2020 BIF Brochure

3 – 19 ¬uly 2020

OPER A MUSIC BOOK S BOX O FFI CE 01298 72190

BUX TO N FE S T I VA L .CO.U K

E V ENT S DIARY F R I DAY 3 J U LY

T U E S DAY 7 J U LY

6pm

Song at Six

p.29

10am

Richard Dawkins

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

11am

Gossiping with The Georgians p.39

7.15pm Ciboulette

p.18

12pm

Tabea Debus

2pm

Spotlight on Derby University p.39

3pm

Kathryn Stott

p.39

Crescent Salon with Gill Hornby

p.40

S AT U R DAY 4 J U LY

10am

AN Wilson

p.30

12pm

David Owen Norris

p.30

1pm

Opera Talk

p.27

Polly Toynbee and David Walker

p.31

2pm

2pm

A Little Night Music

p.22

4pm

Tom Holland

p.31

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

7.15pm A Little Night Music

p.22

S U N DAY 5 J U LY

4pm

p.38

p.38

5.30pm Professor Paul Crawford

p.40

6pm

p.27

7.15pm Acis and Galatea

Opera Talk

p.20

W E D N E S DAY 8 J U LY

10am

Perspectives: We Are Not Powerless as Individuals p.41

11am

Promenading with Mr Frank Matcham

p.41

Jeffrey Makinson

p.41

Charles Moore

p.42

12pm

10am

Bettany Hughes

p.32

11am

Festival Mass

p.29

12pm

1pm

Opera Talk

p.27

3pm

2pm

La donna del lago

p.16

3.30pm Birding with Mark Cocker

p.43

3pm

Derek Paravacini Quartet

p.32

4pm

p.42

4pm

Robert Twigger

p.33

5.30pm Dr Peter Collinge

p.43

p.33

6pm

Song at Six

p.29

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

7.15pm La donna del lago

5.30pm Creating Carmen

M O N DAY 6 J U LY

10am

Perspectives: The Future of Business

p.34

11am

Buxton on the Homefront

p.35

12pm

La Serenissima

p.35

10am

2pm

Ned Palmer

p.35

3pm

The Kanneh-Mason Piano Trio p.36 Crescent Salon with Annie Gray

8.30pm Ex Cathedra Consort

2

p.37 p.37

Andrew Martin

p.16

T H U R S DAY 9 J U LY

4pm

Jennifer Pike and Martin Roscoe p.43

‘Games up’: Conservation versus Shooting

p.44

12pm

Isabel Hardman

p.44

12pm

Jennifer Pike and Petr Liminov p.45

3pm

Lizzie Ball

p.45

3pm

Brompton Quartet

p.46

3.30pm Birding with Mark Cocker

p.43

Opera

Music

Books

Walks

4pm

Hunter Davies

p.47

2pm

Ciboulette

p.18

6pm

Song at Six

p.29

3pm

Peter and the Wolf

p.53

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

3pm

Freddy Kempf

p.53

7.15pm Ciboulette

p.18

4pm

Ruth Padel

p.54

8.30pm Phantom of the Opera (1925)

p.47

7.30pm BBC Philharmonic

F R I DAY 10 J U LY

10am

p.54

M O N DAY 13 J U LY

Perspectives: After Brexit: What Next?

p.48

10am

A History of Happiness

p.55

12pm

Consone Quartet

p.55

Scenes from the opera: Ciboulette

p.55

11am

Birding with Mark Cocker

p.43

12pm

Mark Padmore

p.48

12pm

1pm

Opera Talk

p.27

2pm

James Crowden

p.56

2pm

A Little Night Music

p.22

3pm

Connaught Brass

p.56

3pm

Martin Roscoe

p.49

3.30pm Buxton on the Homefront

3pm

Regency Tea Dance

p.49

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

4pm

6.30pm Opera Talk: Our Future

p.27

7.15pm A Little Night Music

p.22

7.30pm Our Future In Your Hands

p.24

p.50

12pm

Ruth Goodman

p.50

12pm

Dame Sarah Connolly

p.51

6pm

Song at Six

p.29

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

7.15pm La donna del lago

Opera Talk

p.27

7.15pm Violet

p.16

Nachtmusik with NCO Ensemble p.57

10am

Iain Dale

11am

Gossiping with The Georgians p.39

12pm

Iestyn Davies

p.58

2pm

Golden Age Crime Panel

p.59

2pm

Acis and Galatea Cover Show

p.59

3pm

Roderick Williams

p.59

Crescent Salon with Laura Thompson

p.60

4pm

S U N DAY 12 J U LY

10am

Martin Gayford

p.52

5.30pm Christine and Alan Piper

11am

Festival Mass

p.29

p.52

7pm

p.27

12.30pm Craig Ogden

and Helen Thatcher

1pm

Opera Talk

p.26

T U E S DAY 14 J U LY

David Reynolds and Vernon Bogdanor

p.57

6pm

S AT U R DAY 11 J U LY

10am

Crescent Salon with Fiona Davison

9pm

p.35

6pm

p.58

p.60

Opera Talk

p.27

Dinner and Musical Theatre in the Dome

p.60

7.15pm Acis and Galatea

p.20

3

E V ENT S DIARY

Opera

W E D N E S DAY 15 J U LY

10am

Perspectives: How Did the Cold War Really End?

Music

Books

F R I DAY 17 J U LY p.61

10am

Perspectives: Migrants: Always the Scapegoats?

p.68

Kris Garfitt

p.68

Wendy Moore

p.69 p.69

10.30am The Fibonacci Sequence

p.61

11am

Foraging with John Wright

p.62

12pm

12pm

Spotlight on Chetham’s

p.62

2pm

David Olusoga

William Dalrymple

p.63

12pm

Walks

12pm

3pm

Sir John Tomlinson

p.70

2.30pm The Fibonacci Sequence

p.61

3pm

Opera Talk: Our Future

p.27

3pm

p.63

4pm

Our Future In Your Hands

p.24

Regency Tea Dance

3.30pm Foraging with John Wright

p.62

4pm

Sir David Cannadine

p.70

4pm

Andrew Lownie

p.62

6pm

Song at Six

p.29

5.30pm The Fibonacci Sequence

p.61

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

6pm

Song at Six

p.29

7.15pm Ciboulette

p.18

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

7.15pm La donna del lago

S AT U R DAY 18 J U LY

p.16

10am

T H U R S DAY 16 J U LY

10am

Helen Lewis

p.64

10am

Gill Meller

p.64

12pm

Christopher Maltman

p.65

1pm

Opera Talk

p.27

2pm

Acis and Galatea

p.20

2pm

John Wright

p.65

3pm

Fitzwilliam String Quartet

p.66

3.30pm Promenading with

Mr Frank Matcham

4pm

5pm

8pm

Patrick Barkham and Mark Cocker Dr Jane Adams Strictly Musical: A charity gala concert

buxtonfestival

p.71

12pm

Pelléas Ensemble

p.71

1pm

Opera Talk

p.27

2pm

A Little Night Music

p.22

4pm

Adam Rutherford

p.72

6pm

Opera Talk

p.27

7.15pm A Little Night Music

p.22

7.30pm Haydn’s The Creation

p.72

S U N DAY 19 J U LY

p.41

10am

Kate Teltscher

p.73

p.67

11am

Festival Mass

p.29

p.66

12.30pm Klezmer-ish

p.73

1pm

Opera Talk

p.27

2pm

La donna del lago

p.16

p.27

@BuxtonFestival

BOX O FFI CE 01298 72190 4

Perspectives: Rising Inequality and Global Greed

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BUX TO N FE S T I VA L .CO.U K

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

Chief Executive’s WELCOME

Coming to Buxton International Festival is the ultimate escape from reality, a place you can experience your favourite singers, authors, musicians in a breathtaking setting.

W

e’ve done everything we can to bring you an unrivalled Festival experience in the unique setting of the High Peak driven by the passion of Adrian Kelly, Vicky Dawson and our fabulous team to deliver 17 exciting days of creative exploration.

Buxton Opera House was the home of the very first Festival and the histories of our two organisations are inextricably intertwined. Yet, in all this time, we have never jointly mounted a production. We are delighted to be co-producing Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning A Little Night Music with Buxton Opera House as part of our 2020 season. Sondheim’s work is well known to director Paul Kerryson: “A Little Night Music is a deliciously wicked evening of witty lyrics and luscious waltzes by the greatest of all contemporary musical composers who also celebrates his ninetieth year in 2020.” The musical is a welcome addition to a programme that includes an opera seria, an operetta, a serenata, a new oratorio and a modern chamber opera.

The magnificent Assembly Rooms in the Crescent have seen Georgian society balls, Victorian gatherings and Edwardian dinners. This Georgian room has been unused and untouched for a generation and, following its careful restoration, will host a range of authors, musicians, members of the British Academy and a Regency Tea Dance at the 2020 Buxton Festival. I know that you will be as excited as we are to have the Crescent open for business after its twenty-year slumber and we are delighted to be working in partnership with the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust and the Buxton Crescent Hotel.

Adrian and I are especially proud of our new commission for an Opera Oratorio, Our Future In Your Hands from the talented composer Kate Whitley. The work will involve young people from

6

the High Peak to form a mass choir of voices singing about the most pressing issue of our day – climate change. The oratorio forms part of the Creation Project, a collaboration including Buxton Musical Society’s Come and Sing performance of Haydn’s The Creation. We encourage you to support this new work and join us to sing The Creation at St John’s Church.

Vicky and I are proud of our three-year partnership with the British Academy and this year’s offering looks to be as opinion forming and spiky as previous years.

The 2020 programme is a great example of why the Buxton International Festival has continued to go from strength to strength, creating a platform to present new ideas and collaborations in unique and intimate venues.

Welcome to another summer of creative exploration.

Michael Williams Chief Executive Officer

Book 3 operas for 15% OFF See inside for details.

AT A GL ANCE: OPER A F R I DAY 3 J U LY

VIOLET

CIBOULET TE

Tom Coult

Reynaldo Hahn

7.15pm p.18

S AT U R DAY 4 J U LY

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC 2pm, 7.15pm Stephen Sondheim

p.22

Gioachino Rossini

2pm p.16

George Frideric Handel

7.15pm p.20

W E D N E S DAY 8 J U LY

LA DONNA DEL LAGO

7.15pm p.16

7.15pm p.18

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC 2pm, 7.15pm OUR FUTURE IN YOUR HANDS

p.22

7.30pm p.24

Kate Whitley

7.15pm p.16

LA DONNA DEL LAGO

7.15pm

7.15pm p.16

T H U R S DAY 16 J U LY

ACIS AND GALATEA

2pm

p.20

STRICTLY MUSICAL

8pm

A charity gala concert

p.27

OUR FUTURE IN YOUR HANDS

4pm p.24

7.15pm p.18

S AT U R DAY 18 J U LY

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC 2pm, 7.15pm

p.22

7.30pm p.72

S U N DAY 19 J U LY

LA DONNA DEL LAGO

2pm p.16

2pm p.18

M O N DAY 13 J U LY

SCENES FROM THE OPERA: CIBOULETTE

p.59

W E D N E S DAY 15 J U LY

S U N DAY 12 J U LY

CIBOULETTE

2pm

p.20

HAYDN’S THE CREATION

S AT U R DAY 11 J U LY

LA DONNA DEL LAGO

ACIS AND GALATEA

CIBOULETTE

F R I DAY 10 J U LY

ACIS AND GALATEA COVER SHOW

F R I DAY 17 J U LY

T H U R S DAY 9 J U LY

CIBOULETTE

T U E S DAY 14 J U LY

T U E S DAY 7 J U LY

ACIS AND GALATEA

p.26

S U N DAY 5 J U LY

LA DONNA DEL LAGO

7.15pm

12pm p.55

£5 opera tickets for Under 35s Available from 1 May. See inside for details.

7

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

Artistic Director’s WELCOME

There is always something new and exciting to try at Buxton International Festival.

I

enjoyed last year’s Festival tremendously, and was delighted by the positive critical and public response. For 2020 we have an entirely different feel, but I have endeavoured once more to present a variety of works. I think there is something for everyone. Of course, we all have our preferences, but I am convinced that any lover of Rossini’s compelling serious operas will also be drawn in by a contemporary opera with a fascinating theme. Handel’s music is so charming that even those music lovers who are usually cautious about opera will be delighted by Acis and Galatea. Our musical is operatic and our operetta has much in common with musicals. In other words, the lines are blurred, and there is nothing wrong with that. I hope you will feel emboldened to try something new!

As many of you know, we have a Young Artists Programme which brings young singers from the RNCM to the Festival Chorus. This year we will also be collaborating with RNCM instrumentalists as part of a new initiative. These young musicians will provide the stage music for La donna del lago, and will also form the core of the orchestra for our new commission Our Future In Your Hands.

This Opera Oratorio by Kate Whitley involves children from local schools, many of whom took part in last year’s opera The Orphans of Koombu.

Climate change is the major issue facing the next generation and this work offers an opportunity for young people to raise their voices and express themselves through music.

As well as welcoming back the BBC Philharmonic, this time conducted by John Wilson, we also have a truly stellar line-up of five vocal recitalists this year. Countertenor Iestyn Davies has forged a career as the leading countertenor of his generation. A regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, he comes with his regular collaborator, lutenist Thomas Dunford, for a

8

programme which features some of the greatest melodies of English composers John Dowland and Henry Purcell.

Freddy Kempf shot to prominence in 1992 when he won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. Six years later, he made a big impression at the Tchaikovsky Competition, and since then he has cemented his reputation as one of the world’s finest pianists. He presents a wonderfully imaginative and varied programme which opens with Bach and concludes with Schumann’s masterpiece Carnaval.

A newcomer to Buxton is the spectacular young recorder player Tabea Debus, who performs with theorbo player Alon Sariel. Tabea has been described by Classic FM as ‘challenging perceptions of the instrument’, and she is constantly exploring the horizons of music for recorder. Don’t miss this sparkling concert!

Adrian Kelly Artistic Director

£3 off your Souvenir Programme If reserved before 1 ¬une.

15% OFF Jennifer’s recitals When you book both recitals on 8 & 9 ¬uly.

¬ennifer Pike AR TIS T IN RE SIDENCE ¬ennifer is simply a world-class musician – Adrian Kelly

W

e are delighted to welcome Jennifer Pike as 2020’s Artist in Residence.

A winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2002 at the age of 12, Jennifer has managed to make the often treacherous transition from child prodigy to mature artist with grace and style.

Her interpretations are fresh and insightful, something which those who were lucky enough to hear her rendition of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending at last year’s Festival will be able to confirm. In 2020 she performs again with the BBC Philharmonic, this time conducted by John Wilson.

This year she plays another perennial favourite, Bruch’s Violin Concerto and ends the concert with

Eric Coates’s suite The Three Elizabeths, which is based on the generations of the British Royal family.

For her two concerts in the Pavilion Arts Centre, Jennifer goes back to her Polish roots. Her first recital, with her regular duo partner Martin Roscoe, opens with Mozart and includes a composition by Jennifer’s father Jeremy Pike, as well as works by Penderecki and Poldowski.

In her second recital, with Russian-British pianist Petr Liminov, she brings us Beethoven’s timeless ‘Spring’ sonata followed by Szymanowski’s masterful Violin Sonata, and closing with Poldowski’s virtuosic Tango.

