. Lavender Cottage for 6 people and Walnut Cottage for 4. There is free on-site parking and we are within walking distance of the town centre.
The Queen’s Head Hotel offers bed and breakfast in our newly built accommodation rooms and in a converted stable block, both at the rear of our premises. All 13 of our rooms have central heating, en-suite bathrooms, tea/coffee making facilities and Sky’s ‘in-room’ TV service. Larger groups requiring accommodation are welcome but please call with your requirements.
01298 84451 Biggin-by-Hartington Buxton SK17 ODH
enquiries@bigginhall.co.uk
01298 23230 Fairfield Road Buxton SK17 7ED hawthornfarmbuxton.co.uk
01298 23841 High Street Buxton SK17 6EU queensbuxton.co.uk
BEST WESTERN L E E W O O D H OT E L
ROSELEIGH GUEST HOUSE
T H E PA L AC E H O T E L B U X TO N & S PA
Set in its own mature grounds, this elegant Georgian hotel is situated only a few moments’ walk from the centre of the spa town and its famous opera house.
Only a 5-minute scenic walk from Buxton Opera House, located on Broadwalk, this Victorian 13-bedroom, family run guest-house built in 1871 overlooks the Pavilion Gardens and ornamental lake of which the superb landscaping was developed between 1861 and the early 1870s. Free residents’ parking for up to 9 cars. Please visit our website for comprehensive virtual room tours.
Set in 5 acres of stunning, landscaped gardens, centrally located, with just a 5-minute walk from the Opera House. Offering 186 en-suite bedrooms, refurbished bars, Lounge & Library areas, with a beautiful conservatory to enjoy an afternoon tea. Spa & Leisure Facilities including a 14-metre indoor pool, and brand-new hair salon. Pretheatre dinners are available in our new refurbished Dovedale Restaurant from 6pm.
01298 24904 19 Broad Walk Buxton SK17 6JR
01298 22001 Palace Road Buxton SK17 6AG britanniahotels.com/hotels/ palace-hotel-buxton
bigginhall.co.uk
Family owned for 56 years, our 4-star hotel offers high quality accommodation and award-winning dining.
01298 23002 The Park Buxton SK17 6TQ leewoodhotel.co.uk
enquiries@roseleighhotel.co.uk
roseleighhotel.co.uk
Q U E E N ’ S H E A D H OT E L & PUBLIC HOUSE
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
ISL A FINE ART CARDS & GIFTS
DAV I D M E L LO R
Aimed at the discerning customer, Isla Fine Art Cards & Gifts stocks a carefully curated range of beautiful and stylish gifts and cards alongside a selection of art by local artists and artisans.
Modern design in the Peak District National Park. Visit the famous David Mellor Cutlery Factory, Design Museum, Café and Shop for the best in modern tableware and kitchenware.
If you are looking for something a bit different in Buxton then this is the shop for you.
The free museum shows Mellor’s historic designs, from teaspoons to traffic lights.
01298 938492 4b & 5 The Colonnade Buxton SK17 6AL isla@isladirect.co.uk isladirect.co.uk
01433 650220 The Round Building Hathersage S32 1BA davidmellordesign.co.uk
01298 214577 The Crescent Buxton SK17 6BH Buxtoncrescentexperience.com
JOHN WHIBLEY ‘ H O L I DAYS WITH MUSIC’
THE GALLERY
THE GREEN MAN GALLERY A vibrant independent gallery and arts centre, managed by artists and situated behind Buxton Museum. Extensive exhibitions of contemporary art and craft from the region including paintings, prints, mixed media, photography, textiles, ceramics, glass, jewellery and cards at affordable prices. Visit the artists at work in open studios. Open every day in July. Please visit our website for opening times during rest of year.
01298 937375 Hardwick Square South Buxton SK17 6PY hello@thegreenmangallery.com
thegreenmangallery.com 84
Since 1999 John Whibley Holidays with Music has taken thousands of music and opera lovers on hundreds of Musical Holidays across Europe, America and the UK. Our 2024 season offers a wide range of opera, orchestral, chamber music and festival holidays to choose from. Please contact us for a brochure or find all the information on our website.
