Buxton Festival Brochure 2010

7—25 July 2010 Tickets: 0845 12 72190 www.buxtonfestival.co.uk ‘a happy marriage of music, opera and books’

2

Wednesday July 7 6.15pm 7.15pm

Opera talk Luisa Miller

The three explorers The Mandolinquents Ensemble 360 Miranda Carter Opera talk The Barber of Baghdad Graffiti Classics

18 9 19 29 29 19 18 10 30

Friday July 9 10.30am 11am 2.30pm 3pm 5pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Alastair Sawday Bach cello suites 1 Bach cello suites 2 Denis Judd All the King’s Men Opera talk Zaide

20 30 30 20 16 18 12

Saturday July 10 10.30am 12.30pm 2pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Patrick Gale A Good Reed?

Into the Little Hill A Taste of the Peaks Opera talk Luisa Miller

20 31 13 51 18 9

Gavin Esler Festival Mass Festival Lunch Madeleine Mitchell recital Calefax D. J. Taylor Opera talk The Barber of Baghdad Music of the Night

10.30am 12pm 1pm 3pm 3pm 5pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

21 50 33 33 21 16 18 14

Tuesday July 13 10.30am 12pm 1pm 3pm

3pm 5pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

John Curran Town walk John Lill recital The Russian Chamber Philharmonic Selina Hastings All the King’s Men Opera talk Idomeneo

21 50 34 34 22 16 18 11

Wednesday July 14 10.30am 11am 1pm 3pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

20 52 51 31 32 21 18 10 32

10.30am 12.30pm 2pm 3pm 4.30pm 6.15pm 7.15pm 9.45pm

Prue Leith Woodland walk Sarah-Jane Brandon recital Primrose Piano Quartet Daisy Hay Opera talk Luisa Miller

22 50 35 35 22 18 9

William Fiennes A German journey Trouble in Tahiti Philip Holland Organ recital Opera talk The Barber of Baghdad El Ultimo Tango

22 36 15 23 52 18 10 36

Friday July 16 10.30am 12.30pm 3pm 3pm 4.30pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Front cover: Two Lovers in a Flowering Orchard, c.1540–50, from the Persian School, reproduced by courtesy of the Institute of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg / The Bridgeman Art Library

Orwell v. Dickens Town walk ´ mietana recital Alicja S Music at Twilight Orwell Prize-winner All the King’s Men Opera talk Alcina

Thursday July 15

Sunday July 11 10.30am 10.45am 12.30pm 1pm 3pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm 9.45pm

Saturday July 17

Monday July 12

Thursday July 8 10.30am 1pm 3pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm 9.45pm

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Cherie Blair Viardot – tribute to a genius Academy of Ancient Music My Darling Clemmie Hugh Whitemore Opera talk Alcina

23 37 37 38 23 18 14

10.30am 12.30pm 2.30pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Melvyn Bragg ‘So, what’s my motivation?’

One Morning in May A Taste of the Peaks Opera talk Idomeneo

Thursday July 22

23 38 39 51 18 11

10.30am 12pm 12.30pm 2pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

24 52 39 40 24 24 18 9

Friday July 23

24 41 4o 25 52 18 10 42

Saturday July 24

Sunday July 18 10.30am 11.15am 1pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Vince Cable Festival Mass Di Xiao recital Dante Quartet Peter Thornton Sally Page Opera talk Luisa Miller

Monday July 19 10.30am 2pm 3pm 3pm 4.30pm 6.15pm 7.15pm 9.45pm

Sarah Raven Giselle Hannah Marcinowicz Helen Rappaport Organ recital Opera talk The Barber of Baghdad Tales of Terror

Tuesday July 20 10.30am 12pm 1pm 3pm 3pm 5pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Philip Pullman Town walk A Samuel Barber celebration The Café Band Lynn Shepherd Floratorio Opera talk Zaide

25 50 43 42 25 17 18 12

10.30am 11am

1pm 3pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

10.30am 1pm 3pm 6.15pm 7.15pm 9.45pm

John Julius Norwich Town walk Jonathan Lemalu recital Trouble in Tahiti Chris Cleave Opera talk Luisa Miller

Shirley Williams Opera scenes: The Barber of Baghdad Sofya Gulyak recital Northern Chamber Orchestra Mark Bostridge Opera talk Idomeneo

Roy Hattersley Pascal and Ami Rogé Larkin’s England Opera talk The Barber of Baghdad The World’s Wife

26 50 46 15 26 18 9 26 44 46 47 27 18 11 27 47 48 18 10 48

Sunday July 25 10.30am Dowager Duchess of

Devonshire 11.15am Festival Mass 12.30pm Patrons’ Lunch 12.30pm The cellos of the CBSO 2.30pm Aces High with Voces8 3pm Simon Van Booy 5pm Luisa Miller

27 52 51 49 49 27 9

Wednesday July 21 10.30am 11am 11am 12.30pm 1pm

3pm 3pm 5pm 6.15pm 7.15pm

Dan Cruickshank Opera scenes: Luisa Miller Woodland walk Friends’ Lunch Mary Plazas and Paul Nilon recital sinfonia ViVA Sean Black Dulsori Opera talk Alcina

25 44 50 51 44 45 26 45 18 14 Mary Plazas in Lucrezia Borgia, 2009 Winner of the Manchester Evening News Opera Award

4 Contents

Diary

Support Engage Opera

Luisa Miller

The Barber of Baghdad

Idomeneo

Zaide

Into the Little Hill

Alcina

Trouble in Tahiti Community

All the King’s Men

Floratorio Opera talks Literary series Mainly music Enjoy Buxton Miscellaneous

Booking information

Special offers

Ticket prices and

seating plan

Where to stay

Where to eat

What to do

Map and travel

information

Supporters

President The Earl of Harewood KBE Artistic Director Andrew Greenwood Chairman Dame Janet Smith Chief Executive Glyn Foley

Welcome

Andrew Greenwood Artistic Director

2 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19–27 28–49 50–51 52 53 54 55 56–60 60–61 61–64 66 68

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Tickets from 31 March 0845 12 72190 Information 01298 70395 info@buxtonfestival.co.uk www.buxtonfestival.co.uk

It’s 2010, election fever is reaching dizzying proportions, and all the talk is of expenditure ‘cuts’. But are we at Buxton Festival pulling in our horns? Not a bit of it! (Only into the orchestra pit, ho, ho…)

Indeed we are offering you a chance to experience ‘a real masterpiece, arguably the best German comedy of the second half of the nineteenth century’ (New Oxford History of Music), yet one that has not been professionally staged in this country within living memory.