9

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

SAT U R DAY 4 J U LY

T U E S DAY 7 J U LY

DAV I D OW E N N O R R I S

12pm p.30

S U N DAY 5 J U LY

DEREK PARAVACINI QUARTET

3pm

CREATING CARMEN

5.30pm

p.32

p.33

M O N DAY 6 J U LY

LA SERENISSIMA

12pm

THE K ANNEH-MASON PIANO TRIO

3pm p.39

W E D N E S DAY 8 J U LY

JEFFREY MAKINSON

JENNIFER PIKE AND MARTIN ROSCOE

3pm

JENNIFER PIKE AND PETR LIMINOV

p.37

LIZZIE BALL AND MILOŠ MILIVOJEVIC

OUR NEW V ENUE FO R 2020 The Assembly Rooms AT BUXTON CRESCENT HOTE L

10

p.38

T H U R S DAY 9 J U LY

8.30pm

12pm

K ATHRYN STOTT

p.34 p.36

EX CATHEDRA CONSORT

TABEA DEBUS AND ALON SARIEL

12pm p.41

3pm p.43

12pm p.45

3pm p.45

AT A GL ANCE: MUSIC BROMPTON QUARTET

3pm

T U E S DAY 14 J U LY

p.46

IEST YN DAVIES AND THOMAS DUNFORD

ZORADA TEMMINGH Phantom of the Opera (1925)

8.30pm p.47

F R I DAY 10 J U LY

MARK PADMORE 12pm AND MORGAN SZYMANSKI p.48 MARTIN ROSCOE

3pm

p.49

NEW FOR 2020 REGENCY TEA DANCE

3pm p.49

3pm

DINNER AND MUSICAL THEATRE IN THE DOME

7pm

SPOTLIGHT ON CHETHAM’S 12pm

DAME SARAH CONNOLLY AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON

FREDDY KEMPF

BBC PHILHARMONIC, JENNIFER PIKE AND JOHN WILSON

3pm p.49

T H U R S DAY 16 J U LY

12.30pm p.52

3pm

CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN AND AUDREY ST GIL FITZWILLIAM STRING QUARTET

12pm p.65

3pm p.66

p.53

3pm p.53

7.30pm p.54

F R I DAY 17 J U LY

ROSL PRESENTS 12pm KRIS GARFITT WITH SERI DAN p.68 SIR JOHN TOMLINSON AND ROZANNA MADYLUS

3pm p.70

S AT U R DAY 18 J U LY

M O N DAY 13 J U LY

CONSONE QUARTET

p.62

p.51

S U N DAY 12 J U LY

p.60

THE FIBONACCI 10.30am, 2.30pm, 5.30pm SEQUENCE p.61

PETER AND THE WOLF

p.59

W E D N E S DAY 15 J U LY

REGENCY TEA DANCE

CRAIG OGDEN AND HELEN THATCHER

p.58

RODERICK WILLIAMS AND SUSIE ALLAN

S AT U R DAY 11 J U LY 12pm

12pm

12pm

PELLÉAS ENSEMBLE

p.55

CONNAUGHT BRASS

3pm

p.56

S U N DAY 19 J U LY

NACHTMUSIK WITH NCO ENSEMBLE

9pm

KLEZMER-ISH

12pm p.71

12.30pm p.73

p.57

11

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

Book Festival Director’s WELCOME

I can think of no other Literary Festival with such exceptional musicians to call upon.

Nor any mixed arts festivals with such a glittering line-up of authors.

T

his year our speakers will explore the nation’s great edifices (in both meanings of the word, ‘a large and imposing building’ and ‘a complex system of beliefs’). Sir David Cannadine will be with us to talk about Westminster Abbey, its thousand-year history and its unconscious place in the national psyche. Tom Holland and William Dalrymple will look at ‘complex systems of belief’ in two magisterial and acclaimed books.

Dominion looks at Christianity within the context of the Western Mind and The Anarchy looks at the domination and success of the East India Company.

David Reynolds and Vernon Bogdanor will tackle the edifice of Britain’s Island Story. Charles Moore will discuss Thatcherism by way of his magisterial three volume authorized biography of the Iron Lady.

Bettany Hughes will tell us how the myth of Venus endures through to the twenty-first century. David Olusoga will uncover ‘The House through Time’ and, as always in his work, will consider the legacy of that shaming British edifice, the Slave Trade. We always hope our authors will bust myths and leave our audience reeling in delight and admiration and sometimes in horror at our collective complicity.

At Buxton we do not shy away from difficult subjects. Richard Dawkins may well be Britain’s most notable atheist, joining him in the festival programme is geneticist and broadcaster Adam Rutherford to discuss our responses to human evolution and variation. In ‘Games Up’ we look at game shooting and conservation and whether the two can be compatible on British grouse moors.

Nature connectedness is a theme across several events. Isabel Hardman’s new book The Natural Health Service, explores how the natural world can positively affect mental health outcomes. Patrick Barkham champions Forest Schools in Wild Child and in a debate with Britain’s foremost birding expert Mark Cocker looks at our responses to rapid nature deletion. Historian Peter Moore chairs 12

a History of Happiness with two of our smartest philosophical thinkers, Sarah Bakewell and Mike Jay. Happiness will also be found this July with an expanded range of our festival walks.

To celebrate our unique triptych of opera, music and books, this year we will host ‘Crescent Salons.’

These events will feature an author talking about their new book plus music from the period to compliment the subject. Legacy is the interlinking theme. Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra struggling with her sister’s literary legacy in 1840; Churchill’s relationship with his German cook and his largely forgotten culinary legacy; Joseph Paxton and the innovation and legacy of our great British landscape designers; and the astonishing legacy of the six Mitford sisters are all celebrated and unwrapped in these rather special events. I can think of no other Literary Festival which can call upon exceptional musicians from the BIF Company to sprinkle our events with music. Nor any mixed arts festivals with such a glittering line-up of authors.

Victoria Dawson Book Festival Director

PER SPEC TIV E S Organised in partnership with the British Academy Before the last speaker in July 2019 had stepped off the stage, I was pressed to articulate my vision for BIF in 2020. We programme our authors up to ten months ahead of our July festival and yet come summer we must appear edgy and topical.

Our finest constitutional historian, beloved of our Buxton audience, Peter Hennessy guided me to ‘anticipate anxieties’. Many of the themes in the Festival are programmed with this sage advice in mind. However, predicting the future zeitgeist is always challenging. Working in partnership with the British Academy is a huge privilege and I hope you will enjoy this year’s partnership events.

Perspectives brings together Britain’s foremost thinkers and commentators to discuss some of the defining issues of our age. From the climate crisis to global greed, join us this July as we discuss how insights from history, psychology, politics and more can help shape a better and more sustainable future for all.

Marisa Smith British Academy Head of Events

Victoria Dawson Book Festival Director

AT A GL ANCE: BOOK S S AT U R DAY 4 J U LY

A N W I L SO N The Mystery of Charles Dickens

POLLY TOYNBEE AND DAVID WALKER

M O N DAY 6 J U LY 10am p.30

2pm p.31

The Lost Decade

TOM HOLLAND

4pm

Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind

p.31

10am

Venus & Aphrodite

p.32

ROBERT TWIGGER

4pm

Walking the Great North Line: Up England Another Way

p.33

10am p.34

Perspectives: The Future Of Business

BUXTON ON THE HOMEFRONT NED PALMER

Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles

ANNIE GREY

S U N DAY 5 J U LY

B E T TA N Y H U G H E S

ANDREW HILL AND COLIN MAYER

Crescent Salon: Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill’s Cook

11am p.35

2pm p.35

4pm p.37

13

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

ISABEL HARDMAN

T U E S DAY 7 J U LY

RICHARD DAWKINS Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide

GOSSIPING WITH THE GEORGIANS DR FREYA GOWRLEY, DR JOSEPH HARLEY AND DR RUTH LARSEN

10am p.38

11am p.39

2pm p.39

Spotlight on Derby University: The Georgian Home: consumption, comfort and display

GILL HORNBY

Crescent Salon: Miss Austen

PROFESSOR PAUL CRAWFORD

4pm p.40

5.30pm p.40

W E D N E S DAY 8 J U LY 10am p.41

Perspectives: We Are Not Powerless as Individuals

PROMENADING WITH MR FRANK MATCHAM

11am

CHARLES MOORE

12pm

Margaret Thatcher – The Authorized Biography Volume 3

BIRDING WITH MARK COCKER

BIRDING WITH MARK COCKER

p.44

3.30pm

HUNTER DAVIES

p.43

4pm

London Parks and Happy Old Me: p.47 How to Live A Long Life and Really Enjoy It

F R I DAY 10 J U LY

Florence Nightingale and Home

GEOFF BEATTIE AND TIM SMEDLEY

12pm

The Natural Health Service: What the Great Outdoors can do for the mind?

p.41 p.42

3.30pm

VERNON BOGDANOR, ISABEL HARDMAN AND DAVID REYNOLDS

10am p.48

Perspectives: After Brexit: What Next?

BIRDING WITH MARK COCKER

11am p.43

S AT U R DAY 11 J U LY

DAVID REYNOLDS AND VERNON BOGDANOR

10am p.50

Island Stories: Britain and Its History in the Age of Brexit and Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution

RUTH GOODMAN The Domestic Revolution

12pm p.50

S U N DAY 12 J U LY

MARTIN GAYFORD

10am

p.43

The Pursuit of Art

p.52

ANDREW MARTIN

4pm

RUTH PADEL

4pm

Preserved Railways

p.42

Beethoven Variations: Poems on a Life

p.54

DR PETER COLLINGE

5.30pm

Business, Politics, Charity and Scandal: p.43 Women and Public Life in Georgian Derbyshire

T H U R S DAY 9 J U LY

SIR JOHN LISTER-K AYE, TOM ORDE-POWLETT AND MARK COCKER

10am p.44

‘Games Up’: Conservation versus Shooting

14

M O N DAY 13 J U LY

SARAH BAKEWELL AND MIKE JAY

10am p.56

Guest edited by Peter Moore A History of Happiness

JAMES CROWDEN

2pm

In conversation with Mark Cocker Frozen River: Seeking Silence in the Himalaya

p.56

AT A GL ANCE: BOOK S BUXTON ON THE HOMEFRONT

p.35

GILL MELLER Time & Gather

4pm

JOHN WRIGHT

3.30pm

FIONA DAVISON

Crescent Salon: The Hidden Horticulturalists: The Untold Story of the Men who Shaped Britain’s Gardens

p.57

IAIN DALE

10am

In conversation with Julian Glover Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: Shout Less. Listen More

GOSSIPING WITH THE GEORGIANS

p.58

11am p.39

MARTIN EDWARDS AND NICOLA UPSON

2pm p.59

Guest edited By Sarah Ward Golden Age Crime Panel

2pm p.65

3.30pm

PATRICK BARKHAM AND MARK COCKER

p.41

4pm p.67

Wild Child and Claxton Diary: Further Field Notes From A Small Planet

DR JANE ADAMS

5pm

The Buxton spa cure 1750-1950

p.66

F R I DAY 17 J U LY

MAYA GOODFELLOW AND PETER GATRELL

10am p.68

Perspectives: Migrants: Always the Scapegoats?

LAURA THOMPSON

4pm

Crescent Salon: Take Six Girls: The Lives of The Mitford Sisters

p.60

CHRISTINE AND ALAN PIPER 5.30pm Lumsdale – The Industrial Revolution p.60 in a Derbyshire Valley

WENDY MOORE

ARCHIE BROWN

10am

Perspectives: How Did The Cold War Really End?

p.61

11am, 3.30pm p.62

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

12pm

The Anarchy – The Relentless Rise of the East India Company

p.63

ANDREW LOWNIE

4pm

The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves

p.62

12pm

Endell Street: The Suffragette Surgeons of World War One

p.69

DAVID OLUSOGA

2pm

In conversation with Colin Grant

p.69

SIR DAVID CANNADINE

4pm

Westminster Abbey

W E D N E S DAY 15 J U LY

FORAGING WITH JOHN WRIGHT

p.64

The Forager’s Calendar

PROMENADING WITH MR FRANK MATCHAM

T U E S DAY 14 J U LY

10am

p.70

S AT U R DAY 18 J U LY

DANNY DORLING AND CLAIRE AINSLEY

10am

p.71 Perspectives: Rising Inequality And Global Greed

ADAM RUTHERFORD How to Argue with a Racist

4pm p.72

S U N DAY 19 J U LY

K ATE TELTSCHER The Palace of Palms: Kews Palm House and the British Imagination

10am p.73

T H U R S DAY 16 J U LY

HELEN LEWIS Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights

10am p.64 15

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

15% OFF when you book all 3 operas.

L A DONNA DEL L AGO

La donna del lago, Ciboulette, Acis and Galatea.

Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792 –1868)

A Buxton International Festival Production, with the Northern Chamber Orchestra Set in 16th century Scottish Highlands, La donna del lago, is an opera of love, loyalty and lochs with expansive ensembles and sparkling orchestration.

Based on the epic poem The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott, the title heroine Elena is being pursued by not one but two tenors: King James V, disguised as the humble Uberto and his enemy and rival in love, Rodrigo Di Dhu. Complicating matters further, Elena herself loves Malcolm (a trouser role), the son of one of the king’s political adversaries.

Political alliances are stretched to their limit as all three vie for Elena’s attention against a backdrop of escalating war and deception. Will love make or break a divided Scotland?

La donna del lago, one of the most lyrical of Gioachino Rossini’s operas, will be conducted by the Festival’s Artistic Director, Adrian Kelly, and directed by internationally renowned Jacopo Spirei.

Jacopo has directed several of Rossini’s lesser-known operas, including most recently Ermione at Naples’ Teatro San Carlo.

Soprano Máire Flavin makes her Buxton debut after luminous performances at Wexford Festival Opera and Opera North. An alumna of both the Opera Theatre Company and Britten-Pears Young Artist programmes, Máire Flavin studied at Queens University, Belfast and the National Opera Studio, London. Taking on the demanding role of Uberto, Maltese tenor Nico Darmanin is now well established in the Bel Canto repertoire, having performed at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Praised for his ‘golden sound’ and ‘elegant wit,’ Tenor John Irvin has made debuts with Madison Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

The libretto by Andrea Leone Tortola is based on the French translation of The Lady of the Lake.

Sung in Italian with English side-titles.

Thanks to members of the La donna del logo Syndicate for their support.

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DAT E S & T I M E S Sun 5 July Wed 8 July Sat 11 July Wed 15 July Sun 19 July

2pm 7.15pm 7.15pm 7.15pm 2pm

VENUE Buxton Opera House TICKETS £25 – £78 £5 Under 35s from 1 May proof of age required See p.82 for seating plan C R E AT I V E T E A M Adrian Kelly Conductor Jacopo Spirei Director Madeleine Boyd Designer Ben Pickersgill Lighting Designer CAST Máire Flavin Elena Nico Darmanin Uberto John Irvin Rodrigo Catherine Carby Malcolm Joel Allison Douglas Full details inc. end times on our website

Sponsored by

Rossini makes extraordinary demands on his singers, especially the tenors, and we have assembled a crack team of soloists who are more than equal to the challenge. I will be guiding the singers through their treacherous manoeuvres.

Adrian Kelly Conductor and Artistic Director 17

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

15% OFF when you book all 3 operas.

CIBOULE T TE

La donna del lago, Ciboulette, Acis and Galatea.

Reynaldo Hahn (1874 –1947)

A Buxton International Festival Production, with the Northern Chamber Orchestra Reynaldo Hahn’s homage to French operetta is a captivating concoction of charming melodies, a tender, touching love story, and a celebration of everything that one associates with Paris of the Belle Époque.

Best known as a composer of beautiful French chansons, Hahn achieved great success with his few operettas, and none is more deliciously tuneful than Ciboulette. It tells of the improbable romance between an ebulliently spirited farm girl and a feckless young Parisian roué. The love affair is guided by a guardian angel, and an older man (someone we have met before in another wellknown opera) who reveals a surprising past. Along the way we meet a host of memorable eccentric characters before the path of true love finds its happy end in a waltz song that you will hum all the way home from the theatre.

Wyn Davies, a Festival favourite, conducts the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Jeff Clarke, well known for his successful productions at Buxton International Festival and Artistic Director of Opera della Luna directs his own newly-created English translation.

Soprano Soraya Mafi returns to Buxton in the role of Ciboulette. Soraya is a Harewood Artist at the English National Opera and performs internationally. She won the 2014 Maggie Teyte Prize and the 2016 Susan Chilcott Award.

Lesley Garrett returns to Buxton, where she began her illustrious career.

Sung in English with side-titles.

Thanks to The Broderers’ Charity Trust for their support towards the costumes.

DAT E S & T I M E S Fri 3 July Thur 9 July Sun 12 July Fri 17 July

7.15pm 7.15pm 2pm 7.15pm

VENUE Buxton Opera House TICKETS £25 – £78 £5 Under 35s from 1 May proof of age required See p.82 for seating plan C R E AT I V E T E A M Wyn Davies Conductor Jeff Clarke Director Phil Daniels Designer Charles Cusick Smith Designer Ben Pickersgill Lighting Designer CAST Soraya Mafi Ciboulette Eddie Wade Duparquet David Webb Antonin Lesley Garrett Countess Richard Woodall Mr Grenu/Landlord Imogen Garner Madame Grenu Full details inc. end times on our website

Supported by

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When anyone ever asked me ‘What operetta would you most like to stage?’ Ciboulette was at the top of my list.

How lucky am I to have the chance to give it its first staging for many years in the UK, here at Buxton.

Jeff Clarke Director 19

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

15% OFF when you book all 3 operas.

ACIS AN D GAL ATE A

La donna del lago, Ciboulette, Acis and Galatea.

George Frideric Handel (1685 –1759)

A co-production with the Buxton International Festival and the Early Opera Company Jealousy and devotion lie at the heart of Handel’s adaptation of Ovid’s classic tale of eternal love, Acis and Galatea. The sea nymph Galatea pledges herself to the mortal shepherd, Acis, but their idyllic existence is torn apart when the envious cyclops, Polyphemus, arrives to claim Galatea as his own. While Mount Etna shakes, he crushes Acis to death with a boulder. Reminded of her divine power, Galatea transforms her beloved’s gushing blood into a bubbling spring, the source of the River Aci and the two lovers are reunited forever in the Sicilian sea.