01663 746 578 New Mills SK22 3BY whibley.co.uk email john@whibley.co.uk
B U X TO N C R E S C E N T E XPERIENCE In a town whose history is shaped by water, The Buxton Crescent Experience is a boutique visitor attraction that reveals the story of a unique spa town, the renowned water and recent restoration of the Crescent building. It’s the perfect choice for all visitors to Buxton, with interactive elements that will keep old and young amused and educated.
The Gallery is an Independent Artist Cooperative, run entirely by its members. Displaying Fine Art paintings and prints, designer jewellery, innovative textile and glass work, photography, sculpture, ceramics, wood and metalwork, as well as handmade soaps, and a wide range of affordable gifts and cards. Browsers and visitors always welcome!
12 High Street New Mills SK22 4AL facebook.com/newmillsgallery
WHERE TO VISIT 42 High Street, Buxton SK17 6HB SECONDHAND BOOKS & BOOKBINDING Mon–Sat 10.00 to 5.00 Sun 12.00 to 4.00
Telephone: 01298 73100
scrivbooks@hotmail.co.uk books@scrivenersbooks.co.uk www.scrivenersbooks.co.uk www.scrivenersbooks.co.uk In the Guardian’s 10 Best Bookshops
Buxton Festival Advert-v2.indd 1
a place for everyone
10/01/2019 09:12
call 01298 71017 visit highpeakbookstore.co.uk
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
Buxton festival ad 2022.indd 2
21/11/2022 14:08
Gallery in the Gardens The largest selection of locally made art & craft in the High Peak. Over 40 artists & makers. Located in the Pavilion Gardens 23 acres of beautiful parkland. Open daily, check website for details.
Art in the Octagon
Our annual award winning event in the Octagon, Pavilion Gardens 8th-10th July. Free entry.
High Peak Artists Pavilion Gardens, Buxton Open 9.30am - 5.30pm daily
HighPeakArtists @HighPeakArtists galleryinthegardens
WHERE TO VISIT
Visit The Buxton Trading Post, located on Spring Gardens. A unique shopping experience in the centre of Buxton: • Local artisan made foods including handmade pies, scotch eggs and more. • A range of speciality sausages made on the premises, with weekly specials. • Fine foods from across the world including exotic meats, rubs, sauces and snacks.
• Home & Giftware by local artists, designers and makers for that unique piece of art or one-off upcycled gift. • Carefully curated vintage pieces. Spread across two floors, it’s not just a shop, it’s a shopping experience!
The Buxton Trading Post, 52 Spring Gardens Follow us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088110589490 and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuxtontradingpost/?hl=en
Buxton International Festival is very grateful to all the organisations who have advertised with us in this year’s brochure. Without advertising, sponsorship, donations and you - our customers - we wouldn’t have a Festival! Please do take the time to visit or use the services of our advertisers and sponsors and let them know that you heard about them through us! Buxton International Festival 87
ART AT THE CRESCENT
4th–6th JULY The Assembly Rooms Crescent Hotel, Buxton 10.00–17.00 Free entry
Showcasing an exciting exhibition of contemporary artwork from some of the best professional artists and makers in the Peak District. An opportunity to meet the artists and purchase something totally unique, this diverse exhibition features paintings, prints, ceramics, jewellery, photography and textiles.
GREAT DOME ART & DESIGN FAIR 19th–21st JULY Devonshire Dome, Buxton Fri 18:30–20:30 Sat/Sun 10:00–16:30 £3 entry Includes free show guide & artist demos Visit the biggest annual event and meet the regions premier group of creatives. This highly regarded, long established and much anticipated art fair is held in one of the most beautiful domed buildings in Europe. peakdistrictartisans.co.uk/events
WHERE TO VISIT
P O O L E ’ S C AV E R N & B U X TO N CO U N T R Y PA R K
C R I C H T R A M WAY V I L L AG E
JA N TA R
For centuries curious visitors have explored and marvelled at the natural subterranean world that is Poole’s Cavern. Explore Poole’s Cavern today with our expert guides and journey though the beautifully illuminated chambers to discover for yourself the magnificent underground scenery of the Peak District
Crich Tramway Village is home to the National Tramway Museum, situated in the heart of Derbyshire. Vintage trams transport you along the traditional village street into open countryside.