The Barber of Baghdad was composed by Peter Cornelius, disciple of both Liszt and Wagner, and first performed in Weimar in 1858. Directed by Alessandro Talevi, designed by Madeleine Boyd and conducted by Stephen Barlow, the artistic team combines exuberant youthful invention, enormous experience and oodles of talent. What’s more, the cast is led by star performer Jonathan Lemalu, taking his first stage role at Buxton, singing a sparkling new English translation by Hugh MacDonald. It should be an intriguing and delightful evening, and one that Festival opera-goers cannot afford to miss.

Verdi’s Luisa Miller pre-dates Barber by less than a decade, yet could hardly sound more different. It has always remained on the fringe of the repertoire, and in the intense intimacy of its drama is one of the few great Verdi operas that fits perfectly into Buxton Opera House. The team that brought you Roberto Devereux and Lucrezia Borgia (Stephen Medcalf, Francis O’Connor and me) and a strong, truly international cast, singing in the original Italian, hope to do it proud.

This year we feature another fascinating curiosity in concert performance, Richard Strauss’s version of Mozart’s Idomeneo. For the most part highly respectful of the original, Strauss nevertheless rearranged the

acts, composed orchestral recitatives and even additional musical numbers to make the ‘opera seria’ more attractive to German audiences in 1931. At times, Mozart merges with the musical world of Der Rosenkavalier. Not for the purists, but certainly a fascinating meeting of musical minds. Direct from singing the title role in ENO’s new production of the original Mozart, Paul Nilon heads a strong cast that also features Buxton favourites Mary Plazas and Victoria Simmonds.

Which leaves me little space to preview the visiting operas, and it’s a strong line-up. The Classical Opera Company presents Mozart’s Zaide, a long-cherished project to stage a new completion of the unperformed ‘singspiel’ for which Mozart composed 15 ravishingly beautiful musical numbers, products of his mature genius in the year before Idomeneo. Melly Still, whose Rusalka was such a huge success at Glyndebourne, directs. Handel features once again in Opera Theatre Company’s production of Alcina, a hit in Ireland last autumn. Don’t miss Psappha’s production of Bernstein’s first ‘real’ opera, Trouble in Tahiti, and sadly we have room for only a single performance of George Benjamin’s 21st-century masterpiece Into the Little Hill, from the Opera Group and the London Sinfonietta, coupled with Berio’s amusing Recital 1.

We’ve managed to squeeze Barber’s short opera, A Hand of Bridge, into our mainly music programme and don’t forget our children’s opera, Richard Rodney Bennett’s All the King’s Men. There’s a packed concert and literary programme with so many exciting names it would be invidious to pick out just a few. All you have to do is turn the page…

6 Finance

Community

Support

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Community & Education Sponsor The Festival engages local people with the arts in a varied community programme. We are determined in the current challenging financial climate to sustain this important area of our work with a diverse and exciting programme for 2010:

Other projects include: Buxton’s Water Music

Students from Buxton Community School explore traditional and electronic techniques to compose music inspired by water

Poetry and Photography Competitions

National competitions to encourage creative thinking about ‘a breath of fresh air’ – see the July exhibitions at the Devonshire Dome

Festival ambassadors

Local teenagers roam backstage at Festival events, interview performers, meet the crew and report their findings on our blog

World music workshop

Local youth groups feel the beat with the Korean drumming group Dulsori

Wandering Minstrels

Festival musicians entertain the elderly in daycare and residential centres

Live Music Now!

Specially trained musicians entertain over 300 children with special needs

Véronique, 2009

Box Office income only pays for the first half of the performance! We are very grateful to the public funders and private sponsors who invest in our programme but we wouldn’t be able to mount our exciting and ambitious Festival without the support of our Friends and Patrons. To help us put on the second half, do please consider the following:

We’ve introduced new Patronage levels this year, by which you can link support to specific aspects of the Festival, with a bespoke package of benefits including a number of tickets and meeting the artists:

Patrons

£1,000 Cast, Chamber music or Community supporter

£125 single / £175 joint membership Priority Booking from March 3

Gold Friends

£50 single / £75 joint membership Priority Booking from March 3

Friends

£20 single / £30 joint membership Priority Booking from March 10

Education donors

A small (e.g. £3) monthly or other donation to support our education work

£500 Chorus, Wardrobe, Recital or Literary supporter

£2,500 Opera or Orchestra supporter For further information on any of these groups please contact the Festival office on 01298 70395 or info@buxtonfestival.co.uk

Opera and Young People

A key focus is to engage young people in opera, so we are delighted to include two works for children: Richard Rodney Bennett’s All the King’s Men (p16) involves young people from Glossopdale Community College, Lady Manners School and the Dark Peak Youth Orchestra, alongside adult singers and a professional creative team. We include a free performance for invited schools.

Floratorio (p17) is a new work by James Redwood, commissioned by the Festival and sinfonia ViVA, based on the life of Florence Nightingale. Children from four High Peak primary schools feature as performers and composers as their own songs are included. Again, local schools enjoy a free performance.

We are keen to involve young adults so continue our Festival for a Fiver campaign, whereby anyone under 30 can buy any Festival ticket for £5. With specific promotions in local press, schools, universities and social networking sites we hope to welcome 500 young people to the Festival for the first time.

The Festival’s board and staff thank the following partners for their support in this valuable work: Buxton Natural Mineral Water, Martyn Donaldson Music Trust, The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust, The Hall Bank Trust, Buxton Rotary Club, Tesco Charity Trust, Buxton Festival Education Fund, Derbyshire County Council, High Peak Borough Council and Arts Council England

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Opera

Luisa Miller

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) A melodramma tragico in three acts Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, sung in Italian with English side-titles, visible from all seats

Festival opera

A Buxton Festival production, with the Northern Chamber Orchestra and Festival Chorus

7, 10, 14, 18, 22 July: 7.15pm 25 July: 5pm £10–£54 2 hours 40 minutes Verdi’s troubled love story about the corruption of an innocent girl’s love for the son of the local count through the machinations of a sinister rival is plagued by class conflicts and bitter family squabbles. The relationship between the pure young, petit bourgeois heroine and the dashing, aristocratic hero is far from conventional: it is characterised by torment and unhappiness and is ultimately destroyed by the selfish, suffocating love of their fathers.