Having already set the story to music in Naples (1708), Handel returned to it with entirely new music for an English masque as an entertainment hosted by the Earl of Carnarvon at his country estate in midsummer 1718. It was his first dramatic work in the English language.

Baroque specialists Christian Curnyn and the Early Opera Company bring this popular dramatic work to Buxton after winning the opera category of the BBC Music Magazine Awards in 2019 for their exquisite recording of Acis and Galatea. Director Martin Constantine has gained five-star reviews for his work with Longborough Festival Opera and Welsh National Opera. His production of Paul Bunyan, for WNO, won an RPS Award and was nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award.

Soprano Mary Bevan is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music and was awarded a MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2019.

Nick Pritchard is a Samling Artist and was recently voted ‘Breakthrough Artist in UK Opera’ in the WhatsOnStage Opera Poll 2017.

Libretto by John Gay. Sung in English with side-titles.

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DAT E S & T I M E S Tue 7 July 7.15pm Tue 14 July 7.15pm Thur 16 July 2pm Cover Show Tue 14 July

2pm – 3.15pm

VENUE Buxton Opera House TICKETS £25 – £78 £5 Under 35s from 1 May proof of age required Cover Show £15 – £30 £5 Under 35s from 1 May proof of age required See p.82 for seating plan C R E AT I V E T E A M Christian Curnyn Conductor Martin Constantine Director Anisha Fields Designer CAST Mary Bevan Galatea Nick Pritchard Acis Jorge Navarro Colorado Damon/Coridon Lukas Jakobski Polyphemus David de Winter Chorus Full details inc. end times on our website

Sponsored by

Handel’s music is so charming that even those music lovers who are usually cautious about opera will be delighted by Acis and Galatea.

Adrian Kelly Artistic Director

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

A LIT TLE NIGHT M USIC Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler

A Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival production, with the Festival Orchestra Open your heart to A Little Night Music. In this bittersweet tale of romantic possibility, Stephen Sondheim brings his trademark wit and talent to intertwine opera with musical comedy.

Taking place during a scandalous weekend in the Scandinavian countryside, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs between a group of frustrated lovers. After years of travelling, glamorous actress Desiree Armfeldt is reunited with her old flame, Fredrik Egerman, whose recent marriage to a young bride still remains unconsummated. Hoping to win Fredrik back, Desiree invites the couple to her mother’s secluded country estate. But when her married lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm arrives unexpectedly with his wife, all plans are overturned. As the night unfolds, old passions are rekindled and fresh feelings catch all of the characters by surprise.

Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music has enjoyed many West End and Broadway revivals since its original production in 1973. It features one of Sondheim’s most memorable scores including the poignant Send in the Clowns and the haunting Night Waltz.

Directed by Paul Kerryson, winner of Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre at the 2014 UK Theatre Awards and Chief Executive of Buxton Opera House. Paul has directed many other musicals by Stephen Sondheim including Follies, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Pacific Overtures and Into the Woods.

Janie Dee has been awarded three of the most prestigious awards in British Theatre; the Olivier Award 2000, the Evening Standard Award 1999 and Critics Circle Awards for Best Actress in a Play 1999.

Thanks to members of the A Little Night Music Syndicate for their support.

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DAT E S & T I M E S Sat 4 July Fri 10 July Sat 18 July

2pm, 7.15pm 2pm, 7.15pm 2pm, 7.15pm

VENUE Buxton Opera House TICKETS £25 – £65 See buxtonoperahouse.org.uk for seating plan C R E AT I V E T E A M Iwan Davies Conductor Paul Kerryson Director Phil Daniels Designer Charles Cusick Smith Designer Ben Pickersgill Lighting Designer CAST Janie Dee Desiree David Leonard Fredrik Dani Sicari Anne Full details inc. end times on our website

Co-production

A LIT TLE NIGHT MUSIC Original orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick Suggested by a Film by Ingmar Bergman Originally Produced and Directed on Broadway

by Harold Prince Performed by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Limited

A deliciously wicked evening of witty lyrics and luscious waltzes.

Paul Kerryson Director and CEO, BOH

STRIC TLY MUSICAL Thursday 16 July 8pm Buxton Opera House £15 – £30 Join us for our charity gala tribute to the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.

See p.27

The perfect summer treat combining the best of Sondheim’s music and wonderful lyrics that will give every theatre-goer a wonderful evening of sheer delight.

Michael Williams CEO, BIF

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

15% OFF

OUR FUTURE IN YOUR HAN DS

When you book this with Haydn’s The Creation p.72

Composed by Kate Whitley, written by Laura Attridge Find out more about Natural Solutions to Climate Change with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Young people all around the world have declared climate change to be a global emergency that requires extraordinary efforts from all of us.

Michael Williams CEO, BIF

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A Buxton International Festival production, in collaboration with the Royal Overseas League, and the Festival Orchestra with members from the Northern Chamber Orchestra and our Young Instrumentalist Programme The Buxton International Festival is proud to present the world premiere of a specially commissioned opera oratorio, Our Future In Your Hands, composed by Kate Whitley and written

by Laura Attridge.

Over the last twenty years the global scientific community has been raising the alarm about climate change. Government action has been stuck in red tape and endless debate. The process of change has stalled. This inaction was too much for young people who have decided to go on a strike to protest the lack of action in the face of climate change. Our Future In Your Hands uses the oratorio to give voice to the hopes and fears of the young people who will one day inherit our world.

Thanks to the PRS Foundation, Granada Foundation, Golden Jubilee Trust (via ROSL), The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Ida Carroll Trust, Borletti-Buitoni Trust, Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust, Andre Bernheim Trust, The Michael Guest Charitable Foundation, Orchestras Live.

Thanks to members of the Our Future In Your Hands Syndicate, in memory of Emilie Schmid-Tröndle.

DAT E S & T I M E S Fri 10 July Fri 17 July

7.30pm 4pm

VENUE St John’s Church

Kate Whitley, a winner of the British Composers Award, was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra to write Sky Dances which was conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. She runs the Multi-Story Orchestra with conductor Christopher Stark and creates works for young people. Kate is committed to organising music as a powerful tool for social change and the common good. She is an important composer of her generation, in particular in her word settings in opera, songs or choral music.

TICKETS

Laura Attridge is a dynamic maker of opera and theatre with a passion for collaborative creative work. Her song cycles have been premiered at Glyndebourne, the Royal College of Music (RCM), the National Gallery and Bard College (New York).

Notably, her ongoing creative partnership with composer Lewis Murphy has produced numerous works for the stage commissioned by companies such as the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera and Sound Festival. Laura is also a director and facilitator, working regularly with young people and communities.

Kate Whitley Composer Laura Attridge Writer Tom Newall Conductor

Young musicians from the RNCM, led by mentors from the Northern Chamber Orchestra will make up the orchestra for the project. The choirs will be drawn from local schools and will be joined by soloists from the Buxton Festival Company.

In partnership with

£20 Adult £5 Under 18s £5 Under 35s from 1 May proof of age required See p.83 for seating plan C R E AT I V E T E A M

S O LO I S T S Fiona Finsbury soprano Rhiannon Doogan mezzo-soprano Edward Robinson baritone Full details inc. end times on our website

Supported by

25

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

V IOLE T Composed by Tom Coult and written by Alice Birch

A Music Theatre Wales production, co-commissioned and co-produced by Snape Music and Theater Magdeburg, in association with the London Sinfonietta In an isolated community controlled by the regularity of the town clock, suddenly an hour is lost every day. As the hours disappear, long-held certainties evaporate and ordered society falls into disarray.

While the men in charge lose control, Violet begins to imagine a different future. Trapped and stifled in an unhappy marriage, she senses there’s a new life to be discovered and sets out to find it.

Known for her powerful female-centred writing, Alice Birch’s credits include Anatomy of a Suicide (Royal Court) and story editing for Succession (HBO). She is joined by director Jude Christian, following her direction of Dark Night of the Soul (Shakespeare’s Globe) and her appointment as Associate Director at Home in Manchester, and Rosie Elnile, ‘a designer with a passion for extravagance, unruliness, mess and fun’ - What’s On Stage.

Founded in 1988, Music Theatre Wales is the UK’s leading producer of new opera and music theatre.

Creating bold and adventurous work, the company collaborates with the most acclaimed composers of our time, including Peter Maxwell Davies and Philip Glass. Music Theatre Wales has a long association with BIF, and its celebrated original productions include Greek, The Killing Flower, The Golden Dragon and Y Twr.

Coult is a composer who spins glittering, teasingly ambiguous patterns out of simple-seeming material.

The Telegraph

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DAT E S & T I M E S Mon 13 July 7.15pm VENUE Buxton Opera House TICKETS £25 – £52 £5 Under 35s from 1 May proof of age required See p.82 for seating plan C R E AT I V E T E A M Tom Coult Composer Alice Birch Libretto Andrew Gourlay Conductor Tom Scutt Set and Costume Designer CAST Elizabeth Atherton Violet Elliot Carlton Hines Felix Frances Gregory Laura John Graham-Hall Clock Keeper Full details inc. end times on our website

S TRIC TLY M USIC AL A C H A R I T Y G A L A CO N C E R T Thursday 16 July 8pm – 9.50pm with interval Buxton Opera House £15 – £30 For one night only get the chance to enjoy songs from all your favourite musicals, performed by the talented cast members from the BIF Company of 2020. Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival proudly present a tribute to the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bernstein, Sondheim, Kander and Ebb in an evening that’s bound to get you humming along.

Featuring numbers from Follies, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Carousel, Gypsy, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, Chicago and Candide. Hosted by celebrity guests and directed by Paul Kerryson, featuring Adrian Kelly, Wyn Davies and Iwan Davies at the grand piano. There’s something for everyone in this Broadway to Buxton night of musical theatre.

Proceeds will support the ongoing work of Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival.

OPER A TALK S Buxton Opera House £2 Join our creative teams before the productions for insights into the history, music and vision behind this year’s productions.

L A D O N N A D E L L AG O

AC I S A N D G A L AT E A

A LIT TLE NIGHT MUSIC

Sun 5 Wed 8 Sat 11 Wed 15 Sun 19

Tue 7 6pm – 6.30pm Tue 14 6pm – 6.30pm Thur 16 1pm – 1.30pm

Sat 4 1pm – 1.30pm

6pm – 6.30pm Fri 10 1pm – 1.30pm

6pm – 6.30pm Sat 18 1pm – 1.30pm

6pm – 6.30pm

1pm – 1.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 6pm – 6.30pm 1pm – 1.30pm

CIBOULET TE Fri 3 6pm – 6.30pm Thur 9 6pm – 6.30pm Sun 12 1pm – 1.30pm Fri 17 6pm – 6.30pm

O U R FU T U R E I N YO U R H A N D S Fri 10 6.30pm – 7pm Fri 17 3pm – 3.30pm VIOLET Mon 13 6pm – 6.30pm

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

SONG AT SIX Fri 3, Wed 8, Thur 9, Sat 11, Wed 15, Fri 17 July Bandstand at Pavilion Gardens FREE Come and support members from our Young Artists Programme and Festival Chorus as they perform 15 minutes of al fresco song in the Bandstand of the Pavilion Gardens from 6pm. This longstanding tradition is truly at the heart of Buxton International Festival, and what’s more, it’s free!

FE S TIVAL M A SSE S St John’s Church FREE donations welcome Buxton Musical Society and the Buxton Madrigal singers, under the direction of Michael Williams, MBE, present three special services in the atmospheric setting of St John’s Church.

Sunday 5 July 11am – 12.15pm Buxton Madrigal Singers and Orchestra with soloists from the Festival Company Haydn Missa Brevis in F

Sunday 12 July 11am – 12.30pm Buxton Musical Society and Orchestra with soloists from the Festival Company Beethoven Mass in C

Sunday 19 July 11am – 12.15pm Buxton Madrigal Singers Victoria O Quam Gloriosum

BIF BUSK ER S For the second time in BIF’s history we’ll be inviting regional music students to perform on the Buxton Opera House forecourt from 6.20pm – 6.50pm. This is a chance for aspiring young musicians to be part of our Festival and you can support them by dropping a donation into their busker’s hat. Performance information will be available on the Festival notice board outside Buxton Opera House and on our website.

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

A N WIL SON Saturday 4 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 The Mystery of Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was a superb public performer, a great orator and one of the most famous of the Victorians. Slight of build, with a frenzied, hyper-energetic personality, Dickens looked much older than his fifty-eight years when he died – an occasion marked by a crowded funeral at Westminster Abbey, despite his wishes for a small affair. Filled with the twists, pathos and the sort of unusual characters that sprang from the authors imagination, AN Wilson looks back from Dicken’s death to recall the key events in his life.

In doing so, he seeks to understand Dickens’ creative genius and enduring popularity.

DAVID OWEN NORRIS E A R LY P I A N O Saturday 4 July 12pm – 1pm The Assembly Rooms £25 Mozart’s Hero J C Bach Piano Sonatas from Op. 5 and Op. 17 W A Mozart Pieces from the London Sketchbook; Piano Sonata in A minor K310; Variations on Ah! Vousdirai-je maman?

A LIT TLE NIGHT MUSIC 2pm & 7.15pm See p.22 30

Well known for his witty and insightful programmes on radio and television, David Owen Norris has had a fantastically varied career as a composer, broadcaster, performer, academic and raconteur. In this first concert in The Assembly Rooms of the refurbished Georgian Crescent, he will play his own Square Piano and explore how this unusual instrument featured in the friendship between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach’s youngest son, Johann Christian Bach.

Opera

Music

Books

Walks

SATUR DAY 4 J ULY

TOM HOLL AN D Saturday 4 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind Critically acclaimed historian Tom Holland’s epic new book Dominion seeks to place the story of how Western Christianity came to be what it is, and how the Western mind thinks the way that it does, in the broadest historical context. Ranging in time from the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC to the on-going migration crisis in Europe today, and from Nebuchadnezzar to the Beatles, it will explore just what it was that made Christianity so revolutionary and disruptive; how completely it came to saturate the mind-set of Latin Christendom; and why, in a West that has become increasingly doubtful of religion’s claims, so many of our instincts remain irredeemably Christian.

This would make a great companion event to Bettany Hughes, p.32

Sponsored by

The Lost Decade

P OLLY TOY NBEE A N D DAV I D WA LK ER

The decade since 2010 has been one of austerity and paralysis nurturing contempt for leaders, institutions and fellow citizens and fertilising the ground for a rebellious Brexit. It has been a decade characterised by national tragedies from Grenfell to Windrush, and food banks to the housing crisis. Alternatively, the decade could be seen as having achieved the rise of renewable energy, low crime rates, the legalisation of same-sex marriage and with creative industries continuing to punch well above their weight in spite of cuts. Polly Toynbee and David Walker seek to offer us a definitive survey of this most tumultuous of periods in British history and look to what lies ahead for us all.

Saturday 4 July 2pm – 3pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 31

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

BE T TAN Y HUGHE S Sunday 5 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Venus & Aphrodite Through ancient art, evocative myth, exciting archaeological revelations and philosophical explorations, award-winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes explains why the ancient goddess Venus – called Aphrodite by the Greeks – endures through to the twenty-first century, and what her journey through time reveals about what matters to us as humans. On her voyage of discovery to reveal the truth behind Venus, Bettany reveals how this mythological figure is so much more than nudity, romance and sex. It is both the remarkable story of one of antiquity’s most potent forces and the story of human desire - how it transforms who we are and how we behave.

FESTIVAL MASS 11am See p.29

L A DONNA DEL L AGO 2pm See p.16

DEREK PAR AVACINI QUAR TE T Sunday 5 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £25

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Derek Paravacini is registered blind, has autism and is a musical prodigy. At the age of two he began to play the piano for himself and over time he built his technique. He first shot to prominence when he played jazz with the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra at the Barbican at the age of nine. Performances around the world followed, and his ability to communicate with audiences remains inspirational. The quartet released its first album in 2014 and has appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. Their dynamic programme introduces exciting new renditions of classic songs and jazz standards, with a repertoire that ranges from ragtime to Radiohead, from Irving Berlin to the Beatles, from Cole Porter to Coldplay.

Opera

Music

Books

Walks

SUN DAY 5 J ULY

ROBER T T W IGGER

Walking the Great North Line: Up England Another Way

Sunday 5 July 4pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £12

Robert Twigger, poet and travel writer, was in search of a new way up England when he stumbled across the Great North Line. From Christchurch on the South Coast via Arbor Low stone circle, to Mam Tor, to Ilkley in Yorkshire and its three stone circles and the Swastika Stone, to several forts and camps in Northumberland to Lindisfarne (plus about thirty more sites en route).