01298 26978 Green Lane Buxton SK17 9DH info@poolescavern.co.uk poolescavern.co.uk
01773 854321 enquiry@tramway.co.uk tramway.co.uk
01298 73116 Unit 3, Cavendish Arcade Buxton SK17 6BQ Jantar.co.uk
B U X TO N P U D D I N G EMPORIUM
ARTS SOCIET Y C AV E N D I S H
Immerse yourself in history and unlock the stories of Cromford Mills. Meet Sir Richard Arkwright in his first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill, built in 1771. Enjoy a guided tour or audio tour set in the picturesque setting of the Derwent Valley. A great place to take a walk, enjoy some shopping, or have one of the best scones in Derbyshire! Free entry and dog friendly.
Home of the Original Buxton Pudding and a huge selection of Fine Foods, Gifts and Homeware. If you’re looking for something delicious or searching for the finest gifts or made to order hampers, then look no further! We’re all about the very best food and homeware, sourcing firstly from fabulous Derbyshire producers.
Come and meet some like-minded people! Arts Society Cavendish usually meets in the Pavilion Arts Centre and offers a range of activities, including 8 lectures each year plus study days, day visits, cultural tours at home and abroad, educational enterprises and events, regular newsletters and Affiliation to the National Arts Society.
01629 823256 Mill Lane Cromford DE4 3RQ info@arkwrightsociety.org.uk cromfordmills.org.uk
01663 744515 ext. 204 12 Hardwick Street Buxton SK17 6BN thebuxtonpudding emporium.co.uk
chair@artsocavendish.co.uk artsocavendish.co.uk
CROMFORD MILLS
Enjoy unlimited tram rides, entry to exhibitions, the woodland walk and sculpture trail. Watch our expert craftsmen restoring the vintage trams from the viewing gallery.
Jantar jewellery, located within the Cavendish Arcade, specialising in sterling silver, Baltic Amber, local Derbyshire Blue John and unique gemstones for over 20 years. With timeless classics and incredible statement pieces, it’s a treasure trove not to be missed.
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No.6 The Square
We are proud to support Buxton International Festival.
Buxton Tearooms & Accommodation with a Georgian Flavour. Relax and enjoy morning coffee, light meals or a traditional afternoon tea in the elegant surroundings of No.6, a glass of Fizz perhaps? You can find us opposite the exquisite Opera House and parkland of the Pavilion Gardens. We have four double rooms with ensuite facilities. Also a self-contained ground floor apartment at No.7. Email reservations@no6tearooms.co.uk Book Online at www.no6tearooms.co.uk
Open every day 9am to 8pm Telephone 01298 213 541
WHERE TO EAT
LLUCIANO’S Restaurant & Pizzeria
Luciano’s is a family-owned Italian restaurant, located in Buxton town centre. We take great pride in serving up authentic Italian cuisine crafted with the freshest ingredients. Our menu is filled with both traditional classics and modern dishes, all of which are made with love. 01298 461011 www.lucianosbuxton.co.uk 3 Eagle Parade, Buxton, SK17 6EQ
B ai l e y s B ar an d R e s t au ran t Visit Baileys for high quality food and drinks in Buxton.
Enjoy steaks, seafood, gourmet burgers, vegetarian and vegan dishes, using locally sourced meats and ingredients. Our dog friendly bar serves premium draught & craft beers, spirits, wine and freshly made cocktails.