Verdi brings his extraordinary insight into the nature of the relationship between parents and their children and specifically between a father and a daughter. Where Miller and Luisa lead, Rigolettto and Gilda, Boccanegra and Amelia, Amonasro and Aida follow.

This masterpiece of Verdi’s early period has one of the composer’s most lyrical and underestimated scores, here presented by the award winning team that produced Lucrezia Borgia, an outstanding international cast and enlarged Festival chorus.

Véronique, 2009

Luisa Susannah Glanville

Conductor Andrew Greenwood

Rodolfo John Bellemer

Director Stephen Medcalf

Federicka Miroslava Yordanova

Designer Francis O’Connor

Wurm Andrew Slater

Lighting designer John Bishop

Miller David Kempster Count Walter Balint Szabo Laura Phoenicia Johnson

This production is generously supported by:

Performance sponsor:

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10 Opera

Opera 11

The Barber of Baghdad

Peter Cornelius (1824–74) A comic opera in two acts Libretto by the composer, adapted from stories in The Arabian Nights, sung in a new English translation by Hugh Macdonald A Buxton Festival production, with the Northern Chamber Orchestra and Festival Chorus

8, 11, 15, 19, 24 July 7.15pm £10–£54 2 hours Cornelius’ Barber is the most delicious of comic operas: melodious, inventive, sharply characterised and wittily timed. The composer’s touchingly poetic libretto is set to music of extraordinary freshness and vitality with a sense of comic felicity that few operas achieve. The Barber is a really original work: the melodies are sweet, the comedy is sophisticated and the musical nuances subtle in ways associated only with later and more honoured composers.

Baghdad was for a time the largest city in the Middle East, western Asia and Europe, with nearlegendary status, and the setting for the collection of classic stories, The Arabian Nights. Our hero Nureddin is very much in love with Margiana, the daughter of the Caliph Mustapha. The ‘fixer’ Bostana and the mischievous Barber help him in his search for love and the plot’s various twists and turns ensure a delightfully sparkling German comedy.

Jonathan Lemalu makes his first Buxton stage appearance in a fine cast directed by the rising star Alessandro Talevi.

Idomeneo

The Barber Jonathan Lemalu

Conductor Stephen Barlow

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91), arranged

by Richard Strauss (1864–1949)

Idomeneo Paul Nilon

Baba Mustapha Andrew Mackenzie-Wicks

Director Alessandro Talevi

An opera seria in three acts

Ismene Mary Plazas

Margiana Rebecca Ryan Nureddin Michael Bracegirdle

Designer Madeleine Boyd Lighting designer John Bishop

Bostana Frances McCafferty The Caliph Adrian Clark

This production is generously supported by the Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa, a partnership between:

Revised German text by Lothar Wallenstein, in a new English translation by Niall Hoskin Concert performances produced by Buxton Festival, with the Northern Chamber Orchestra, Festival Chorus and Buxton Music Society

13, 17, 23 July 7.15pm £10–£35 2 hours 20 minutes Idomeneo, King of Crete, makes a promise to Neptune, God of the Sea. When the king realises the terrible price it will incur, vows and hearts are broken.

For many years overshadowed by Mozart’s glorious comedies, Idomeneo is now recognised as one of the greatest of all opera seria.

Aiming to bring Mozart’s masterpiece to a new audience in the 1930s, Strauss cuts the score, reorders the numbers, composes new recitatives and adds original pieces of his own. For much of the time his revisions keep close to Mozart, but at odd moments Straussian harmonies and startling modulations emerge, giving hints of the final trio of Der Rosenkavalier, one of Strauss’s many acts of homage to his lifelong idol. These concert performances with an all-star cast offer a very rare opportunity to hear this skilful adaptation.

Conductor Andrew Greenwood

Ilia Rebecca Ryan Idamante Victoria Simmonds High Priest Jonathan Lemalu

This production is generously supported by:

Performance sponsor: The Anglo-Austrian Society

12 Opera

Opera 13

Zaide

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) A singspiel in two acts Libretto by Johann Schachtner, after Sebastiani’s Das Serail, sung in English A Classical Opera Company production with the Orchestra of the Classical Opera Company When love is just possession, And lust becomes obsession, The fruit dies on its vine, And no-one drinks the wine

Into the Little Hill

Zaide Pumeza Matshikiza

Conductor Ian Page

Gomatz Andrew Goodwin

Director Melly Still

Allazim William Berger

Designer Anna Fleischle

Osmin Simon Lobelson

Lighting designer Natasha Chivers

Perseda Amy Freston

from Michael Symmons Roberts’ libretto for Zaide

9, 20 July 7.15pm £10–£44 2 hours 40 minutes The Classical Opera Company makes a welcome return to the Festival to present the world première of its new completion of Zaide. Mozart wrote some 70 minutes of music for this remarkable opera, including the celebrated ‘Ruhe sanft’, and clearly held it in high regard. He feared, however, that the work was too serious for Viennese taste, and the unfinished score was left to gather dust. This new completion has been created by conductor Ian Page, with a new English text by Michael Symmons Roberts and Ben Power.

The opera is directed by Melly Still, whose previous work includes the award-winning Coram Boy at the National Theatre and Rusalka at Glyndebourne Festival. The title role is sung by the exciting young South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, with rising tenor Andrew Goodwin as Gomatz.

These young singers and a period-instrument orchestra – packed with many of the wisest practitioners in the business – deliver uniformly superb interpretations

Gramophone

Into the Little Hill, George Benjamin (b.1960) in a double bill with Recital 1, Luciano Berio (1925–2003) An ROH2 / Aldeburgh Music / London Sinfonietta / The Opera Group co-production, with the London Sinfonietta

10 July 2pm £10–£44 1 hour 40 minutes George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill garnered rave reviews in its recent Royal Opera House première.

Paired with Berio’s seldom performed Recital 1, this double bill promises to be a uniquely entertaining afternoon of music theatre.