A single dead straight line following 1 degree 50 West up Britain. No other north-south straight line goes through so many ancient sites of such significance.

Was it just a suggestive coincidence or were they built intentionally? Twigger walks the line, which takes him Up England and through the Peak district, wild-camping along the way.

CR E ATING C A R MEN Sunday 5 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 Prosper Mérimée is struggling with his latest novella, when his leading character, Carmen, appears in his study, larger than life, with a band of musicians in tow and chaos in her wake. Who is in control of the narrative? And what happens when Carmen discovers the tragic ending Mérimée has planned for her?

Clare Norburn’s latest work, Creating Carmen, focuses on the struggle of the iconoclastic writer Prosper Mérimée as he struggles to write a work

in a new genre, the novella Carmen, upon which Georges Bizet’s opera would later be based.

Expect a fun-filled evening of fantasy, comedy, drama and music arranged from Bizet’s Carmen and Spanish-inspired music by Luigi Boccherini, Manuel de Falla, Federico García Lorca, Enrique Granados, Maurice Ravel and Isaac Albéniz, arranged for an ensemble of guitars, flute and voice. Nicholas Renton directs.

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

L A SERENISSIM A Monday 6 July 12pm – 1pm St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20

Maximising profit is the ultimate goal of any business. Yet, the prioritisation of profit over people and planet has had disastrous consequences for our economies, politics, environment and societies. As corporations face urgent calls to reform, what must be done to fix our broken system? And with a climate emergency upon us, should we expect greater commitment to sustainability across the sector?

In this Perspectives, business experts Andrew Hill and Colin Mayer join us for a timely discussion about the future of the corporation.

PERSPEC TIVE S THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS Monday 6 July 10am – 11am The Assembly Rooms £15

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Andrew Hill Management Editor, Financial Times Professor Colin Mayer CBE FBA Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; Lead for the British Academy initiative The Future of the Corporation

Opera

Music

Books

G Tartini Violin Sonatas Op. 1 Following successful appearances at BIF including the much-praised 2019 opera, Lucio Papirio Dittatore, Adrian Chandler returns to Buxton. Together with members of La Serenissima he will perform a selection of violin sonatas composed in the style of Corelli to mark the 250th anniversary of the virtuoso violinist Giuseppe Tartini’s death. La Serenissima is recognised as the UK’s leading exponent of the music of eighteenth century Venice and connected composers. Uniquely, they undertake original research and editorial work to present world-class musical performances in concert.

They have been praised for their ‘fresh approach’ (BBC Music Magazine), ‘dazzling inventiveness’ (The Strad Magazine) and singled out for their ‘difference in attack’ from other orchestras (The Independent).

Supported by

Walks

MON DAY 6 J ULY

BUX TON ON THE HOMEFRONT FE S T I VA L WA L K Monday 6 July 11am – 12.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Also on Mon 13 July 3.30pm – 5pm Buxton sent many men to the Front in the First World War – but even more came back.

The town became a recuperation centre for Commonwealth servicemen who had been wounded, especially Canadians, who rested in the big old hotels such as The Empire, which was demolished between the wars.

This walk will tell their story, including how one nurse at the hospital – Vera Brittain – used her experiences to write the best-selling Testament of Youth.

NED PALMER Monday 6 July 2pm – 3pm Devonshire Dome £12 Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles Cheesemonger, philosopher and jazz musician Ned Palmer takes us on a delicious journey across Britain and through time to uncover the mysteries and delights … of cheese. Along the way we learn the craft and culture of cheesemaking from the eccentric and engaging characters who have revived and reinvented farmhouse and artisan traditions to the major cheese styles – the blues, washed rinds, semi-softs and, unique to the British Isles, the territorials – and discover how best to enjoy them, on a cheeseboard with a glass of Riesling, or as a Welsh rarebit alongside a pint of Pale Ale.

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THE K ANNEH - M A SON PIANO TRIO Monday 6 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30 Isata Kanneh-Mason piano Braimah Kanneh-Mason violin Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello J Haydn Piano Trio No. 29 in G major Op. 67 G Fauré Piano Trio in D minor Op. 120 D Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor Op. 8 F Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Op. 66

The Kanneh-Mason siblings have been playing together since they were very young and this exceptionally talented Nottinghamshire family has been the subject of a number of documentaries including BBC FOUR’s Young, Gifted and Classical.

Sheku became a household name after performing at the 2018 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and has released two albums on Decca Classics: Inspiration in 2018 and Elgar in January 2020. Isata’s debut recording, Romance, featuring the music of Clara Schumann, was released on Decca Classics in 2019 and shot straight to the top of the classical charts. Braimah is a member of the Royal Academy Symphony Orchestra and the Chineke!

Orchestra.

Playing for the first time at Buxton, The Kanneh-Mason Trio present a varied programme featuring romantic jewels by Mendelssohn and Fauré as well as an early work by Shostakovich, written when the composer was just sixteen years old.

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MON DAY 6 J ULY

CRE SCENT SALON WITH ANNIE GR AY Monday 6 July 4pm – 5.30pm The Assembly Rooms £20 Includes a cup of tea Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill’s Cook Victory in the Kitchen is a culinary biography: a life lived through food, ranging from rural Berkshire to wartime London, via Belle Epoque Paris and prohibition-era New York. Through one eager eater, Winston Churchill, and one skilled cook, Georgina Landemare, Annie Gray contextualises twentieth century food through two figures who were both intimately involved with it. Recipes include Georgina’s German Kougelhof, Curried Brains, macaroons, Boodles Orange, Mousse de Maple and ‘Chocolat Cake Good’.

Our musical accompaniment to this event will reference Myra Hess’s wartime concerts through the London Blitz.

E X C ATHEDR A CONSOR T Monday 6 July 8.30pm – 9.45pm St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 Summer Music by Candlelight Jeffrey Skidmore’s choir is known for its passion for seeking out the best, the unfamiliar and the unexpected in the choral repertoire, and for giving dynamic performances underpinned by detailed research. We welcome back this festival favourite, who had sold-out concerts in 2018 and 2019, to perform by the glow of candles in St John’s Church for another magical midsummer evening.

The atmospheric compilation of words and music is inspired by four centuries of seasonal pieces including hidden gems, stunning new arrangements and some well-known favourites.

Early booking is recommended.

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

RICHAR D DAW K INS Tuesday 7 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide Should we believe in God? Do we need God in order to explain the existence of the universe?

Do we need God in order to be good? Addressing some of the most profound questions human beings confront, Dawkins marshals science, philosophy and comparative religion to interrogate his view of the hypocrisies of religious systems.

Dawkins explains to readers of all ages how life emerged without a Creator, how evolution works and how our world came into being. Richard Dawkins is author of The Selfish Gene, voted The Royal Society’s Most Inspiring Science Book of All Time, and also the bestsellers The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, The Ancestor’s Tale and The God Delusion.

TABE A DEBUS AN D A LON SA RIEL R ECO R D E R A N D T H EO R B O Tuesday 7 July 12pm – 1pm St John’s Church £20, Balcony £15 Lamento di Tristano & Rotta, Ciaconna La Monica or Une jeune fillette P F Carroubel Spagnolette Gareth Moorcraft Diaries of the Early Worm J Dowland Flow my tears J Gallot Les Castagnettes G F Handel Lascia ch’io pianga, Jig Freya Waley-Cohen Caffeine for solo recorder G P Telemann Sonata in C Major, Cantabile – Allegro – Grave – Vivace

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Described by The Times as a ‘charismatic virtuoso’, Tabea Debus is constantly exploring the horizons of music for recorder and has performed widely across Europe, Asia and the USA. As a soloist, she has appeared with La Serenissima, the English Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, and WDR Rundfunkchor at the Funkhaus in Cologne.

Born in Israel, Alon Sariel studied at the Jerusalem Academy and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels where he won numerous prizes and awards.

Debus and Sariel’s innovative programme revives Elizabethan and Baroque pieces and also includes works written specially for Debus by Gareth Moorcroft and Freya Waley-Cohen.

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TUE SDAY 7 J ULY

K ATHRY N S TOT T PIANO Tuesday 7 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30 Northern Skies A Liadov Prelude Op. 11 No. 1 E Grieg Holberg Suite D Kabalevsky Sonata No. 3 Op. 46 J Sibelius Valse triste Op. 44 C Sinding Fantaisies Op. 118 No. 2 Nocturne H Sæverud Kjempeviseslaten (Ballade of Revolt) S Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 2 Op. 36 Northern Skies was inspired by Kathryn Stott’s frequent travels to Scandinavia where she experienced the elegance of Grieg and Sinding,

and the energy of Sæverud’s music. Lancashire born Kathryn Stott studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music and shot to fame when she was a prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition 1978. She has given performances as a concerto soloist, chamber musician and recitalist throughout the world and has had many works written for her.

GOSSIPING W ITH THE GEORGIANS

SP OTLIGHT ON DERBY UNI V ER SIT Y

FE S T I VA L WA L K

Tuesday 7 July 2pm – 3pm The Assembly Rooms £12

Tuesday 7 July 11am – 12.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Also on Tue 14 July 11am – 12.30pm As the Buxton Crescent Hotel will open its doors in 2020 after a multi-million pound renovation, we are delighted to offer a health-giving constitutional with a Georgian woman of enlightenment, Anna Seward. Anna was a regular visitor to the Crescent in the latter part of the 1700s and early 1800s and has many tales of Georgian life to tell as she gossips about the accommodation on offer and her fellow guests staying at the Crescent. This walk will take you past the Crescent and across the slopes to paint a picture of then and now.

The Georgian Home: consumption, comfort and display To celebrate the partnership between BIF and the University of Derby our ‘spotlight’ is turned on an piece of research from the Derby academic team. The Georgian Home will contrast the idealisation and realities of the home in the eighteenth century in England. Considering the different experiences of domestic life from across the social spectrum it will explore how ideals of comfort, cleanliness and prudence were put into practice by those designing and living in houses.

Drawing on examples from pauper houses, the homes of emerging middling sort and the country house the Derby team will compare and contrast the experiences of the Georgians at home.

The speakers are Dr Freya Gowrley, Dr Joseph Harley and Dr Ruth Larsen from the School of Humanities at the University of Derby.

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TUE SDAY 7 J ULY

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

CRE SCENT SALON WITH GILL HORNBY Tuesday 7 July 4pm – 5.30pm The Assembly Rooms £20 Includes a cup of tea Miss Austen It’s 1840, twenty-three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, when Cassandra Austen – alone and unwed – returns to the vicarage in the village of Kintbury. There, in a dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, she discovers a treasure trove of family letters – and within them secrets that she feels certain must not be revealed. She resolves to burn the letters, even those written

by Jane herself. But why destroy so much of her sister’s legacy? Janeites should join us to celebrate Gill’s new novel based on a literary mystery that has long puzzled academics.

Our musical accompaniment to this event will include works written in 1840.

ACIS AND GAL ATE A

PROFE SSOR PAUL CR AWFOR D Tuesday 7 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm Pump Room £12

7.15pm See p.20

Florence Nightingale and Home In the year of the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, Paul Crawford, author of the new book Florence Nightingale at Home examines Florence’s life in Derbyshire, where she lived at Lea Hurst, Holloway, near Matlock and brings this iconic, female leader back where she belongs. Considering how the material reality and concept of home and her life in Derbyshire influenced her pioneering work, not least in nursing.

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PROMENA DING W ITH MR FR A NK M ATCH A M FE S T I VA L WA L K Wednesday 8 July 11am – 12.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Also on Thur 16 July 3.30pm – 5pm

WEDNE SDAY 8 J ULY

The Victorian and early Edwardian visitors to Buxton required more than the Buxton water to enliven their spirits. The Pavilion Gardens and the Buxton Opera House were just the tonic needed.

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Frank Matcham, the architect responsible for the Buxton Opera House and this walk and talk invites you to hear more of the history of this prince of playhouse architects and his involvement with the then Buxton Gardens Company.

JEFFRE Y M AK INSON ORGAN Wednesday 8 July 12pm – 1pm St John’s Church £20, Balcony £15

15% OFF

PERSPEC TIVE S

when you book this with Phantom of the Opera

W E A R E N OT P O W E R L E S S A S I N D I V I D UA L S

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Wednesday 8 July 10am – 11am The Assembly Rooms £15 The world’s leading scientists have warned that we only have 10 years to prevent a climate catastrophe. While most of us look to institutions to solve societal problems of this scale, a push for greater individual action has also emerged.

But can changing the way we live and work really make a difference? And if so, how do we mobilise people to offset their emissions? This Perspectives, featuring acclaimed psychologist Geoff Beattie and freelance writer Tim Smedley, delves into the debate around climate change and personal sacrifice.

Geoff Beattie Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Author and Broadcaster, author of The Psychology of Climate Change Tim Smedley Freelance Writer

J S Bach Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552 (St Anne) N de Grigny Recit de tierce entaille F Mendelssohn Organ Sonata No. 1 in F minor F Jackson Impromptu Op. 5 L Vierne Pièces de fantaisie St John’s Church is fortunate to have one of the finest organs in the diocese; a 4-manual William Hill organ dating from 1897, which is still referred to as ‘a magnificent piece of exceptional artistry’.

We are delighted to welcome Jeffrey Makinson, Assistant Director of Music at Lincoln Cathedral, to play an exciting and varied concert including music by J S Bach, Nicolas de Grigny, Felix Mendelssohn and Francis Jackson, along with three works by Louis Vierne to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

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CH A R LE S MOOR E Wednesday 8 July 12pm – 1pm Buxton Opera House £15 Margaret Thatcher – The Authorized Biography Volume 3 How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now?

How did the woman who won the Cold War and three general elections in succession find herself pushed out by her own MPs? Charles Moore’s full account, based on unique access to Margaret Thatcher herself, her papers and her closest associates, tells the story of her last period in office, her combative retirement and the controversy that surrounded her even in death.

It paints an intimate political and personal portrait of the victories and defeats, the iron will but also the surprising vulnerability of the woman who dominated in an age of male power.

A N DRE W M A R TIN Wednesday 8 July 4pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £12 Preserved Railways After the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, many railways were ‘rationalised’ and gradually shut down. But some people were not prepared to let the romance of the steam train die. Thanks to their efforts, many of these lines passed into community ownership and are now booming, thanks to new armies of dedicated volunteers.

Andrew Martin, author of Night Trains and Underground, Overground and the Jim Stringer series of detective novels, goes out to meet these enthusiasts. Martin explores what it is about preserved railways which makes people so devoted that they will brave white hot furnaces, scalding footplates and the threat of exploding engines.

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BIR DING W ITH M A RK COCK ER FE S T I VA L WA L K Wednesday 8 July 3.30pm – 5pm Meet on Corbar Road £20 Also on Thur 9 July 3.30pm – 5pm & Fri 10 July 11am – 12.30pm Buxton International Festival could not be more perfectly timed from nature’s point of view. The wildlife of the High Peak is truly in its summer pomp and just a short walk from the Opera House are fields of glorious flowers and butterflies, birdsong and bumblebees. This a short countryside walk with some rough paths and steep inclines. Walking boots are vital, and anyone with any mobility issues should have a walking stick or walking poles. Sorry, no dogs.

Meet at the pillar box at the junction of Corbar Road and Lightwood Road SK17 6RN. There is on-street parking.

WEDNE SDAY 8 J ULY

DR PE TER COLLINGE Wednesday 8 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm Pump Room £12 Business, Politics, Charity and Scandal: Women and Public Life in Georgian Derbyshire Sisters-in-law Mary Pickford and Margaret Wilkins were respectively the proprietors of a textile mill and a girls’ school. Commercial acumen combined with strategic philanthropy, and social and political networking ensured solid business reputations, but one of them harboured a secret that threatened their carefully constructed public personas. Join Dr Peter Collinge for an intriguing look at these notable local women.

L A DONNA DEL L AGO 7.15pm See p.16

JENNIFER PIK E AND M AR TIN ROSCOE VIOLIN AND PIANO Wednesday 8 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30

15% OFF when you book this with ¬ennifer Pike & Petr Liminov p.45

W A Mozart Violin Sonata in G major Poldowski Violin Sonata K Penderecki Capriccio for solo violin M Rozsa Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Theme Op. 4 Renowned for her “dazzling interpretative flair and exemplary technique” (Classic FM) the unique artistry of Jennifer Pike has taken the musical world by storm since she won the BBC Young Musician competition aged 12, while studying at Chetham’s School of Music. Her broad repertoire has included performances of Mozart with Rheinische Philharmonie, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Singapore Symphony, Tchaikovsky with the Tchaikovsky SO of Moscow, and The Lark Ascending at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

In the first of her three performances as BIF’s 2020 Artist in Residence, Jennifer Pike will play with esteemed pianist Martin Roscoe, with whom she performs and records regularly.