Live music every Friday and Saturday night
7 The Quadrant, Buxton. SK17 6AW 01298 72309 www.baileysrestaurant.co.uk Open 12pm until late
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
WHERE TO EAT
Thai Cuisine Restaurant & Wine Bar
H OT C H O CO L AT E R I E
LU B E N S
KHOMKHAI
Hot Chocolaterie specialises in handmade chocolates made with the finest ingredients and featuring an eclectic selection of flavours ranging from new and bold to familiar favourites.
A small independent bar & kitchen located a few minutes walk from Buxton Opera House. Open daily from 11.30am until late, serving local cask ales, a full range of wines & spirits alongside a varied & seasonal food menu. Relaxing, friendly atmosphere. Reservations welcomed.
Our aim is to serve you the best possible Thai cuisine from the freshest possible herbs and spices imported direct from Thailand, and also locally sourced ingredients, such as meat, vegetables, fish etc. Each dish is individually created to most suit the individual who ordered it. We are open Wed - Sun for lunch (12pm – 2.30pm), and Tues – Sun for evening meal (5pm – 9.30pm or 10pm)
9 Hall Bank Buxton SK17 6EW hotchocolaterie.com
01298 384394 8a Hall Bank Buxton SK17 6EW facebook.com/lubensbuxton lubensbuxton.co.uk
01298 299688 9 Market Street Buxton SK17 6JY khomkhai.com
E V E R Y T H I N G’ S R O S Y
L A G A BY P I Z Z E R I A
C A F É AT T H E C AV E R N
Make your home cosy with Everything’s Rosy…
We nurture our dough for over 48 hours to create an airy, light, easy digestible crust. The result is a traditional Neapolitan style pizza prepared in front of you and fired in an authentic Italian brick oven. We are proud to propose a real pizza, with a real atmosphere.
Our Café offers a range of delicious hot food, snacks and beverages, all served indoors or outdoors in our beautiful picnic area. If you’ve worked up a thirst or a hunger, exploring Buxton then this is the place to replenish.
We also serve a range of delicious hot and cold drinks as well as tasty bites. Check out www.hotchocolaterie.com for our menu and more!
A range of gorgeous gifts, fashion & home accessories available from our Interiors shop, with ranges such as Thomas Kent Clocks, Wrendale & Powell Craft. From our Vintage Tearooms, a variety of sandwiches, toasties, Derbyshire oatcakes & locally baked cakes & warmed scones served with clotted cream and jam.
01298 78778 4-8 Hardwick Street Buxton SK17 6DH everythingsrosyinteriors.com 92
Authentic pizza, made by hand and with heart, passion and time.
01298 72577 3 Spring Gardens Buxton SK17 6BJ lagabypizza.com
Our menu contains locally produced ingredients. Come to us to enjoy freshly ground fair-trade coffee, gorgeous homemade soups and cakes with vegetarian and gluten free options.
01298 26978 Pooles Cavern and Buxton Country Park Buxton SK17 9DH poolescavern.co.uk
WE’RE ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET AND YOU’RE INVITED! 5 – 8 July 2024
We’re starting BIF 2024 in style and are rolling out the red carpet for our opera premieres and to welcome Golda Schultz and Adrian Cox, with his New Orleans Social Club, to Buxton. Book tickets for our evening events, from Fri 5 July to Mon 8 July, and join us for live music and treats outside Buxton Opera House. See you there!
Bullock Woodburn SMH BullockWoodburn is an independent accountancy practice based in the centre of Buxton, Derbyshire. We specialise in managing and supporting the financial affairs of businesses and individuals across a wide range of sectors and industries, from sole traders to large corporate group structures.