Into the Little Hill, based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin, tells of a morally bankrupt politician who, desperate to shore up a flagging public vote, promises to exterminate a plague of rats. A faceless stranger arrives and offers his services, but when the Mayor refuses to pay, his actions have terrible repercussions.

In Berio’s fascinating work a singer arrives to give a recital, but the pianist hasn’t turned up! She starts without him, and as the recital progresses, the music ‘breaks up’ reflecting her increasingly disturbed state through a dizzying array of brief musical fragments interspersed with a darkly comic monologue.

A masterpiece, no question Daily Telegraph bbbbb Exquisite…this magical, imaginative piece The Observer

Cast Susan Bickley Claire Booth

Conductor Franck Ollu Director John Fulljames Designer Soutra Gilmour Lighting designer Jon Clark Projection designer Mick McNicholas

14 Opera

Opera 15

Alcina

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) An opera in three acts Libretto based on Fanzaglia’s L’isola d’Alcina, sung in English A production by Opera Theatre Company, Dublin, with the OTC period orchestra

12, 16, 21 July 7.15pm £10–£44 3 hours Set in a timeless world full of passion, plots and potent illusion – where reality blurs with fantasy – the enigmatic Alcina reigns. Intrigue surrounds this alluring but ruthless sorceress, who spends her time seducing lovers, then, once bored, swiftly discarding them. However, when the handsome Ruggiero is bewitched by Alcina’s charms, his fiancée Bradamante enlists the help of her friend Melisso and – disguised as a man – sets out to rescue her beloved.

Deceit, sensuality and seduction pervade Handel’s glorious music, with exquisite arias lamenting love unrequited and faith betrayed. The acclaimed Annilese Miskimmon and Opera Theatre Company return to Buxton with a strong cast and imaginative, classical production.

The superb singing and playing, and the imaginative set, kept me entranced…quite magnificent Irish Examiner

Spine-tingling Irish Theatre Magazine

Trouble in Tahiti

Alcina Conductor Sinead Campbell-Wallace Nicholas Kok Ruggiero Stephen Wallace

Director Annilese Miskimmon

Morgana Jane Harrington

Designer Nicky Shaw

Bradamante Doreen Curran

Lighting designer Tina MacHugh

Oronte tbc Melisso Julian Hubbard

Trouble in Tahiti, Leonard Bernstein (1918­­–90) An opera in seven scenes Libretto by the composer, sung in English in a double bill with Arias and Barcarolles, Leonard Bernstein A production by Psappha

15, 22 July 2pm £10–£44 1 hour 40 minutes Bernstein’s first foray into music theatre, his one-act operatic masterpiece bites deep into the Big Apple.

Its bittersweet exploration of the shattered American dream and a day in the life of a young married couple draws on jazz, musical and operatic idioms, as well as pop-ish jingles of the 1950s.

‘I like music with a theme, not all them arias and barcarolles’, declared President Eisenhower to Bernstein. Nearly 30 years later the composer responded wittily with Arias and Barcarolles, another semi-autobiographical entertainment, exploring the joys and frustrations, hopes and realities of family relationships. Bright Sheng’s inventive scoring for strings, percussion and voices loses none of Bernstein’s piquant use of a variety of musical styles.

Psappha’s production of The Lighthouse stands out among the many I’ve seen. The players sounded radiant, and projected their tricky lines with striking precision The Sunday Times

Dinah Catherine Hopper

Conductor Nicholas Kok

Sam Dean Robinson

Director Elaine Tyler-Hall

with Jane Harrington Ashley Catling Quentin Hayes

Designer Aaron Marsden Lighting designer Marc Rosette

16 Community

Community 17

All the King’s Men

Richard Rodney Bennett (b.1936) An opera for young people Libretto by Beverley Cross, sung in English A Buxton Festival production with the Dark Peak Youth Orchestra

Conductor Ewa Strusinska

Floratorio

Martin Olsson

Director Michael Barry Designer Nigel Hook

9, 12, 13 July 5pm £10, children £5 45 minutes Methodist Church

Music by James Redwood Words by Peter Roberts

Conductor David Lawrence

Martin Olsson

with sinfonia ViVA

20 July 5pm £10, children £5 1 hour 10 minutes St John’s Church Floratorio celebrates the life of Florence Nightingale in the 100th anniversary year of her death. Nationally acclaimed composer James Redwood leads a team of sinfonia ViVA musicians in four local schools to create a series of new songs inspired by the life of the famous ‘Lady with the Lamp’. 120 young people will perform this major new oratorio incorporating their own compositions.

Peter Roberts and James Redwood have been commissioned to write Floratorio following great success with More Glass than Wall. Their work will be performed here for the first time by the massed choir, vocal soloists and sinfonia ViVA in the culmination performance.

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett’s All The King’s Men is a moving and hugely enjoyable children’s opera, inspired by the popular ‘Humpty-Dumpty’ rhyme about a weapon created during the English Civil War. Royalist soldiers attempt to seize control of Gloucester by building a siege-engine to cross the River Severn, but the river is widened – with devastating consequences.

Michael Barry directs a Festival cast and Derbyshire children from four local schools in this classic of its kind.

This production is generously supported by Buxton Natural Mineral Water and donors to the Festival’s Education Fund.

Two comments from More Glass than Wall participants: It was amazing – my whole body just felt like I was going to fly When I heard the orchestra playing the song we wrote I felt simply amazed See also talk by Florence Nightingale biographer Mark Bostridge (p27)

Floratorio has been generously supported by Buxton Festival, sinfonia ViVA and Arts Council England.

18 Opera talks

Literature 19

Opera talks Andrew Greenwood, the Festival’s Artistic Director, illuminates the forthcoming performance either solo or in conversation with friends. Enjoy these informative introductions to the opera, but please note the different venues!