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Friends Day

Sponsored by

‘GA ME S UP ’: CONSER VATION V ER SUS SHOOTING Thursday 9 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £15 Sir John Lister-Kaye, Tom Orde-Powlett and Mark Cocker Driven-grouse shooting has long been cherished by its devotees as one of the most exciting experiences offered by the British uplands. To countryfolk the sight and sound of red grouse flying high over the heather moors in full flower are all part of a deep rural tradition. To its opponents, however, driven shooting, with its associated practices of moor burn and intensive predator control, which can spill over into the issue of illegal raptor persecution, the business is long past its sell-by date. There is no better place than Buxton, surrounded on all sides by grouse moors, to hold this important debate. Sir John Lister-Kaye OBE is one of our best-loved naturalists and owner of the Aigas Field Centre. Tom Orde-Powlett MC is the owner of Bolton Castle Estate.

ISA BEL HAR DM AN Thursday 9 July 12pm – 1pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 The Natural Health Service: What the Great Outdoors can do for the mind?

This would make a good companion event with Patrick Barkham p.67 44

In 2016, Isabel Hardman’s mind, in her own words, ‘stopped working’ as she fell prey to severe depression and anxiety. She credits her recovery to her passion for exercise, nature and the great outdoors – from horse-riding and botany to cold-water swimming and running. In The Natural Health Service, she will draw on her own personal experience, interviews with mental-health sufferers and psychologists, and the latest research to examine what role wildlife and fresh air can play in helping anyone cope with mental illness.

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THUR SDAY 9 J ULY

J ENNIFER PIK E AN D PE TR LIMINOV VIOLIN AND PIANO Thursday 9 July 12pm – 1pm St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20

15% OFF

L van Beethoven ‘Spring’ Sonata No. 5 Op. 24

when you book this with ¬ennifer Pike & Martin Roscoe

K M Szymanowski Violin Sonata in D minor Op. 9 Poldowski Tango for violin and piano Jennifer Pike explores her Polish heritage through the repertoire of some of the most distinctive voices in romantic Polish music accompanied

by Russian-British pianist Petr Limonov, winner of the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 1998. Fundamental to the history of Polish music, Karol Maciej Szymanowski is considered the most celebrated Polish composer of the early 20th century and a member of the modernist movement Young Poland.

p.43

LIZ ZIE BALL AN D MILOŠ MILI VOJ E V IC V I O L I N A N D ACCO R D I O N Thursday 9 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £25 Following a series of successful performances at Buxton International Festival, Lizzie Ball returns with an exciting new show, A Musical Portrait of Chanel and Stravinsky, alongside virtuoso accordionist Miloš Milivojevic. Together they will chart the artistic relationship between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravingsky, and their contemporaries through music and song. Lizzie Ball has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Derby for her services and contribution to classical music, and has been named as one of the 50 most inspirational women of 2018 by The Daily Mail ‘Femail at 50’ feature.

Sponsored by

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Friends Day

Sponsored by

BROMP TON QUAR TE T Thursday 9 July 3pm – 5pm with interval St John’s Church £20, Balcony £15

W A Mozart String Quartet No. 8 in F major K. 168 L van Beethoven String Quartet No. 3 in D major Op. 18 A Slater Eye O Da Hurricane M Ravel String Quartet in F major The Brompton Quartet has quickly gained recognition for outstanding playing since their formation in 2018. Winners of the 2019 St Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Music Competition and recently selected as Park Lane Group Artists for 2020, the Quartet has worked with artists such as Daniel Rowland (Brodsky Quartet), Mats Zitterqvist (Chamber Orchestra Quartet), Mark Messenger and the Harlem Quartet.

CIBOULET TE 7.15pm See p.18

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THUR SDAY 9 J ULY

BIR DING W ITH M A RK COCK ER FE S T I VA L WA L K Thursday 9 July 3.30pm – 5pm Meet on Corbar Road £20 Also on Wed 8 July 3.30pm – 5pm & Fri 10 July 11am – 12.30pm See p.43 for information about this event

PH ANTOM OF THE OPER A (19 25) ZO R A DA T E M M I N G H , O R G A N Thursday 9 July 8.30pm – 10pm St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20

HUNTER DAV IE S Thursday 9 July 4pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £12 London Parks and Happy Old Me: How to Live A Long Life and Really Enjoy It Hunter Davies may just be Britain’s most motivational and inspirational octogenarian.

As Hunter navigates what it means to be alone again after 55 years of marriage, coping with bereavement and being elderly (he still doesn’t believe he is), he shares his wisdom and lessons he has learnt living alone again. In London Parks, Hunter takes the reader on a joyous and colourful stroll through many of the parks that are renowned in the capital, that he himself has gotten to know and love since he moved there in the early 1960s.

After the success of her musical improvisation on the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Zorada Temmingh returns to the Festival with Phantom of the Opera. The 1925 American silent horror film is an adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House. Temmingh’s organ accompaniment of the film is based on music from the 19th century opera and ballet repertoire and uses well-known operatic motifs to depict themes and characters in the film. One of South Africa’s foremost organists, Temmingh pulls out all the stops to portray the emotional intensity of this black and white classic.

15% OFF when you book this with ¬effrey Makinson p.41

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

PERSPEC TIVE S A F T E R B R E X I T: W H AT N E X T ?

Friday 10 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £15

Britain’s protracted and messy departure from the EU has created much uncertainty about our future and relationship with Europe. But with 2020 set to be the year that we “Get Brexit done”, what happens next? From managing our divorce bill and negotiating new trade deals, to healing divided communities and settling constitutional dramas, we ask leading experts Vernon Bogdanor, Isabel Hardman and David Reynolds to examine the current situation and future challenges.

Professor Vernon Bogdanor FBA Research Professor, Institute of Contemporary British History, King’s College London Isabel Hardman Assistant Editor, The Spectator Chair: Professor David Reynolds FBA Emeritus Professor of International History and a Fellow of Christ’s College, University of Cambridge

BIR DING W ITH M AR K COCK ER FE S T I VA L WA L K Friday 10 July 11am – 12.30pm Meet on Corbar Road £20 Also on Wed 8 & Thur 9 July 3.30pm – 5pm See p.43 for information about this event 48

M A R K PA DMOR E AN D M ORGAN SZ Y M ANSK I T E N O R A N D G U I TA R Friday 10 July 12pm – 1pm St John’s Church £30, Balcony £25 J Dowland Songs from The Firste Booke of Songes S McNeff A Certain Man and Eden Rock (Settings of Charles Causley) F Schubert Nachtstück; Nacht und Träume A Roth A Road Less Travelled (Settings of Edward Thomas) Described by The Times as ‘mesmerizing’, Mark Padmore has established himself as one of the most original and distinctive interpreters of his generation. He has been Artist in Residence with the Berlin Philharmonic and is Artistic Director of the St Endellion Summer Music Festival. His performances as the Evangelist in the Bach Passions are definitive, and he recently triumphed as Aschenbach in a new production of Britten’s Death in Venice at the Royal Opera House in November 2019. In characteristic style, Mark Padmore’s programme with award-winning guitarist Morgan Szymanski takes us on a journey from the renaissance right up to the present 20% OFF day, combining vocal recitals two wonderful When you book all 5. contemporary British composers with two See p.84 for details. giants of the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Opera

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FRIDAY 10 J ULY

Walks

PIANO

L van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major Op. 110; Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor Op. 13 Pathétique

Friday 10 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30

F Liszt’s transcription of Wagner’s Isoldens Liebestod

M AR TIN ROSCOE

J Brahms Three Intermezzi for piano Op. 117

F Liszt La lugubre gondola No. 2; Piano Sonata in B minor; Petrarch Sonnets and 2 Légendes, S.175, No. 2; St. Francis de Paule Walking on the Water Martin Roscoe’s extraordinary career spans over four decades and he is one of the most regularly played pianists on BBC Radio 3, having had over 600 broadcasts including seven BBC Proms appearances. His recent concerto highlights include appearances with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra. “…I haven’t heard playing from any recent pianist that surpasses Roscoe’s…”

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

N E W FO R 2 0 2 0

R EGENC Y TE A DA NCE Friday 10 July 3pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £25 Includes tea and biscuits Also on Wed 15 July 3pm – 5pm

Step back to the Regency period and take part in a Tea Dance at Buxton Crescent Hotel’s sumptuous Assembly Rooms. Whether you know your quadrille from your cotillion, all shall be explained and demonstrated by a dancing master and his team of dancers. Accompanied by a chamber

A LIT TLE NIGHT MUSIC 2pm, 7.15pm See p.22

OUR FUTURE IN YOUR HANDS 7.30pm See p.24

ensemble, the Regency Tea Dance will feature demonstrations as well as tutorials. This is a unique opportunity to travel back in time and experience the original atmosphere of the Crescent while learning new skills and making new friends. Dress as you feel comfortable and able to move freely.

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Buxton Carnival Day DAVID REYNOLDS AND VERNON BOGDANOR WHAT FUTURE FOR THE UNITED K INGDOM? Saturday 11 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £15 Island Stories: Britain and Its History in the Age of Brexit and Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution Award-winning historian David Reynolds sees Brexit as part of a deeper crisis of national identity. This requires us to move beyond confident certainties about ‘our island story’ and recognise that there are several stories spanning two islands whose future as the ‘United Kingdom’ is now in the balance. Vernon Bogdanor, one of our most respected constitutional commentators,

emphasises that entry into the European Community in 1973 was a momentous event – with seismic effects on the politics and constitution of Britain. Brexit, while equally momentous, has been almost wholly discussed in economic terms. But what are its constitutional implications? And what, indeed, is ‘our constitution’?

RU TH GOO DM AN Saturday 11 July 12pm – 1pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12 The Domestic Revolution

This would make a great companion event with Annie Gray p.37 and Spotlight on Derby Universtiy p.39 50

The development of the coal-fired domestic range fundamentally changed not just our domestic comforts, but our world. The revolution began as far back as the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when London began the switch from wood to coal as its domestic fuel – a full 200 years before any other city. Coal cooking was to change not just how we cooked but what we cooked (causing major swings in diet), how we washed (first our laundry and then our bodies) and how we decorated (spurring the wallpaper industry). It also defined the nature of women’s and men’s working lives, pushing women more firmly into the domestic sphere. Described as ‘the Queen of living history’, Ruth Goodman is a social historian and presenter of a number of BBC series, including Victorian Farm, Wartime Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm and, most recently, Full Steam Ahead.

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SATUR DAY 11 J ULY

Walks

DA ME SAR AH CONNOLLY AN D J OSEPH MI D DLE TON SOPR ANO AND PIANO Saturday 11 July 12pm – 1pm Buxton Opera House £15 – £30 F Poulenc Banalités H Duparc Chanson triste; Au pays où se fait la guerre; Extase; L’invitation au voyage; Testament G Mahler Rückertlieder R Schumann Frauenliebe und Leben

Dame Sarah Connolly is widely recognised as one of the finest artists of her generation.

Her operatic repertoire ranges from great Handelian heroes such as Xerxes and Ariodante to Wagner’s Brangäne and Fricka. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Sesto in David McVicar’s Glyndebourne production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. It is perhaps her unfailing ability to bring dramatic depth and nuance to her interpretations that distinguishes her most as an artist.

Her programme for Buxton begins with the lush harmonies of some of the greatest French melodies, with Francis Poulenc’s Banalités and songs by Duparc. Dame Sarah Connolly has performed all of Mahler’s vocal works, and in this concert she sings the deeply moving Rückertlieder. She finishes with Schumann’s masterpiece, Frauenlieben und -leben, an intimate account of a woman’s love for a man.

The cycle was written in 1840, Schumann’s so-called ‘year of song’ in which he wrote numerous songs and his four greatest song cycles.

Pianist Joseph Middleton regularly collaborates with some of the UK’s finest singers. Described

by BBC Music Magazine as ‘one of the brightest stars in the world of song and Lieder’ he is artistic director of Leeds Lieder.

20% OFF vocal recitals When you book all 5.

See p.84 for details.

L A DONNA DEL L AGO 7.15pm See p.16

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

M A R TIN GAY FOR D Sunday 12 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12

The Pursuit of Art Spectator Art Critic and Radio 3 broadcaster Martin Gayford recounts journeys as varied as those to see Brancusi’s Endless Column in Romania, prehistoric cave art in France, the museum island of Naoshima in Japan, the Judd Foundation in Marfa, Texas, and Anselm Kiefer’s extraordinary ‘underworld’ at Barjac, France.

Interwoven with these tales are other journeys, to meet artists. These encounters not only provide insights into the way artists approach and think about their art, but also reveal the importance of their personal environments. And in the process, Gayford discusses how these meetings impact on his own evolving ideas and tastes.

FESTIVAL MASS Sponsored by

11am See p.29

CIBOULET TE 2pm See p.18

CR A IG OG DEN A N D HELEN THATCHER G U I TA R A N D C E L LO Sunday 12 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm The Assembly Rooms £25 J Nin Suite Española J Zenamon Reflexoes No. 6 R Gnattali Sonata for guitar and cello in three movements E Granados Danza Española Op. 37 No. 5 Andaluza A Piazzolla Cafe 1930; Libertango Craig Ogden, one of the most exciting and extensively recorded guitarists of his generation, joins leading cellist, Helen Thatcher, to perform world-class music with a Latin twist. Ogden is the youngest instrumentalist to have received a Fellowship Award from the Royal Northern College of Music, where he is now head of Guitar. Helen Thatcher is well known as a founder cellist of the Sorrel Quartet and the Erringden 52

Ensemble. Their programme is an exploration of the repertoire for this instrumental combination, written by composers from all over the Americas.

Joaquín Nin hailed from Cuba, Jaime Zenamon from Bolivia, Astor Piazzola from Argentina and Radames Gnattali from Brazil.

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SUN DAY 12 J ULY

PE TER AND THE WOLF R OYA L N O R T H E R N CO L L EG E O F M U S I C Sunday 12 July 3pm – 4pm Music programme 40 mins St John’s Church Adult £20, Under 18s £5 Peter and the Wolf is the perfect introduction for young children to the symphony orchestra.

Prokoviev’s ‘symphonic fairy tale for children’ brings the orchestra to life, with all of the characters in Peter’s story represented by different instruments of the orchestra.

Specially selected young musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music will make up the orchestra, conducted by the Festival’s Artistic Director, Adrian Kelly. There will be a chance for children in the audience to take a closer look at the instruments and meet the musicians after the performance.

Recommended for children from the ages of 4-11.

FREDDY K EMPF PIANO Sunday 12 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30 J S Bach Prelude and Fugue in F minor F Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 1 in C major S Rachmaninoff Études-Tableaux Op. 39 No. 8 P Tchaikovsky Dumka Op. 59 L van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor Op. 57 (Appassionata) R Schumann Carnaval Op. 9 Exceptionally gifted with an unusually broad repertoire, Freddy Kempf has built a unique reputation as an explosive and physical performer who is not afraid to take risks as well as a serious, sensitive and profoundly musical artist. He is one of today’s most successful pianists performing to sell-out audiences all over the world.

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

RU TH PA DEL Sunday 12 July 4pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £12

This would make a good companion event with The Fibonacci Sequence p.61

Beethoven Variations: Poems on a Life Two hundred and fifty years since Beethoven was born, prize-winning poet, Ruth Padel goes on a personal search for him, retracing his steps through war-torn Europe of the early nineteenth century, delving into his music, letters, diaries and the conversation books he used when deaf, to uncover the man behind the legend. Her quest, exploring the life of one of the most creative artists who ever lived, turns more personal than she expects, taking her into the sources of her own creativity and musicality. An illuminating biography in verse conjures not only Beethoven’s life and personality, but Ruth’s own music-making and love both of the European music-making tradition to which her father’s family belongs, and to the continent Europe itself.

BBC PHILH A R M ONIC J E N N I FE R P I K E , V I O L I N J O H N W I L S O N , CO N D U C TO R Sunday 12 July 7.30pm – 10pm with interval Octagon, Pavilion Gardens £15 – £35 O Nicolai Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor M Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 A Sullivan Overture di Ballo F Delius Summer Night on the River E Coates The Three Elizabeths – Suite After a triumphant first appearance at the 2019 Festival, the BBC Philharmonic returns to Buxton.

Also returning is BIF’s artist in residence for 2020, violinist Jennifer Pike. Last year she captivated the audience in the Octagon with an unforgettable rendition of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. This year she plays another perennial favourite, Bruch’s Violin Concerto. The concert opens with Otto Nicolai’s stirring overture to his opera, The Merry Wives of Windsor.

of the British Royal family. The conductor for this concert is John Wilson. Well-known for his regular collaborations with the BBC orchestras and for his work with the John Wilson orchestra, he has championed the work of Coates, and has made a series of recordings of the composer’s work with the BBC Philharmonic.