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Tax Planning
Scan here or contact us on 01298 22108 info@smh.group www.smh.group/bullock-woodburn
LEAVING A BEQUEST TO BIF WILL SUSTAIN THE FESTIVAL FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS To find out more email jacky.wershbale@buxtonfestival.co.uk
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SUMMER IN THE BALTIC Small Ship Cruising in the Baltic aboard the MS Hebridean Sky July & August 2025
Exploring the Baltic by small ship is the perfect way to visit this endlessly fascinating corner of Northern Europe. The cities of the Baltic offer a cornucopia of delights from the now independent Baltic states and their capitals with marvellously untouched Medieval quarters to the sheer delight of Scandinavian ports with their colourful architecture and a freshness that is unique to the area. In addition, the history of the region is intriguing, with countries vying for commercial and political influence for over a thousand years and this complex past is brought to life by our onboard Guest Speaker and informative local guides, helping us to gain a greater understanding of both old and new Baltic nations. With over thirty years of experience operating cruises in this region, we believe we have the most perfectly balanced cruises. Our voyages are certainly not ones which the large cruise vessels could undertake but are perfect for the all-suite MS Hebridean Sky which with just over 100 passengers can access the smaller ports and islands in the region. We have devised a choice of itineraries which will appeal to those who are either experiencing the Baltic for the first time or who have visited the cities of the Baltic before and are looking for a less traditional cruise. For full details pertaining to our cruises in the Baltic, please contact us on 020 7752 0000 or visit our website www.noble-caledonia.co.uk
Call us today on 020 7752 0000 for your copy of our new brochure. Alternatively view or request online at www.noble-caledonia.co.uk
SMALL SHIPS - BIG EXPERIENCES
TAKE PART Outreach and Community At Buxton International Festival we work yearround to share our love of opera, music, books and the arts with local schools and people of all ages within our local communities. This is made possible thanks to the funding we receive as a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England, along with additional support from trusts, foundations and private funders. We are grateful to all our donors for their support.
School Arts Award We believe that all young people should have access to a music education. In Buxton we work to provide over 200 children a year with music tuition, many of whom go on to get their Discover Arts Award. Arts Award is a national qualification that serves as an introduction to music and the arts and which celebrates young people’s artistic achievements. It is managed by Trinity College London, in association with Arts Council England.
Young Artist Programme Every year BIF recruits young singers to be part of our Young Artists programme. As part of the programme, they get opportunities to work with internationally renowned artists, receive mentoring from our artistic and musical directors, sing in the Festival Chorus and receive performance opportunities throughout the year.
Kaleidoscope Community Choir Tuesdays 1pm-2pm Pavilion Arts Centre £5 in advance / £6 on the door Platform 3 – Engage – Create – Perform Platform 3 is the year-round Learning and Engagement programme shared by Buxton International Festival and Buxton Opera House, which was set up with the aim of engaging the local community with creative activities for all ages. Make new friends, discover new art forms and become part of the Platform 3 family.
If you love to sing then come and join our friendly Kaleidoscope Choir. From choral classics and favourite hymns to pop and folk, you don’t have to audition to be part of the choir. Just join us for an hour of singing in the Pavilion Arts Centre each Tuesday from 1pm.
After School Clubs Platform 3 runs free afterschool singing clubs for 8 to 14 year olds. They’re lighthearted, fun sessions that are designed to give young people skills and confidence. The children involved have had opportunities to perform alongside professional singers in Festival productions and also with the English Touring Opera.
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BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
B U X TO N OPER A HOUSE
Please book wheelchair spaces and PIR systems in advance with the Box Office.
Events from 12pm – late See website for opera end times. Access Information Buxton Opera House is a beautiful Edwardian building, which is only partially accessible to wheelchair users and does not have a lift. Unfortunately, it cannot be accessed by motorised scooters. There are 3 wheelchair spaces available in the stalls, and there is an accessible toilet at ground floor level.
Seating Plan
Stage
Hearing Loops There are a limited number of passive infra-red (PIR) systems in both Buxton Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre. Please reserve one when booking your ticket over the phone – a £10 cash deposit is required on collection. There is also an induction loop system available at the counter of both Box Offices.