6.15pm Admission free; duration 30 minutes 7 July Opera House stalls

Stephen Medcalf, director of Luisa Miller

15 July Devonshire Dome

8 July Palace Hotel

Stephen Barlow, conductor of The Barber of Baghdad

9 July Devonshire Dome

Annilese Miskimmon, director of Alcina

10 July Palace Hotel

Julian Rushton, an authority on Mozart

11 July Palace Hotel

Andrew Greenwood, conductor of Luisa Miller

12 July Palace Hotel

Alessandro Talevi, director of The Barber of Baghdad

13 July Palace Hotel

Ian Page, conductor of Zaide

14 July Palace Hotel

Annilese Miskimmon, director of Alcina

Alessandro Talevi, director of The Barber of Baghdad

Ian Page, conductor of Zaide

Susan Rutherford, an authority on Verdi

Stephen Barlow, conductor of The Barber of Baghdad

Annilese Miskimmon, director of Alcina

Michael Kennedy, an authority on Strauss

Andrew Greenwood, conductor of Luisa Miller

16 July Devonshire Dome

Literary serıes

17 July Devonshire Dome 18 July Devonshire Dome 19 July Devonshire Dome 20 July Devonshire Dome

21 July Devonshire Dome 22 July Devonshire Dome

Andrew Greenwood, conductor of Luisa Miller

Series Sponsor:

23 July Devonshire Dome

Andrew Greenwood, conductor of Idomeneo Supported by University of Derby

24 July Devonshire Dome

Stephen Barlow, conductor of The Barber of Baghdad

Supported by Bookstore Brierlow Bar Best Western Lee Wood Hotel

The three explorers What’s the Point of Expeditions?

Miranda Carter The Three Emperors

8 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

8 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

Matthew Parris chairs a discussion with three of the world’s eminent explorers, hoping to reveal what motivates men to tackle some of the most physically demanding journeys in the world’s most inhospitable regions.

Ranulph Fiennes is holder of several endurance records and the first man to reach both Poles by surface travel. Explorer and conservationist Robin Hanbury-Tenison has been on over 30 expeditions, and spearheaded the international concern for tropical rainforests.

Founder of the Wild Camel Protection Foundation, John Hare was the first European to travel into the wildest parts of the Chinese Gobi desert.

The Three Emperors takes a fresh look at the most formative epoch of modern European history – the prelude to the First World War. The continent’s superpowers were ruled by three cousins: George V, King-Emperor of England, Wilhelm II, the last Kaiser and Nicholas II, the last Tsar. Miranda Carter brings to life these disparate relations, illustrates their foibles, from uniforms to extensive stamp collections, and reveals a tragic-comic tale of a glittering world on the brink of destruction.

In this talk Miranda reveals how she used the cousins’ correspondence and historical sources to animate this fascinating era. Her first book Anthony Blunt: His Lives won the Orwell Prize.

20 Literature

Alastair Sawday Eat Slow Britain 9 July, 10.30am Devonshire Dome £10

We are heading for a food crisis – on a global scale. Can Britain depend on supplies of cheap food from abroad? How healthy is our food? In the USA the industrialised food industry has been brilliantly successful – to the extent that now one in three children has diabetes! The same catastrophe is on its way here. Food production is responsible for almost a quarter of our carbon emissions. World famous travel writer, Alastair Sawday, is convinced that good travel involves good food. Eat Slow Britain brings these ideas together in one beautiful, provocative and inspiring book.

Alastair is the publisher of the Special Places to Stay series of guides.

Supported by Waitrose

Literature 21

Denis Judd The Private Diaries of Alison Uttley 9 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

For many of us Alison Uttley is the greatly loved and revered author of Little Grey Rabbit, but her private diaries from 1932–71 reveal a darker and more complex side to the famous storyteller.

Unquestionably gifted as a writer, Denis Judd’s skilfully edited diaries bear witness to her prodigious literary output, her appreciation of nature lyrically described and her heartwarming nostalgia for her idyllic rural Derbyshire childhood. Also rather thrillingly they reveal her to be a bit of a monster…

His illuminating talk will fascinate Uttley fans and serve as a social commentary on 40 years of social and economic upheaval.

Patrick Gale Gentleman’s Relish 10 July, 10.30am Palace Hotel £10

Patrick Gale discusses his exhilarating new collection of stories combining wit and poignancy to illuminate experiences both common and uncommon. Love and loathing within families are dissected, the sweetness and sadness of festivals, and the control exercised by those in charge of small communities. What unites these stories is their humour, compassion and hope. Acclaimed author of Notes from an Exhibition, Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight and spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed. He now lives on a farm near Land’s End.

Gavin Esler in conversation with Rosie Alison Power and how it changes people 11 July, 10.30am Opera House £10 Prior to presenting Newsnight, Gavin Esler was the BBC’s Washington correspondent covering both the George Bush senior and Clinton administrations. Drawing on his wealth of experience Esler’s second novel, Power Play, is a gritty political thriller.

When the scheming vicepresident disappears on a foggy grouse moor in Scotland, a nightmare begins for Washington’s British Ambassador. And the Anglo American ‘special relationship’ begins to unravel...

Making a welcome return to Buxton, Gavin shares his insights with the author and politician’s daughter, Rosie Alison.

Supported by The Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa Co. Ltd.

D. J. Taylor The dilemmas of writing historical fiction

Orwell Debate The greatest political writer: Orwell versus Dickens

11 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

12 July, 10.30am Palace Hotel £10

D. J. Taylor is the author of two acclaimed biographies, Thackeray and Orwell: the Life, which won the Whitbread Biography Prize in 2003.

He has written seven historical novels and seven non-fiction works.

His latest is an authentic slice of Thirties comedynoir – not a simple whodunnit but a constant revelation of a complex and tight-knit plot spanning London’s seedier social scenes and the glamorous Home Counties. In this talk he discusses why writers write historical fiction, the approaches they take and the dilemma of describing past life on its own terms or using ulterior modern knowledge.

Orwell Prize-winner 12 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

In 1939, George Orwell The ambition of the composed a famous essay Orwell Book Prize is to about Charles Dickens. reward, celebrate and ‘When one reads any promote work which strongly individual piece helps nurture the of writing, one has the discussion of politics impression of seeing a and which contributes to face somewhere behind the quality of public life. the page’, wrote Orwell. Previous prize-winners But in this contest have included Robert between two of Britain’s Cooper, Fergal Keane, greatest writers, which Peter Henessey, Raja face will fit? Advocates Shehadeh and Clive speak up for Orwell and James. In this talk the Dickens in this debate – winner for 2010 and you, the audience, (announced in April – will decide. Lady Justice see our website) will Smith presides over a discuss the inspiration panel including Michael behind their work and Slater, author of the give you an opportunity acclaimed Charles to ask questions.