After the interval the orchestra plays a selection of works by British composers. The final work in the concert is Eric Coates’s Suite The Three Elizabeths, which is based on the generations

Supported by

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This promises to be a delightful concert for a summer evening and a highlight of the 2020 Festival.

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MON DAY 13 J ULY

SCENE S FROM THE OPER A : CIBOULE T TE Monday 13 July 12pm – 1pm The Assembly Rooms £15 The members of our Festival Company covering the principal roles of Ciboulette bring the opera to life in an hour-long reimagining of their favourite scenes.

A HIS TORY OF H A PPINE SS Monday 13 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £15 Sarah Bakewell, Mike Jay and Peter Moore What does it mean to be happy? How do we attain this state of mind? Why does happiness seem so elusive in the early twenty-first century when we live in a society of such abundance?

In this ‘guest edit’ by bestselling historian Peter Moore, he is joined for a conversation about the history of happiness by two of Britain’s finest thinkers. Sarah Bakewell is the prize-winning author of How To Live, a biographical study of Michel de Montaigne, and At the Existential Café, an analysis of the philosophical movement led by Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Mike Jay is the author of many critically acclaimed books on the history of science and medicine, most recently Mescaline: a global history of the first psychedelic. In 2017 he co-curated the Wellcome Trust’s exhibition Bedlam: the asylum and beyond, which examined the history of mental health.

CONSONE QUAR TE T Monday 13 July 12pm – 1pm Pavilion Arts Centre £20 L van Beethoven String Quartet in G major Op. 18 No. 2 F Mendelssohn String Quartet in E flat major (1823) The Consone Quartet is dedicated to exploring and recreating the sound world of the Classical and early Romantic repertoire on period instruments. Winners of the 2016 Royal Overseas League Ensemble Prize, the quartet are BBC New Generation Artists for the 2019 – 2021 season, making them the first and only period string quartet to have been accepted onto the scheme in its history.

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

JA ME S CROW DEN

CONNAUGHT BR A SS

Monday 13 July 2pm – 3pm The Assembly Rooms £12

Monday 13 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £20

Frozen River: Seeking Silence in the Himalaya

T Susato Renaissance Dances E Bozza Sonatine for Brass Quintet J Taverner The Lamb J Koetsier Brass Quintet Op. 65 V Ewald Brass Quintet No. 4 Op. 8 C Monteverdi Scherzimusicali a trevoci A Plog Four Sketches for Brass Quintet

In 1976 James Crowden left his career in the British army and travelled to Ladakh in the Northern Himalaya, one of the most remote parts of the world. The Frozen River is his extraordinary account of the time he spent there, living alongside the Zangskari people, before the arrival of roads and mass tourism. James captures a crucial moment in time for this Himalayan community. A moment in which their Buddhist practices and traditions are in flux, and the economic pull of a world beyond their valley is increasingly difficult to ignore, where meditation and week-long mountain festivals go hand in hand, and silence and solitude are the hallmarks of existence.

In conversation with Mark Cocker

BUX TON ON THE HOMEFRONT FE S T I VA L WA L K Monday 13 July 3.30pm – 5pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Also on Mon 6 July 11am – 12.30pm See p.39 for information about this event 56

Connaught Brass is a London-based quintet formed by students from The Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2016. Members have performed with the Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Cory Band, as well as recording with and supporting artists such as Bruno Mars, Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter and Stormzy.

Their programme explores a wide range of styles and genres from 16th century composers Susato and Monteverdi to compositions by Ewald.

These pieces form the core repertoire for the modern brass quintet, bridging the gap between Renaissance/Baroque and contemporary brass writing. The final piece was written in 1990 and Plog himself gave the group instruction on how to play it.

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MON DAY 13 J ULY

CRE SCENT SALON WITH FIONA DAVISON Monday 13 July 4pm – 5.30pm The Assembly Rooms £20 Includes a cup of tea The Hidden Horticulturalists: The Untold Story of the Men who Shaped Britain’s Gardens

VIOLET 7.15pm See p.26

In 2012, whilst working at the Royal Horticultural Society’s library, Fiona Davison unearthed a collection of handwritten letters that dated back to 1822. The letters, each carefully set out in neat copperplate writing, had been written by young gardeners in support of their application to be received into the Society’s Garden. Amongst them was a letter from the young Joseph Paxton, who would go on to become one of Britain’s best-known gardeners and architects. But he was far from alone in shaping the way we garden today.

Our musical accompaniment to this event will explore the English Pastorale exemplified by Handel.

NACHTM USIK N CO E N S E M B L E Monday 13 July 9pm – 10pm St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20 A Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht Op. 4 S Barber Adagio for Strings R Strauss Metamorphosen (Septet version) For this meditative evening concert, string players from the Northern Chamber Orchestra play three masterpieces which invite us to reflect on impending night. Schoenberg’s late-romantic masterpiece Verklärte Nacht, or ‘Transfigured Night‘ was written in a frenzy of creativity in 1899, inspired by his meeting with Mathilde von Zemlinsky, with whom he fell deeply in love and whom he would later marry.

closing years of the Second World War, it is an introspective work, melancholy, but also evoking memories of happier times.

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The concert ends with Richard Strauss’ haunting Metamorphosen, played here in the Septet version. Written against the backdrop of the 57

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

IAIN DA LE Tuesday 14 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: Shout Less. Listen More In an increasingly divided society, why have we all become so disrespectful and intolerant?

Using experiences from his career across politics, bookselling, broadcasting and publishing, Iain Dale’s new book is part-memoir, part-polemic about the state of public discourse in Britain today. Iain is optimistic about the fundamental decencies embedded in human nature. Iain uses personal anecdotes to explain why we can look forward in a positive way to a better life both in personal and material terms, suggesting how we can all emerge from tribalism and division, and become more respectful to each other and those who govern us.

In conversation with Julian Glover

GOSSIPING W ITH THE GEORGIANS FE S T I VA L WA L K Tuesday 14 July 11am – 12.30pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Also on Tue 7 July 11am – 12.30pm See p.39 for information about this event 58

IE S T Y N DAV IE S AN D THOM A S DUNFOR D CO U N T E R T E N O R A N D L U T E Tuesday 14 July 12pm – 1pm St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20 England’s Orpheus H Purcell Music for a While; Lord, What is Man?; Sweeter Than Roses M Marais Les Voix Humaines (lute solo) G F Handel Hendel, non può mia musa (Recit - Aria - Recit - Aria); O Lord whose mercies numberless (from Saul) J Dowland Preludium (lute solo); Behold, a wonder here; Flow my tears; King of Denmark’s Galliard (lute solo); Can she excuse my wrongs?; Now O Now my needs must part R de Visée Chaconne (lute solo) Iestyn Davies is a British countertenor widely recognised as one of the world’s finest singers.

He is celebrated for his intelligent musicianship and the beauty and technical dexterity of his voice. Critical recognition of his work can be seen in two Gramophone Awards, a Grammy Award, an RPS Award for Young Singer of the Year, the Critics’ Circle Award and recently an Olivier Award nomination. He was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2017 for services to music.

Thomas Dunford performs internationally.

His first solo CD Lachrimae recorded for the French label Alpha in 2012, was unanimously 20% OFF acclaimed by critics vocal recitals and was awarded the When you book all 5.

Caecilia prize of 2013.

BBC Magazine have See p.84 for details. dubbed him the ‘Eric Clapton of the lute’.

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TUE SDAY 14 J ULY

Walks

RO DERICK W ILLIA MS A N D SUSIE ALL AN B A R I TO N E A N D P I A N O Tuesday 14 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30

GOL DEN AGE C R I M E PA N E L Tuesday 14 July 2pm – 3pm The Assembly Rooms £15 Martin Edwards and Nicola Upson guest edited by Sarah Ward The 1920s and 30s were unarguably the Golden Age of classic murder mystery and detective fiction with writers such as Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, Dorothy L. Sayers and many more enjoying enormous commercial success. Our contemporary bestselling Derbyshire based crime writer Sarah Ward invites writer, editor and critic Martin Edwards, Britain’s leading authority on Golden Age Crime, and CWA Historical dagger shortlisted author Nicola Upson, whose books feature Golden Age writer Josephine Tey as her detective, to discuss the genre and champion some of its lesser remembered but hugely entertaining creators and protagonists.

ACIS A N D GA L ATE A COV ER SHOW Tuesday 14 July 2pm – 3.15pm Buxton Opera House £15 – £30 The members of our Festival Company covering the principal roles of Acis and Galatea bring the opera to life by staging an hour-long production of their favourite scenes.

G Butterworth Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad J Ireland Summer Schemes; Great Things; Sea Fever; Youth’s Spring Tribute P Warlock Walking the Woods; Jillian of Berry; My own country I Gurney Desire in Spring; Walking Song; Severn Meadows; Captain Stratton’s Fancy R Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel B Britten The Ash Grove; The Foggy; Foggy Dew; The Ploughboy; The Salley Gardens Roderick Williams and Susie Allan met as students and first worked together at the Kathleen Ferrier awards in the 1990s. They learned their trade touring Britain as winners of an NFMS award. Since then they have performed far and wide and have recorded several albums of English song.

This countryside of Great Britain has inspired so many poets and composers to put pen to paper that the term ‘pastoral’ has been coined to describe a certain mode of English expression. This recital programme celebrates some of the very best British music, seeped in rural folk song and tradition.

20% OFF vocal recitals When you book all 5.

See p.84 for details.

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TUE SDAY 14 J ULY

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

CRE SCENT SALON WITH L AUR A THOMP SON Tuesday 14 July 4pm – 5.30pm The Assembly Rooms £20 Includes a cup of tea The eldest was a razor-sharp novelist of upper-class manners; the second was loved

by John Betjeman; the third was a fascist who married Oswald Mosley; the fourth idolized Hitler and shot herself in the head when Britain declared war on Germany; the fifth was a member of the American Communist Party; the sixth became Duchess of Devonshire. They were the Mitford sisters. The intertwined stories of their stylish and scandalous lives hold up a revelatory mirror to upper-class English life before and after WWII. Laura Thompson updates her 2015 bestselling book and previous

CHRIS TINE AN D AL AN PIPER Tuesday 14 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm Pump Room £12 Lumsdale – The Industrial Revolution in a Derbyshire Valley Lumsdale, near Matlock, attracts thousands of visitors to its beautiful waterfall yet most know little of its industrial history. In their new book, Christine and Alan Piper show that this small valley is a fascinating microcosm of the wider Industrial Revolution. The story of Lumsdale’s mills encompasses lead smelting, cotton spinning, bleaching and grinding industries and includes some of Derbyshire’s most colourful mill owners. Lumsdale’s ongoing conservation is being undertaken by the Arkwright Society.

Buxton International Festival appearance with hundreds of new archive photographs and material.

Our musical accompaniment to this event will reference the music of Noel Coward and Noel Gay. Sponsored by

DINNER AN D M USIC AL THE ATRE IN THE DOME Tuesday 14 July 7pm – 9pm Devonshire Dome £30 Includes a two-course dinner and coffee The Dinner in the Dome was one of our most popular events in 2019 and we would like to invite you back for an evening of fine dining, music and opera treats performed by talented young singers from the BIF Company. This is the most sociable event of the Festival, a chance to catch up with friends new and old in the iconic surroundings of the Devonshire Dome & Suite.

ACIS AND GAL ATE A 7.15pm See p.20

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PERSPEC TIVE S H O W D I D T H E CO L D WA R R E A L LY E N D? Wednesday 15 July 10am – 11am The Assembly Rooms £15 In his new book, The Human Factor: Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War, eminent political scientist and historian Archie Brown questions the popular view that Western military and economic strength ‘won’ the Cold War. In an interpretation which accords a central

WEDNE SDAY 15 J ULY

place to political leadership, he makes a major contribution to our understanding of why and how the Cold War ended in the second half of the 1980s – and of the distinctive parts played in that process by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

Professor Archie Brown CMG FBA, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Oxford Chair: Gerry Northam retired BBC broadcaster and producer

THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE Wednesday 15 July Triple Bill St John’s Church 10.30am – 11.30am £25, Balcony £20 J S Bach Sonata in G minor BWV 1020 (violin & harp) C Saint-Saëns Fantasie (violin & harp) J Turina Ciclo Plateresco, Theme and Variations Op. 100 (harp & piano) J Guridi Viejo Zorticofor (harp solo) R Clarke Midsummer Moon (violin & piano) J S Bach Arioso from Piano concerto in F minor (violin & harp)

2.30pm – 3.30pm £25, Balcony £20 L Berkeley Trio (horn, violin & piano) J Ibert Cinq Piècesen trio (oboe, clarinet & bassoon) L van Beethoven Quintet Op. 16 (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn & piano)

5.30pm – 6.30pm £25, Balcony £20 L van Beethoven Quartet Op. 16 (violin, viola, cello & piano) E von Dohnányi Sextet (clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello & piano)

Andrew Marriner clarinet Richard Skinner bassoon Stephen Stirling horn Robert Salter violin Yuko Inoue viola Ashok Klouda cello Kathron Sturrock piano Gillian Tingay harp

15% OFF when you book all 3 ‘Fibs’ performances.

Every performance by the ‘Fibs’ includes programming that juxtaposes specific chamber music repertoires. These programmes are the brainchild of Kathron Sturrock, whose instinctive and inspired approach often includes less well-known works of the great composers. This year, in the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, The Fibonacci Sequence perform both versions of Opus 16, the original quartet for piano and string trio, and the version Beethoven made soon afterwards for piano and four winds. In the first concert, there is a particular focus on repertoire for harp and the second concert features music from the underrated British 20th Century composer Lennox Berkeley.

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SP OTLIGHT ON CHE THA M ’S VIOLIN, CL ARINET AND PIANO Wednesday 15 July 12pm – 1pm The Assembly Rooms £15 J Brahms Sonata for piano and violin No.1 Op. 78 (violin) C M von Weber Grand duo concertant Op. 48 (clarinet) D Milhaud Suite for violin, clarinet and piano Op. 157b

FOR AGING W ITH J OHN W RIGHT FE S T I VA L WA L K

We are delighted to celebrate our relationship with the largest specialist Music School in the UK, and the only one based in the north of England, by putting their rising stars of the future in the spotlight. Martyn Parkes (piano) will be the accompanist playing for Lucy Holmes (violin) and Robbie Jansen (clarinet). Their wonderfully fresh programme opens with one of Brahms’ most lyrical compositions, and is followed, in complete contrast, by a virtuoso showstopper by Weber.

They finish with an inventive work by Milhaud, which includes both the composer’s trademark Brazilian and jazz influences as intimately tuneful duet passages for violin and clarinet.

A N DRE W LOWNIE Wednesday 15 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12

Wednesday 15 July 11am – 12.30pm and 3.30pm – 5pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Back by popular demand, John Wright’s walks last year caused a sensation and were enormous fun. Join the River Cottage forager out and about in urban Buxton to discover the art of living off our woodlands and hedgerows.

The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves

Book ¬ohn’s accompanying cooking demonstration and book talk. p.65

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A major figure behind his nephew Philip’s marriage to Queen Elizabeth II and instrumental in the royal family taking the Mountbatten name, Dickie Mountbatten’s career included being Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia during World War Two and the last Viceroy of India. Once the richest woman in Britain and a playgirl who enjoyed numerous affairs, Edwina Mountbatten emerged from World War Two as a magnetic and talented charity worker loved around the world. Literary agent and prize-winning historian Andrew Lownie’s new book is a nuanced portrayal of two very unusual people and their complex marriage.

Opera

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WEDNE SDAY 15 J ULY

W ILLIA M DALRY MPLE Wednesday 15 July 12pm – 1pm Buxton Opera House £15 The Anarchy – The Relentless Rise of the East India Company In August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish in his richest provinces a new administration run

by English merchants who collected taxes through means of a ruthless private army – what we would now call an act of involuntary privatisation.

Prize-winning and bestselling author William Dalrymple tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders.

The Company’s reach stretched until almost all of India south of the Himalayas was effectively ruled from a boardroom in London.

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L A DONNA DEL L AGO 7.15pm See p.xx

R EGENC Y TE A DA NCE Wednesday 15 July 3pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £25 Includes tea and biscuits Also on Fri 10 July 3pm – 5pm See p.49 for information about this event

A F T E R N O O N T E A AT T H E B U X TO N C R E S C E N T H O T E L Why not treat yourself to afternoon tea at the Crescent? Enjoy a selection of finely cut sandwiches, freshly baked scones with Cornish clotted cream and preserve, with a range of mouth-watering pastries and tea cakes, served with a choice of loose-leaf tea or have a glass of champagne for that little extra sparkle.