Stalls A-C Stalls D-N Stalls O-Q Dress Circle boxes Dress Circle Sides Dress Circle centre Upper Circle sides Upper Circle
01298 72190 Water Street, Buxton, SK17 6XN customerservice@boh.org.uk
Gallery
Ernani and Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno
La tragédie de Carmen
Golda Schultz
Stalls A-C
£57
£50
£30
Stalls D - N
£69
£64
£35
Stalls O-Q
£43
£42
£30
Dress Circle sides
£82
£74
£45
Dress Circle centre
£88
£74
£50
Dress Circle boxes
£82
£67
£40
Upper Circle centre
£54
£50
£25
Upper Circle sides
£25
£25
£20
Upper Circle Boxes
£25
£25
£20
Gallery
£25
£25
£20
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VENUE INFORMATION Stage
Stage
i
Stage Ground Floor
Stalls
1
5
6
Bleacher 3
Balcony unreserved
Balcony
2
4
7
PAV I L I O N A R T S CENTRE
ST JOHN’S CHURCH
O C TAG O N AT PAV I L I O N G A R D E N S
Events from
Events from
Events from
Access Information
Access Information
Access Information
10am – 10.30pm
11am – 10pm
2 wheelchair spaces available in the bleachers. Passive infrared (PIR) system available for performances with £10 cash deposit.
2.30pm – 10pm
Fully accessible by wheelchair, apart from the Balcony. 6 St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6XN
Fully accessible.
St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6BE
22 St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6XN
T H E A S S E M B LY ROOMS
Events from 10am – 5.30pm Access Information Accessible entrance through main doors of Buxton Crescent Hotel. Lift available to upper floors. 01298 808999 Buxton Crescent Hotel Buxton SK17 6BQ
THE PUMP ROOM
Events from 6pm – 7pm Access Information Fully accessible to all 01298 214577 The Crescent Buxton SK17 5BQ
T H E PA L AC E H OT E L
Events from 12.30pm – late Access Information Fully accessible via rear entrance. 01298 22001 Palace Road Buxton SK16 6AG
POOLE’S C AV E R N
Events from 4.45pm – 6.30pm Access Information Wheelchair users can access the main chamber of the cave, but the remaining path is not accessible for those with mobility issues. There are dedicated parking bays for blue badge holders. Toilet facilities are fully accessible. 01298 26978 Green Lane SK17 9DH 97
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
BOOKING INFORMATION
PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS AT 10AM TUESDAY 2 APRIL 2024
Ticket types Adult Full price
Priority booking for the Friends of Buxton International Festival opens on a staggered basis from 10am on Tuesday 5 March 2024.
Under 35s £5 tickets for book events and £10 tickets to all other events are available to Next Generation Friends. Join the scheme for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk/ Proof of age required for each ticket at the Box Office.
H O W TO B O O K Our booking service is run by Buxton Opera House. You can book online, by telephone, or in person at the Box Office.
Join the scheme for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk.
Online: buxtonfestival.co.uk
Carer tickets Free tickets are available for registered carers reserved alongside a full price ticket. Please reserve with the Box Office by email or phone.
By telephone: 01298 72190 In Person: at the Box Office at Buxton Opera House, Water Street, Buxton, SK17 6XN
Ticket availability at venues Tickets for venues other than the Opera House can be bought on the door half an hour before each event, unless sold out.
Email: customerservice@boh.org.uk Usual Box Office opening times Mon - Sat: 10am – 6pm, or until 8pm if there is a performance at the Opera House Sun: Closed Festival Box Office opening times Mon – Sat: 10am – 6pm, or until 8pm if there is a performance at the Opera House Sun: 12pm – 8pm, or from 10am if there is a performance at the Opera House
Changes to Programme We publish any cancellations, or changes to the programmes or to the cast of the operas on buxtonfestival.co.uk and on social media. Refunds will not be given if there is a change to the musical works performed or if a cast member is replaced. All information in this brochure is correct at the time of going to press. Refunds Tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged, unless an event is cancelled. We strongly advise you take out insurance when you purchase tickets to any of our events. Postage charges are non-refundable. Gift Vouchers BIF Gift Vouchers make the perfect gift for a Festivallover. Order them now from our website or by phoning 01298 70395.