Dickens: A Life Defined

by Writing, and D. J. ‘What I have most Taylor, who won the 2003 wanted to do…is to Whitbread Biography make political writing Prize for Orwell: the Life. into an art’ George Orwell

John Curran Agatha Christie’s secret notebooks 13 July, 10.30am Palace Hotel £10

On her death in 1976 Agatha Christie was the world’s favourite author, with sales exceeding two billion. Christie’s personal life has proved as intriguing as the best of her crime novels, most notably the still unexplained episode in 1926 when she mysteriously disappeared for 11 days. In 2004 a remarkable legacy was discovered – Ms Christie’s private notebooks.

Archivist and Christie enthusiast John Curran shares the fascinating challenge of deciphering the 75 handwritten notebooks and the wealth of surprises they revealed.

22 Literature

Selina Hastings The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham 13 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6 For nearly 60 years Somerset Maugham was one of the most famous writers in the world and yet his personal life was kept largely hidden.

Playwright and author of over 100 short stories and 21 novels, from an early age Maugham became an expert at concealment. Acclaimed biographer Selina Hastings has had access to Maugham’s private correspondence as well as important family testimony, from which she sheds a fascinating new light on this extraordinary man.

Outwardly his life was richly rewarding, but privately he suffered anguish from an unrequited love affair and a shocking final betrayal.

Literature 23

Prue Leith A Serving of Scandal 14 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

Restaurateur, food writer and television judge Prue Leith is also a company director and chair of the School Food Trust. Having published 12 cookbooks, she gave up writing about food to concentrate on fiction.

In her fifth novel, A Serving of Scandal, she tells the story of the owner of a small catering business whose life is upturned when she lands a job cooking lunch at the Foreign Office and has her first fateful meeting with the Secretary of State. He’s married and a father and totally out of bounds, yet she falls for him. She thinks she’s hiding it beautifully but to some her feelings are all too transparent.

Supported by Waitrose

Daisy Hay Young Romantics

William Fiennes The Music Room

14 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

15 July, 10.30am Palace Hotel £10

Daisy Hay shatters the myth of the Romantic poet as a solitary, introspective genius, telling the story of the communal existence of an astonishingly youthful circle. Young Romantics explores the history of the group, from its inception in Leigh Hunt’s prison cell in 1813 to its ultimate disintegration in the years following 1822.

Tales of love, betrayal, sacrifice and friendship were played out against a background of political turbulence and intense literary creativity.

In this talk Daisy renders the characters with marvellous vitality.

Her book is a gloriously entrancing and revelatory new study, the début of a young biographer of the highest calibre and enormous promise.

Winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award and bestselling author of The Snow Geese, William Fiennes’ powerful new memoir recalls his idyllic childhood in a fairytale moated castle. The Music Room develops the metaphor of the castle, but rather than being safe and protected like a family, it’s threatened – not just from the outside, but inside too. His brother Thomas dies in a horrific accident. And his brother Richard develops a terrible disease. The Music Room ‘is about the idea of loss in the world, life being full of lots of love and wonder and beauty, but also loss and sorrow and pain’.

Philip Holland Words of a Derbyshire poet 15 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

Accomplished local poet Philip Holland shares some of his latest work, inspired by an intimate knowledge of the beautiful Peak District.

At the heart of the poems is his home: encompassing the landscape, its flora and fauna, the hillfarmers and their work, traditions, history and memories. His writing is warm, accessible, memorable and musical, rooted in his close empathy and sensitivity with the natural world.

Philip’s poetry features an eclectic mix of free verse, rhyming poems, ballads, sonnets and Haiku, all complimented by piano music.

Cherie Blair in conversation with Dame Janet Smith Speaking for myself

Hugh Whitemore in conversation with Sir Christopher Ball Life with Winston

16 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

16 July, 4.30pm Palace Hotel £6

Having fallen victim to swine flu in 2009, we are delighted that Cherie is able to be with us this year to share her frank and funny autobiography.

Cherie Blair was born and raised in Liverpool by two strong women – her mother and grandmother – and from humble beginnings became an eminent QC, specialising in women’s rights. As the first Prime Minister’s wife to have a young family and a serious career, Cherie has lived the past ten years of her life under a harsh media spotlight. Cherie discusses with Dame Janet Smith the privileges and challenges of her extraordinary life, revealing the warm and down-to-earth woman behind the headlines.

When award-winning screenwriter Hugh Whitemore was first asked by the BBC to write a film script about Winston Churchill he refused point blank – what more could be said about the Great Man? Eventually, however, the BBC persuaded him to change his mind. Ten years, two films, numerous Emmy Awards and Golden Globes later, Hugh talks to Christopher Ball about his life with Winston. Hugh Whitemore’s long and illustrious career includes many classic adaptations for stage and screen such as My House in Umbria and Cider with Rosie.

Hugh’s talk follows the performance of My Darling Clemmie, written for his wife Rohan McCullough (see p38).

Melvyn Bragg South Bank: The Final Cut 17 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

The South Bank Show was launched in 1978, with Paul McCartney as one of its first guests: from the outset ITV’s flagship culture programme sought to erase the distinction between high and popular culture. Over the next 32 years, it produced studies of almost every living cultural icon from Luciano Pavarotti to Andrew Lloyd-Webber, David Hockney to Tracey Emin. In this talk its presenter Melvyn Bragg revisits some of the programme’s highs and lows, including this year’s final broadcast when he received the South Bank Show award for outstanding achievement.

‘There is no question that ITV’s flagship arts programme has left an extraordinary archive and a deeper cultural legacy’ Daily Telegraph

24 Literature

Vince Cable Free Radical 18 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Vince Cable is an economist turned politician: currently Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, formerly chief economist of Shell. He joins us to discuss his remarkable life and career, and his memoir Free Radical, describing the interaction between private, family concerns and the public experience in an aspiring politician’s life. He also shares his views on the world economic crisis and how we should respond to the challenge.

He shows that an insular response to the current crisis would be a disaster, and urges us to resist the siren voices that promote isolationism and nationalism as the answer to economic woes.

Literature 25

Peter Thornton My Life in the Family Business

Sally Page The Flower Shop in colour

Sarah Raven Food for family and friends

18 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

18 July, 3pm Devonshire Dome £6

19 July, 10.30am Palace Hotel £10

Peter Thornton, exchairman of one of Britain’s best-loved chocolatiers, lays bare the startling story behind the brand. From its founding in 1911, Thorntons family business was blighted by betrayal, suicide, extra-marital affairs and sibling rivalry. Against all the odds it flourished, surviving two world wars, recession, depression and the General Strike as well as frequent boardroom battles. Here Peter discusses the frank revelations made in his extraordinary new book.