Full afternoon Tea from £25.00 63

Friends Day

Sponsored by

HELEN LE W IS Thursday 16 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights Fearless and funny, Helen Lewis is a staff writer at The Atlantic, a former deputy editor of the New Statesman and a regular panellist on the News Quiz. She argues that feminism’s success is down to complicated, contradictory, imperfect women, who fought each other as well as fighting for equal rights. Too many of these pioneers have been whitewashed or forgotten in our modern search for feel-good, inspirational heroines.

Helen seeks to reveal the unvarnished – and unfinished – history of women’s rights and asks, why the feminist movement has succeeded – and what it should do next. The battle is difficult, and we must be difficult too!

GILL MELLER Thursday 16 July 10am – 11am Devonshire Dome £12 Time & Gather Gill Meller is a chef, food writer, author, food stylist, and cookery teacher and has been part of the River Cottage team for the last 11 years.

His personal ethos is to inspire people to grow, source and cook food in ways that enhance their lives, increase their well-being and connect them more closely to natural, sustainable and ethical sources of food. Gather won the best debut food book at the Fortnum and Mason Food and drink awards in May 2017. Time – A year and a day in the Kitchen was nominated by the Guild of Food Writers for best cookbook of the year 2018.

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THUR SDAY 16 J ULY

Walks

ACIS AND GAL ATE A

J OHN W RIGHT

2pm

Thursday 16 July 2pm – 3pm Devonshire Dome £12

See p.20

The Forager’s Calendar Back by popular demand, John Wright is Britain’s, and BIF’s, best-loved forager. A regular on TV’s River Cottage, with Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall, John Wright discusses how to identify the edible delights in our hedgerows and woodlands and how to store, use and cook

them. Ants, nettles and lashings of sloe gin all featured at last year’s demonstration event all sampled by our brave and open-minded Festival audience. Who knows what John Wright will cook up for us this year and what will be found on his accompanying foraging.

CHRIS TOPHER M ALTM AN AN D AU DRE Y S T GIL B A R I TO N E A N D P I A N O Thursday 16 July 12pm – 1pm Pavilion Arts Centre £30

Carnival of the Animals M Reger Schlichte Weisen Op. 76 No. 48, Zwei Mäuschen; No. 51, Die fünf Hühnerchen; No. 55, Furchthäschen; No. 56, Der Igel; No. 57, Die Bienen; No. 58, Mäusefangen M Ravel Histoires Naturelles H Wolf Storchenbotschaft; Der Schwalben Heimkehr; Der Knabe und das Immlein; Der Rattenfänger E Chabrier Ballade des gros dindons; Villanelle des petits canards; Les Cigales Flanders and Swann The Armadillo; The Warthog; The Gnu

20% OFF vocal recitals When you book all 5.

See p.84 for details.

Since winning the Song Prize at the 1997 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Christopher Maltman has established himself as one of the world’s leading baritones. The breadth of his operatic repertoire is remarkable. In the last three years he has sung Mozart and contemporary music at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and the title role in Enescu’s monumental Oedipe at the Salzburg Festival as well as major Verdi roles in London, Berlin and Vienna. For his recital at this year’s Festival, Christopher Maltman and pianist Audrey St Gil take a walk on the wild side, with an often humorous journey into the world of animals in the song repertoire.

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Friends Day

Sponsored by

FIT Z W ILLIA M S TRING QUAR TE T Thursday 16 July 3pm – 5pm with interval St John’s Church £25, Balcony £20 H Purcell Fantazia No. 10 J Haydn Quartet in D major Op. 76/5 F Schubert Quartet in G major D887 The Fitzwilliam Quartet recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Quartet has established an outstanding reputation across the world, gaining particular recognition for championing the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, who entrusted them with the world premières of his last three quartets. They are committed to commissioning new works and host their own Chamber Music Festival at Hay-on-Wye. In the first half, the Quartet performs Purcell’s Fantazia No. 10 followed by a partner composition by the group’s first violinist, Marcus Barcham Stevens. The second half of the concert is dedicated to what is arguably Schubert’s finest quartet.

PROMENA DING W ITH MR FR ANK MATCHAM FE S T I VA L WA L K Thursday 16 July 3.30pm – 5pm Meet outside Buxton Opera House £15 Also on Wed 8 July 11am – 12.30pm See p.41 for information about this event

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DR JANE A DA MS Thursday 16 July 5pm – 6pm Pump Room £12 The Buxton spa cure 1750-1950 What exactly were spa cures and why did they remain so popular until the mid-twentieth century? Discover how patients at the spa spent their days and some of the complaints they were treated for. The ‘Cure’ included exercise entertainments and outings in the Peak District to encourage recuperation.

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PATRICK BA R K H A M AN D M A RK COCK ER Thursday 16 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £15

Walks

THUR SDAY 16 J ULY

Wild Child and Claxton Diary: Further Field Notes From A Small Planet Two of our finest nature writers (and Guardian columnists) discuss their latest books and tackle the pressing issues of climate crisis, nature depletion and our disconnection from the natural world in busy urban lives. Patrick’s Wild Child particularly explores the relationship between children and nature and the joy to be found in the natural world. Buxton lad and festival favourite Mark Cocker celebrates the art of patience, to observe a butterfly, a bird, flower, bee and to take pleasure in all the inhabitants of ‘one’s parish’ no matter how seemingly insignificant.

Sponsored by

S TRIC TLY MUSIC AL A C H A R I T Y G A L A CO N C E R T Thursday 16 July 8pm – 9.50pm with interval Buxton Opera House £15 – £30 Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival proudly present a tribute to the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Join us for an unforgettable night of song and music from the maestros of musical theatre performed by the stars from the cast of A Little Night Music and the BIF Company. Hosted by celebrity guests and directed by Paul Kerryson, featuring Adrian Kelly, Wyn Davies and Iwan Davies at the grand piano.

Proceeds from the Gala will support the ongoing work of Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival to bring you another musical in 2021.

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PERSPEC TIVE S M I G R A N T S: A LWAY S T H E S C A P EG OAT S? Friday 17 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £15 Set against the backdrop of rising populism the issue of managing immigration is so central to our politics. It is therefore important now, more than ever, to dismantle tropes and clichés surrounding migration and immigration and to enhance public understanding of such complex and sensitive issues. In this Perspectives, Peter Gatrell and Maya Goodfellow lead a timely discussion on contemporary immigration policies and public attitudes, the UK and the ‘hostile environment’, and the impact of migration and mobility across post-war Europe.

ROSL PRE SENT S K RIS GA RFIT T W ITH SERI DA N TROMBONE AND PIANO Friday 17 July 12pm – 1pm Pavilion Arts Centre £15

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Professor Peter Gatrell FBA Professor of Economic History, University of Manchester Maya Goodfellow Writer and Academic, and the Author of Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats Chair: Ian Muir-Cochrane

E Bozza Ballade L Berio Trombone Sequenza V C M von Weber Romance A Guilmant Morceau Symphonique E Crespo Improvisation F Martin Ballade J G Albrechtsberger Alto Trombone Concerto Winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Gold Medal in 2019 and the 2018 International Tenor and Bass Trombone Competition in Budapest, Kris Garfitt is a member of the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs regular duo concerts with the exceptional Korean pianist, Seri Dan. Since 2018 they have performed in Lithuania, China, Korea and have toured in England and Germany. This programme is a tour de force of the trombone repertoire, from the stunning lyricism of Eugene Bozza’s Ballade and Weber’s Romance to the unique Improvisation of Enrique Crespo, demonstrating the true range of which the trombone is capable.

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FRIDAY 17 J ULY

DAV ID OLUSOGA Friday 17 July 2pm – 3pm Buxton Opera House £15 In conversation with Colin Grant As with the television series that accompanies his latest book, David Olusoga offers not only the tools to explore the history of your own home, but also a vividly readable history of the British city, the forces of industry, disease, mass transportation, crime and class. The rises and falls, the shifts in the fortunes of neighbourhoods and whole cities are here, tracing the often surprising journey one single house can take from elegant dwelling in a fashionable district to a tenement for society’s rejects. David Olusoga is one of our most hard-working historians, broadcaster and BAFTA-winning film maker.

In 2019 he was awarded an OBE for services to history and community integration. Colin Grant is a broadcaster and author of Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation.

W EN DY M OOR E

Endell Street: The Suffragette Surgeons of World War One

Friday 17 July 12pm – 1pm The Assembly Rooms £12

Endell Street tells the forgotten story of Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson, two pioneering suffragette doctors, and life partners. In 1915 they were invited by the War Office to establish a major military hospital in Covent Garden in the heart of London.

The 570-bed hospital was staffed entirely by women – including all the doctors, nurses and orderlies – who treated 32,000 returning soldiers wounded on the battlefields of Europe between 1915 and 1919. Wendy Moore is the bestselling author of Wedlock and The Mesmerist.

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FRIDAY 17 J ULY

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

SIR JOHN TOMLINSON AN D ROZ A NN A M A DY LUS B A S S A N D M E Z ZO - S O P R A N O Friday 17 July 3pm – 5pm with interval Pavilion Arts Centre £30

The Shackled King written by John Casken Brünnhilde’s Dream Sir John Tomlinson, who has been striding the world’s opera stages for several decades, notably in the role of Wotan in Wagner’s Ring, has long been contemplating the central role of Shakespeare’s King Lear and sees parallels between the two characters. This new musical drama written by John Casken affords him the opportunity to incarnate the aging, delusional king in a musical setting that incorporates Shakespeare’s text in the form of speech, sprechstimme and singing. Rozanna Madylus takes the parts of the Fool, Cordelia and her sisters. She is also the soloist in Brünnhilde’s Dream, a sequence of words and music imagining the state of mind of Wotan’s favourite Valkyrie daughter as she lies on the rock, surrounded by fire, after the end of Die Walküre. Music by R Wagner, F Mendelssohn, F Schubert, R Schumann, A von Zemlinsky, A Berg, K Szymanowski, H W Henze and J Müller-Hermann.

OUR FUTURE

IN YOUR HANDS 4pm See p.24

CIBOULET TE 7.15pm See p.18

SIR DAV I D C ANNA DINE Friday 17 July 4pm – 5pm The Assembly Rooms £12

70

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey was one of the most powerful churches in Catholic Christendom before transforming into a Protestant icon of British national and imperial identity.

Celebrating the 750th anniversary of the consecration of the current Abbey church building, acclaimed historian and President of the British Academy Sir David Canadine, offers a fascinating exploration of Westminster Abbey’s thousand-year history. David looks at the Abbey from its architecture and monuments; its Catholic monks and Protestant clergy; its place in religious and political revolutions; its relationship to the monarchy and royal court; its estates and educational endeavours; its congregations; to its tourists in the Twenty-First Century.

Opera

Music

Books

PERSPEC TIVE S R I S I N G I N EQ UA L I T Y A N D G LO B A L G R E E D Saturday 18 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12

Walks

SATUR DAY 18 J ULY

The gap between the haves and the have-nots both in the UK and globally has turned into a chasm. The growing debt crisis in poorer countries has also resulted in cuts in public spending, making it extremely difficult for many to meet the UN’s sustainable development goals to cut poverty and inequality. In this Perspectives, we ask leading experts Danny Dorling and Claire Ainsley to assess the ramifications of global greed and rising inequality and how we can urgently redress the balance.

Professor Danny Dorling Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford Claire Ainsley Executive Director, Joseph Rowntree Foundation Chair: Ian Muir-Cochrane

PELLÉ A S ENSEMBLE FL U T E , V I O L A A N D H A R P Saturday 18 July 12pm – 1pm The Assembly Rooms £25 J Ibert Deux Interludes J S Bach Sonata for flute in G minor M Ravel arr S Roberts Pavane pour une infante défunte A Pärt Fratres S Prokofiev arr G Cohen Selections from Romeo & Juliet Formed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2011, Pelléas Ensemble have been praised for creating an immediate and intimate connection with their audiences. Playing with ‘verve and polish’ (The Times), they recently won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award, and the 2017 Elias Fawcett Award for Outstanding Chamber Ensemble at the Royal Overseas League competition. They have appeared live on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and have been selected to represent the Guildhall at the City of London Festival. The ensemble is dedicated to performing new music, premiering three new works in 2019, with two further commissions planned for 2020.

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SATUR DAY 18 J ULY

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

A DA M RU THERFOR D Saturday 18 July 4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £12

How to Argue with a Racist Adam Rutherford is a science writer and broadcaster, including the flagship weekly Radio 4 programme Inside science and The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry. His new book suggests that the appeal to science to strengthen racist ideologies is on the rise – and increasingly part of the public discourse on politics, migration, education, sport and intelligence. Stereotypes and myths about race are expressed not just by overt racists, but also by well-intentioned people whose experience and cultural baggage steers them towards views that are not supported by the modern study of human genetics. This is a vital manifesto for a twenty-first century understanding of human evolution and variation, and a timely weapon against the misuse of science to justify bigotry.

A LIT TLE NIGHT MUSIC 2pm & 7.15pm

COME AND SING HAYDN’S THE CREATION

See p.22

Saturday 18 July 7.30pm – 10pm with interval St John’s Church £20, Under 18s £5 Buxton Musical Society Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Michael Williams with soloists from the Festival Company.

Haydn’s colourful oratorio returns to Buxton as part of The Creation Project – two oratorios written two hundred and twenty two years apart about our planet. Kate Whitley’s oratorio, Our Future In Your Hands, explores the impact of Climate Change and Haydn’s The Creation celebrates the creation of the world. The Buxton Musical Society will perform Haydn’s great musical drama conducted by Michael Williams.

We welcome experienced choral singers to join us in the rehearsals and participate in the evening performance. Attend the morning rehearsal workshop under the inspirational 72

15% OFF When you book this with Our Future In Your Hands p.24 leadership of Jack Apperley, an Associate Conductor of London Symphony Chorus, and share the joy of singing Haydn. Applications to join the chorus are available from the Buxton Musical Society website until 30 April. www.buxtonmusicalsociety.org.uk

Opera

Music

Books

K ATE TELT SCHER Sunday 19 July 10am – 11am Pavilion Arts Centre £12 The Palace of Palms: Kews Palm House and the British Imagination Daringly innovative when it opened in 1848, the Palm House in Kew Gardens remains one of the most beautiful glass buildings in the world today.

Seemingly weightless, vast and yet light, the Palm House floats free from architectural convention, at once monumental and ethereal. Kate tells the extraordinary story of its creation and of

K LE ZMER- ISH

Walks

SUN DAY 19 J ULY

the Victorians’ obsession with the palms that filled it. It is a story of breathtaking ambition, of scientific discovery and, crucially, of the remarkable men whose vision it was - the charismatic first Director of Kew, Sir William Hooker, designer Richard Turner, an audacious Irish engineer and forthright curator, John Smith, who battled with boilers and floods to ensure the survival of the rare and wondrous plants it housed.

FESTIVAL MASS 11am See p.29

L A DONNA DEL L AGO 2pm See p.16

Sunday 19 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre £25 Meet Klezmer-ish, four incredibly outward-looking classically trained musicians who met whilst playing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Drawing inspiration from the music of bygone travellers, the quartet explore the music of immigrants from various

cultural backgrounds who left their homelands in pursuit of a different life. From rip-roaring klezmer and dynamic tango to their self-penned gypsy jazz, Klezmer-ish bring a trademark twist to whatever genre takes their fancy on a seamless musical journey, always on the move.

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Annual Membership starts from £33

Supporting the Festival for 40 years Becoming a Friend is more than donating your membership subscription. You will become part of the ‘Festival Family’ – and we are often described as the heart and soul of the Festival.

We invite our members to special events organised throughout the year, plus exclusive deals on music holidays. We celebrate friendships old and new with regular meals, recitals, and study days. Come and see us during Friends Days at this year’s Festival on Thur 9 & 16 to say hello.

Since we began our members have donated over 2 million pounds towards the Festival. Our subscriptions go on everything from supporting entire operas to engaging top-class musicians and speakers, to supporting the Festival Chorus and Young Artists Programme.

To the 2,200 of you who are already Friends – we cannot thank you enough for your ongoing support.

So please do join us. You will feel rewarded and deeply satisfied to be supporting our unique Festival.

Search ‘Friends’ on buxtonfestival.co.uk

FRIENDS E VENT S

BIF has one of the best friends organisations in the music world.