SPECIAL OFFERS Book 3 operas for 10% Off Book tickets for Ernani p18, La tragédie de Carmen p22 and Il trionfo del tepo e del disinganno p20, and get 10% off. Book all three Stile Antico concerts for £40 Book tickets to all three Stile Antico concerts, on Saturday 20 July for £40. * Only one offer applies. Does not include Under 35’s tickets
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Jazz Weekender and Weekender Plus Tickets Jazz Weekender Plus tickets include entry to all jazz gigs from Thurs 4 July to Mon 8 July, plus a seat in the stalls for La Tragédie de Carmen on Friday 5 July 2024. Tickets cost £209, a saving of over £100. Jazz Weekender tickets include entry to all jazz gigs from Sat 6 July to Mon 8 July 2024. Tickets cost £160, a saving of over £50. Jazz Day tickets include entry to all jazz events on Fri 5, Sat 5, Sun 7 and Mon 8 July. They cost from £50, with savings of up to 24%. Please centre Visit butonfestival.co.uk for more information.
SUPPORTERS Buxton International Festival and artists are grateful for the support of the following FUNDERS
CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S AND SUPPORTERS
T R U S T S A N D F O U N DAT I O N S
S P E C I A L T H A N K S TO
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GETTING HERE By Car Buxton is approximately one hour’s drive from the M1, M6, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby. If you are using Sat Nav, please use the postcode SK17 6XN for Buxton Opera House and SK17 6BE for the Pavilion Arts Centre. Please allow extra time for travel on Carnival Day, Saturday 13 July 2024, as some road closures will be in place. Parking and Accessible Parking There is pay and display parking outside Buxton Opera House with two disabled parking spaces on The Square (Water Street) and it is possible to offload adjacent to the forecourt. Pay and Display parking is also available at Pavilion Gardens car park, off Burlington Road, with 8 disabled car parking bays. The car park is approximately 320 metres from the Opera House and 160 metres from the Pavilion Arts Centre. A little further away from our venues are the car parks behind the Spring Gardens Shopping Centre, with 26 disabled parking spaces, and Sylvan Car Park with 4 disabled car parking bays. For events at Poole’s Cavern, there is Pay and Display parking for 80 vehicles, with dedicated parking bays for blue badge holders.
Electric Vehicle Charging There are electric car charging points at Morrisons supermarket, SK17 9TB and Sylvan Car Park at the end of Spring Gardens, SK17 6BY. By Rail: Avanti West Coast runs direct trains from Euston to Macclesfield in less than 2 hours, plus a 20- minute taxi ride, or change at Stockport for trains to Buxton. There are direct services from Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport by Northern Rail.
By Bus: Direct services from Ashbourne, Derby, Glossop, Leek, Macclesfield, Sheffield and Stockport. Derbybus.info & Traveline.info. By Air: There are regular national and international flights to Manchester and East Midlands airports. Manchester Airport is approximately 40 minutes away by Taxi/Car. The Skyline 199 bus runs between Manchester Airport and Buxton and is a 40 to 90 minute journey depending on stops. Visit highpeakbuses.com for more information.
Brochure designed by: Adam Wilsher Illustrations by: Patrick Boyer
Waterstones
POP UP BOOKSHOP
OPEN EVERYDAY OF BUXTON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IN THE PAVILION GARDENS 101
BIF 2024 4 – 21 July
102
FESTIVAL NOTES
103
& Buxton Country Park
A NATURAL WONDER OF THE PEAK DISTRICT
Cared for by Buxton Civic Association
Registered charity no. 258163
EXPLORE
STROLL
RELAX
GUIDED TOURS
VISITOR CENTRE
CAFE & SHOP
WWW.POOLESCAVERN.CO.UK T:01298 26978 INFO@POOLESCAVERN.CO.UK POOLE’S CAVERN AND BUXTON COUNTRY PARK, GREEN LANE, BUXTON, DERBYSHIRE SK17 9DH
All weather attraction