Success and money can come at horrible price…

Following the success of their 2009 Festival appearance, author of the Flower Shop book series, Sally Page, is back in Buxton with local florist, Claire Foster, of the Green Pavilion. The pair met when Sally was researching her book, Flower Shops & Friends, which explores the work of 12 beautiful flower shops around the country.

Sally talks about her books, highlighting her work in conjunction with Farrow & Ball – how colours can combine to great effect in arrangements and in our homes. Claire skilfully demonstrates some of these ideas for the audience.

Sarah Raven, writer, cook, broadcaster and teacher is an expert on all things to grow, cut and eat from your garden.

Here she shares the highlights from her gorgeous new book Food for family and friends – no mean feat with over 300 recipes to choose from!

A joyous celebration of both the countryside and of fantastic food, these tempting recipes capture the delights of each season, from Easter lunches and summer picnics to camping feasts around the fire, Hallowe’en parties and Christmas. This talk will be beautifully illustrated with stylish photography taken from the new book.

Helen Rappaport Lenin in Exile 19 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

This beautifully illustrated talk reveals the compelling story of Lenin’s 17 long and difficult years in exile.

Living hand-to-mouth, Lenin eked out a frugal existence with his wife Nadya, travelling through London, Brussels and Geneva gathering support for the nascent Bolshevik movement. Ultimately he realised his dream: the upheaval in 1917 that transformed the political landscape of Europe – the Russian Revolution.

Reaching behind the political façade of the Great Leader, Helen tells a very human story of poverty, endurance, determination and family loyalty. Helen Rappaport is an historian and Russianist specialising in the Victorians and revolutionary Russia.

Philip Pullman The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

Lynn Shepherd The making of Murder at Mansfield Park

Dan Cruickshank The Secret History of Georgian London

20 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

20 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

21 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

In The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, Philip Pullman – the award-winning author of His Dark Materials – offers a spellbinding retelling of the life of Jesus, possibly the most influential story ever told.

In this discussion Philip reveals his radical new take on the myths and mysteries of the gospels and of the church that has shaped the course of the last two millennia.

Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power this work throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks questions that will continue to reverberate long after the final page is turned.

Philip is in conversation with Alan Franks, writer and Times columnist.

A literary homage to Austen’s most intriguing novel, Lynn Shepherd transforms Mansfield Park into a riveting detective story. This new work is both a good oldfashioned murder mystery and a sparklingly clever inversion of the original.

It goes to the heart of many questions readers have asked themselves about Austen’s novel. Timid Fanny Price is subject to a surprising transformation, becoming an ambitious and forthright young woman with an outrageous penchant for gold-digging. Lynn reveals the process behind creating an ‘authentic Austen murder mystery’, appealing to crime aficionados and Austenites alike.

Architectural historian and television presenter, Dan Cruickshank, describes how Georgian London was shaped by the sex industry. 18th century London evokes images of elegant buildings and fine art, but it was also a city with a darker side.

Drawing extensively on contemporary memoirs, court cases and the evidence of art and architecture, Dan creates a vivid picture of Georgian London. Dan’s talk is richly illustrated with the wonderful images from his book and delivered in his inimitable style much loved by fans of his television programmes.

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Literature 27

Sean Black Can an author ever do enough research?

John Julius Norwich The Great Cities in History

21 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

22 July, 10.30am Palace Hotel £10

Sean Black signed up for military training and a spell in Pelican Bay Supermax Prison while researching Lockdown, the first in a new series of novels featuring exsoldier turned elite bodyguard, Ryan Lock.

This tense thriller sets the standard for Lock’s future adventures in downtown Manhattan.

Here the author reveals the extreme challenges he faced while creating an authentic background to his stories. The mean streets of New York are a far cry from Sean’s Scottish home… If you want to discover a talented new British thriller writer and his series hero, read Sean Black and get to know Ryan Lock.

From the origins of urbanisation in Mesopotamia to the phenomenon of the contemporary mega-city, John Julius Norwich traces their history, art and architecture, trade and commerce, travel and exploration, economics and politics. This is a book about people: how they work and play, how they worship – and how, over the millennia, they have managed to live together in close proximity, yet also in harmony and concord. This beautifully illustrated talk will paint a portrait of world civilization. John Julius Norwich has made over 30 historical documentaries for television as well as writing many books.

Chris Cleave Seriously funny: why writers use humour when it’s no laughing matter 22 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6 Chris Cleave is an author and journalist. His début novel Incendiary was an international bestseller published in 20 countries and released as a major film. A controversial open letter to Osama bin Laden, it gained notoriety for the macabre coincidence of its publication on the day of the London bombings.

The Other Hand, his second novel, tackles the contentious issue of immigration in the UK and reached number 13 on the Times Bestselling Books of 2009 List. Here he explains why it’s important to maintain a sense of humour when exploring serious subjects and how it’s easier to humanise a story in fictional form.

Shirley Williams Climbing the Bookshelves

Mark Bostridge Florence Nightingale

Roy Hattersley In Search of England

23 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

23 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

24 July, 10.30am Opera House £10

Festival favourite Shirley Williams was born to politics. As well as being influenced by her mother, Vera Brittain, her father George Caitlin, a leading political scientist, encouraged his daughter to have high ambitions for herself – including daring to climb the bookshelves in his library.

She was a member of the Labour Party for 35 years before later becoming Leader of the Liberal Democrats. In her longawaited autobiography, Shirley discusses how the role of women in our society has changed beyond all recognition, through the magnifying glass of her own life.

The soldier’s saviour, the standard-bearer of modern nursing, a pioneering social reformer, Florence Nightingale is one of the most instantly recognisable figures in British history.

But there was much more to her than her pioneering work as the Lady with the Lamp in the Crimean War. In this remarkable book, the first major biography of Florence Nightingale in over 50 years, Mark Bostridge draws on a wealth of unpublished material, including previously unseen family papers, to throw significant new light on this extraordinary woman’s life and character.

Mark returns to the Festival for those who missed his excellent sellout talk last summer!

See also Floratorio – a new musical work for children (p17).