Wyn Davies, Opera conductor and Patron of the Friends

ALL W E LCO M E

MUSIC AND AFTERNOON TEA AT LY D G AT E H O U S E

W I N E TA S T I N G A N D JA Z Z AT T H E R O O K E R Y

Sunday 26 April 2pm – 4.30pm Eccles Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith £40

Thursday 4 June 7pm – 9pm Ashford-in-the-Water £35

A drinks reception and a piano recital by RCM Gold Medallist Roelof Temmigh, followed by afternoon tea. Extracts from this year’s operas will then be introduced by BIF CEO Michael Williams.

An early summer evening treat filled with wine tasting and jazz in a beautiful setting near Bakewell.

Sponsored by

O P E R A S T U DY DAY Tuesday 19 May 9.30am – 2pm Lee Wood Hotel, Buxton £50 Includes lunch Join the creative talents behind this year’s operas, oratorio and musical for a fascinating look at the histories of these pieces, and their vision for the productions.

For more details and to book see buxtonfestival.co.uk/friends 75

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

CO M P TO N GUEST HOUSE

GRENDON BED & B R E A K FA S T

QUEEN’S HE AD HOTEL

We are a family business trying to create a warm homely feeling and offer the cheapest prices in Buxton. Our beautiful Victorian guest house with all its original features has a large patio area where you can sit and relax, before walking to the Opera House and other attractions.

Grendon, a stunning Edwardian property, is situated on a quiet road within walking distance of Buxton town centre. With recently refurbished bedrooms and ensuite bathrooms, we offer luxury B&B for those looking for high class accommodation with a homely, personal touch.

B&B in our newly built accommodation rooms and converted stable block. All 13 of our rooms have central heating, en suite bathrooms, tea/coffee making facilities and Sky’s ‘inroom’ television service. Larger groups requiring accommodation are welcome but it’s best to call with your requirements.

07484 200 254 4 Compton Road Buxton SK17 9DN comptonguesthouse.co.uk

01298 436259 Bishops Lane Buxton SK17 6UN stay@grendonbnb.co.uk

01298 23841 High Street Buxton SK17 6EU queensbuxton.co.uk

ROSELEIGH GUEST HOUSE

T H E PA L AC E H O T E L B U X T O N & S PA

OLD HALL HOTEL

Just five minutes’ walk from Buxton Opera House, this Victorian 13-bedroom, family run, non-smoking guest house built in 1871 overlooks the Pavilion Gardens. Free parking for up to 9 cars. B&B from £39pp based on two people sharing en suite. Visit our website for a virtual tour.

Set in five acres of landscaped gardens and centrally located, we offer 186 en suite rooms.

We have a Beauty Salon, bars and leisure facilities including a 14-metre indoor pool.

Pre-theatre dinners are available in our Dovedale Restaurant from 6pm.

Situated across the square from the Opera House we are the ideal base for your Festival visit. We have 38 individually decorated bedrooms, from single to four poster, all with en suite and free wifi. Choose between our restaurant and wine bar. B&B, and Dinner B&B rates available.

01298 24904 19 Broad Walk Buxton SK17 6JR enquiries@roseleighhotel.co.uk roseleighhotel.co.uk

01298 22001 Palace Road Buxton SK17 6AG britanniahotels.com/hotels/ palace-hotel-buxton

01298 22841 The Square Buxton SK17 6TQ reception@oldhallhotelbuxton.co.uk oldhallhotelbuxton.co.uk

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WHERE TO S TAY

C AV E N D I S H H O T E L , B A S LO W Based on the Chatsworth Estate, we are a short walk from Chatsworth House itself. Absorb stunning views of unspoilt beauty, captured effortlessly from your bedroom window.

Highly acclaimed food, luxury accommodation and a perfect base to take in the sights of the Peak District and surrounding area.

01246 582311 Baslow, Derbyshire DE45 1SP reception@cavendishbaslow.co.uk cavendishbaslow.co.uk

LEE WOOD HOTEL 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. 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

WHEELDON T R E E S FA R M

9 GREEN LANE, B U X TO N

Nine award-winning self-catering holiday cottages in Derbyshire, in a spectacular location close to Buxton and Bakewell.

Our late-Victorian Bed & Breakfast is a few minutes’ walk from Buxton Opera House. All rooms are en suite and we have ample parking. Some rooms available on the ground floor.

12 miles from Chatsworth House.

01298 83219 Earl Sterndale Buxton SK17 0AA stay@wheeldontreesfarm.co.uk wheeldontreesfarm.co.uk

01298 73731 9 Green Lane Buxton SK17 9DP book@9greenlane.co.uk

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

BAKEWELL OLD HOUSE MUSEUM So much to explore in this Tudor building tucked away behind Bakewell Church. Our textile exhibition for 2020 will be a spectacular display of Wedding Dresses through the ages. Hands-on activities, award-winning trails, and family friendly building.

Open 11am – 4pm daily.

01629 813642 Cunningham Place Bakewell DE45 1DD bakewellmuseum@gmail.com

P O O L E’ S C AV E R N

WHERE TO V ISIT

BUX TON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY Explore the geology and archaeology of the Peak District in our Wonders of the Peak Gallery where artist Ann Bates presents an illustration of the connections between Neolithic and 21st century practices of honouring the dead. The annual Derbyshire Open Art Exhibition celebrates Derbyshire and includes works for sale.

01629 533540 Terrace Road, Buxton SK17 6DA derbyshire.gov.uk/buxtonmuseum

ISL A FINE ART CARDS & GIFTS

For centuries curious visitors have explored and marvelled at the natural subterranean world that is Poole’s Cavern. Explore today with our expert guides and journey though the beautifully illuminated chambers to discover for yourself the magnificent underground scenery of the Peak District.

Aimed at the discerning customer, we stock a carefully curated range of beautiful and stylish gifts and cards alongside a selection of art by local artists and artisans. If you are looking for something a bit different in Buxton, this is the shop for you.

01298 26978 Green Lane Buxton SK17 9DH info@poolescavern.co.uk poolescavern.co.uk

01298 938492 4b & 5 The Colonnade Buxton SK17 6AL isla@isladirect.co.uk isladirect.co.uk

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DAV I D M E L LO R 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. The free museum shows Mellor’s historic designs, from teaspoons to traffic lights.

01433 650220 The Round Building Hathersage S32 1BA davidmellordesign.co.uk

CROMFORD MILLS Discover how Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mills shaped the world from the picturesque Derwent Valley.

Built in 1771 to house the first water-powered cotton spinning mill, the site became the birthplace of the modern factory system. Immerse yourself in history and enjoy our quirky shops, canal-side walks and the best scones in Derbyshire!

01629 823256 Mill Lane, Cromford DE4 3RQ info@arkwrightsociety.org.uk cromfordmills.org.uk

WHERE TO E AT

CO LU M B I N E

EVERY THING ROSY TEA ROOMS

B U X TO N PUDDING EMPORIUM

We are a small independent restaurant 3 minute’s walk from Buxton’s Opera House serving modern British food, cooked to order. We are open for both pre and post theatre suppers by prior reservation.

Delightful Vintage Tea Rooms offering a selection of sandwiches, toasties, paninis, Derbyshire oatcakes and locally baked cakes including Buxton cake. Good dogs welcome. Gifts and accessories available at Everything Rosy.

Home of the Original Buxton Pudding and a huge selection of Fine Foods, Gifts and Homeware. Our Tasting Rooms are open every day for the very finest hand made food. Situated just opposite the Opera House.

Open 10am – 5.30pm.

01298 78752 7 Hall Bank Buxton SK17 6EW columbinerestaurant.co.uk

01298 78778 4–8 Hardwick Street Buxton SK17 6DH

01298 211 288 4 The Square Buxton SK17 6AZ

H AT T E R S L E Y W I N E S LT D

JOHN WHIBLEY “ H O L I DAYS W I T H MUSIC”

CENTRAL T E C H N O LO G Y

In selecting our wines, we invest time and effort into knowing about the provenance, so our wines are from small select vineyards with a strong family tradition of winemaking. This is where our passion for wine springs from and we hope to pass this enthusiasm on to you.

We organise a range of holidays from world-renowned festivals to city breaks and small chamber music festivals in Europe, America and the UK. We’ll take you to historically interesting places to listen to some of the world’s best music.

We specialise in IT services which enhance business processes and our unique partnership approach ensures that we create solutions that will grow with businesses through our Managed Services, Cloud and Data Security Solutions.

We work with organisations across all sectors in Sheffield and the East Midlands.

01629 815255 Milford Bakewell DE45 1DX hattersleywines.com

01663 746 578 Ash Lea, Longlands Road Derbyshire SK22 3BY whibley.co.uk

01246 266 130 Quantum Point Sheepbridge Works Chesterfield S41 9RX sales@ct.co.uk ct.co.uk 79

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

BUX TON OPER A HOUSE Events from 12pm – late See website for opera end times.

Access Information 3 wheelchair spaces available in the Stalls. Accessible toilet at ground floor level. The building is not accessible by motorised scooter.

Passive infra-red (PIR) system available for performances with £10 cash deposit.

Seating Plan* Stage

Refreshments

Stalls A-N

We recommend to pre-order interval drinks at the bar.

Stalls D-J seats 10-23 Stalls O-Q

01298 72190 Water Street, Buxton SK17 6XN

Dress Circle boxes Dress Circle Sides Dress Circle centre Upper Circle sides

Please reserve wheelchair spaces and PIR systems with the Box Office.

Upper Circle Gallery

*

Seating plan for A Little Night Music differs. Please see buxtonoperahouse.org.uk for full details.

La donna del lago, Ciboulette, Acis and Galatea

Violet

Acis cover show, Strictly Musical

Dame Sarah Connolly

A Little Night Music*

Stalls A-N

£53

£40

£25

£25

£45

Stalls D-J seats 10-23

£64

£45

£30

£25

£59

Stalls O-Q

£36

£30

£20

£20

£36

Dress Circle sides

£73

£45

£30

£30

£65

Dress Circle centre

£78

£50

£30

£30

£65

Dress Circle boxes

£73

£52

£30

£30

£59

Upper Circle centre

£52

£52

£20

£15

£45

Upper Circle sides

£25

£25

£15

£15

£25

Gallery

£25

£25

£15

£15

£25

£5 From 1 May

£5 From 1 May

£5 From 1 May

Under 35s 82

V ENUE INFOR M ATION Stage

Stage

Stalls

Ground Floor

Stage 1

5

6

Bleacher 3

Balcony

Balcony

2

4

unreserved

7

PAV I L I O N ARTS 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

10am – 5pm

11am – 10pm

7.30pm – 10pm

Access Information

Access Information

Access Information

2 wheelchair spaces available in the bleachers. Passive infra-red (PIR) system available for performances with £10 cash deposit.

Fully accessible by wheelchair, apart from the Balcony.

Fully accessible to all.

Refreshments

Pre-performance and interval drinks available at the bar.

Refreshments

Tea and coffee during day performances. Wine bar in the evening. Cash only.

Refreshments

Drinks available for music events with intervals only.

22 St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6XN

T H E A S S E M B LY ROOMS

6 St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6XN

PUMP ROOM AT T H E C R E S C E N T

St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6BE

D E VO N S H I R E D O M E

Events from

Events from

Events from

10am – 5.30pm

5.30pm – 6.30pm

2pm – 9pm

Access Information

Access Information

Access Information

Accessible entrance through main doors of Buxton Crescent Hotel. Lift available to upper floors.

Fully accessible to all.

Fully accessible to all.

Refreshments

Refreshments

No refreshments available.

Devonshire Dome cafe open daily.

01298 808999 Buxton Crescent Hotel Buxton SK17 6BQ

01298 330620 1 Devonshire Road Buxton SK17 6RY

Refreshments The main hotel bar is open all day.

01298 808999 Buxton Crescent Hotel Buxton SK17 6BQ

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BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

BOOK ING INFOR M ATION

PU B L I C B O O K I N G O PE N S 1 A PR I L B OX O F F I C E Box Office opening times

Refunds

Mon – Sat: 10am – 6pm, or 8pm if there is a performance in the Opera House Sun closed. Open 4pm – 8pm if there is a performance at the Opera House

Tickets cannot be refunded unless an event is cancelled or if you have purchased ‘Booking Protect’ insurance. Tickets cannot be exchanged.

Postage charges are non-refundable. Please see buxtonfestival.co.uk/booking-information for full details.

Opening times during the Festival Mon – Sat: 10am – 6pm, or 8pm if there is a performance in the Opera House Sun: 12pm – 8pm, or 10am if there is a performance at the Opera House Buxton Opera House Water Street, Buxton SK17 6XN 01298 72190 admin@boh.org.uk Book online at buxtonfestival.co.uk

Ticket types Adult Full price Under 18s £5 tickets Peter and the Wolf p.53, Haydn’s The Creation p.72, Our Future In Your Hands p.24 Under 35s £5 tickets from 1 May La donna del lago p.16, Ciboulette p.18, Acis and Galatea p.20, Our Future In Your Hands p.24, Haydn’s The Creation p.72 Carer tickets Free tickets for registered carers reserved alongside full price ticket. Please reserve with the box office by email or phone.

Ticket availability at venues Tickets can be bought on the door up to 30 minutes before each event, unless sold out. Card payments are only accepted at Buxton Opera House, Pavilion Arts Centre and the Octagon.

Changes to Programme We publish any cancellation or changes to performances on the Buxton International Festival website and social media. Refunds will not be given if there is a change to the programme. Please check before travelling. All information is correct at the time of going to press.

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SPECIAL OFFERS BOOK ALL 3 OPER A S FOR 15% OFF * La donna del lago p.16 Ciboulette p.18 Acis and Galatea p.20 * Does not include Under 35s tickets

BOOK ALL 5 VOCAL RECITAL S FOR 20% OFF Mark Padmore p.48 Dame Sarah Connolly p.51 Iestyn Davies p.58 Roderick Williams p.59 Christopher Maltman p.65

BOOK BOTH ORGAN PERFORMANCES FOR 15% OFF Jeffrey Makinson p.41 Phantom of the Opera (1925) p.47

BOOK BOTH OR ATORIOS FOR 15% OFF * Our Future In Your Hands p.24 Haydn’s The Creation p.72 * Does not include Under 35s tickets

BOOK ALL 3 FIBONACCI PERFORMANCES FOR 15% OFF The Fibonacci Sequence p.61

BOOK BOTH JENNIFER PIKE RECITAL S FOR 15% OFF Jennifer Pike and Martin Roscoe p.43 Jennifer Pike and Petr Liminov p.45

SUPP OR TER S Buxton International Festival and artists are grateful for the support of the following FU N D E R S

CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S

CO R P O R AT E S U P P O R T E R S

T R U S T S & F O U N DAT I O N S

Hall Bank Trust, Stonehouse Educational Foundation, Andre Bernheim Charitable Trust, Kirby Laing Foundation, Michael Guest Charitable Foundation, Derek Hill Foundation, The Broderers’ Charity Trust.

SPECIAL THANKS TO

O U R AWA R D S David Bedford Music Education Award

BIF 2020 3 – 19 ¬uly

8

16 6

13

5

3 2

4

1

14 7

15

9

12 17

10

11

KEY BIF VENUES

P C A R PA R K S

1. Buxton Opera House

9. Pavilion Gardens Car Park

2. Pavilion Arts Centre

10. Market Place Car Park

3. St John’s Church

11. South St Car Park

4. The Octagon at Pavilion Gardens

12. The Slopes Car Park

5. Assembly Room at Buxton Crescent Hotel

13. Spring Gardens & Wye St Car Park

6. Devonshire Dome

14. Sylvan Car Park

7. The Pump Room 8. Birding with Mark Cocker Festival Walk meeting point

15. BOH Car Park

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16. Railway Station Car Park 17. Market Place Car Park

G E T T I N G H ER E

BY C A R

BY B U S

1 hour’s drive (approx.) from the M1, M6, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby.

1001 car park spaces in Buxton including:

Direct services from Chesterfield, Derby, Glossop, Huddersfield, Macclesfield, Sheffield, Stockport and Stoke.

- 50 pay & display with 2 Blue Badge spaces at Buxton Opera House.

derbysbus.info traveline.info

- 262 pay & display with 15 Blue Badge spaces at Pavilion Gardens.

BY A I R

Please allow extra time

BY R A I L Ditch the car, travel with with our travel partner Avanti West Coast.

Regular national and international flights to Manchester (40 mins by taxi) and Nottingham East Midlands (80 mins by taxi) airports.

Please check gov.uk for travel advice during and after Brexit negotiations.

Euston to Macclesfield direct in less than 2 hours plus 20 min taxi ride, or change at Stockport for trains to Buxton.

Brochure designed by: benzamorskidesign.com

Direct services from Manchester, Preston, Blackpool and Hazel Grove by Northern Rail.

Opera illustrations by: Jeng Hang Edwina Kung

THE BIG WEEKEND

16 - 18 OCTOBER

Save the date for our autumn edition of opera, music and books in 2020.