We are delighted to welcome back former Festival Chairman and founder of our Literary Series, Roy Hattersley.

Author, journalist and broadcaster, and former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Roy is one of Britain’s most prolific and authoritative writers.

In Search of England makes a journey around the English countryside and character. Roy celebrates crumbling churches and serene Victorian architecture, magnificent hills and wind-whipped coast, our music, theatre and local customs, and, above all, the quirky good humour and resilience of England’s denizens. In Search of England is an unapologetic love story, a paean of praise for all the fascinating variety and flavour of England’s places and people.

Dowager Duchess of Devonshire in conversation with David Blunkett Home to Roost 25 July, 10.30am Opera House £10 This new collection of writings by Deborah Devonshire, the youngest of the Mitford sisters, is as broad and eclectic as her long and eventful life.

The scenes range from a ringside view of John Kennedy’s inauguration and funeral, a valedictory for her local post office, the 1938 London season, Christmas at Chatsworth to the hazards of shopping for clothes when your eyesight is failing.

Affectionate, shrewd and uproariously funny, her no-nonsense, bangon-the-nail observations give another little glimpse into the fascinating life of a fascinating woman.

Supported by East Lodge Country House Hotel

Simon Van Booy The Secret Lives of People in Love 25 July, 3pm Lee Wood Hotel £6

Simon Van Booy won the Frank O’Connor Prize in 2009 for Love Begins in Winter. In this talk he discusses his second collection of short stories The Secret Lives of People in Love – an evocative exploration of love’s labours and loss. Set in present day New York, Wales, Cornwall, Paris and Rome his characters are often unbearably lonely, vulnerable and private.

Beautifully observed, their realities are so filled with memories that they seem transcendental and independent of time.

Simon was born in London and grew up in rural Wales and Oxford.

He now lives in New York.

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Mainly music

Mainly music 29

8 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

The Mandolinquents At the dawn of a new age of mandolin activity, an all star cast hits Buxton to pay homage to the heyday of mandolin orchestras (the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and, er, the 1780s), raising the level of mandolin consciousness for generations to come!

Fresh from recent tours of the Arctic Circle, China, the jungles of Borneo and most places inbetween come the Mandolinquents, including the mighty mandobass (‘yes, I think we have one in stock, Madam’). Expect reels and traditional airs, hot swing and ragtime, Mozart and Tchaikovsky, Brazilian folk melodies and much more...played, and sometimes sung, with infectious fun, stunning virtuosity and offbeat humour. mesmerising…with superb musicianship and a zany sense of fun The Hereford Times

8 July 3pm Palace Hotel

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

Ensemble 360 Mozart Oboe Quartet, K370 Howells Rhapsodic Quintet Britten Phantasy Quartet, opus 2 Mozart Clarinet Quintet, K581 Ensemble 360 has gained an enviable reputation across the UK as an ensemble of outstanding musicians and for its ability to communicate to audiences. Formed in 2005, the group brings together up to 11 world class musicians to offer informal, friendly and relaxed concerts, performing ‘in the round’ where possible.

These friends share a passion for music which radiates through each performance.

The emotional chemistry here was manifestly unusual…pure magic The Sunday Telegraph

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8 July 9.45pm Palace Hotel

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£10 1 hour

Graffiti Classics Graffiti Classics are guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face – sixteen strings, eight dancing feet and four voices. Not gypsy, not jazz, not trad, not classical – but scintillating performances with brilliant arrangements and mischievous humour.

I can’t rid my mind of the image of the Pizzicato Polka with the bass tucked crosswise under his chin – God knows, I’ve tried The Daily Mail

This show is a wonderful antidote for those who think that classical music is as staid as stained-glass The Times

9 July 11am & 2.30pm Chatsworth Theatre

£20 each concert 1 hour 25 minutes

The Bach Cello Suites Bach Suites 1, 3, 5 (11am) Bach Suites 2, 4, 6 (2.30pm) Tim Hugh cello Bach’s Six Suites for unaccompanied cello are acclaimed as some of the greatest works ever written for solo cello. Full of light and shadow, sorrow and joy, Bach expresses a huge range of emotions in this intimate music, presented here in two concerts in the beautiful little theatre at Chatsworth House.

Tim Hugh enjoys an immensely varied career incorporating chamber music, solo recitals and concertos while maintaining his position as principal cellist with the London Symphony Orchestra. He regularly appears as soloist with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and has recorded much of the solo repertoire. BBC music magazine described his 2006 recording of the Suites as ‘the best performance on a modern cello’.

Britain should be proud of Tim Hugh – an artist of world stature Musical Opinion Ticket holders are welcome to enjoy the Garden until it closes at 6pm. Full access information will be sent to ticket holders.

10 July 12.30pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

A Good Reed?

Audiences have come to expect the unexpected at A Good Reed’s concerts, as the four madcap exponents of woodwind lowlife continue their attempt at world domination. Now with a new member to train (or tame?), will they be able to convince us that the bassoon can be more than ‘an acoustic travesty’?

Satellites run around our planet, but we still play bassoons. It’s ridiculous!

Witold Lutoslawski

11 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

Madeleine Mitchell violin Noriko Ogawa piano Bridge Mélodie Debussy Sonate Takemitsu F rom far beyond Chrysanthemums and November Fog Franck Violin Sonata in A This exciting new Anglo-Japanese collaboration between Madeleine Mitchell and Noriko Ogawa is supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

Delightful short pieces by Bridge and Takemitsu are paired with favourites of the violin repertoire by Franck and Debussy, who influenced Takemitsu.

Madeleine Mitchell is one of the country’s most distinguished musicians, well known for her imaginative programming. She recently gave recitals in Sydney Opera House and the Seoul Center for the Arts as part of a three month world tour.

The magnificent Mitchell…dedicated penetrating musicianship BBC Music Magazine

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11 July 3pm Palace Hotel

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£18 1 hour 40 minutes

Calefax Mendelssohn The Hebrides overture Debussy Suite Bergamasque Tchaikovsky Overture from the Nutcracker Suite Tchaikovsky/Duke Ellington Nutcracker Jazz Suite Steve Reich New York Counterpoint Few groups are truly unique, yet that epithet applies to firm Festival friends Calefax. With over 600 concerts in 20 countries, Calefax is in great demand worldwide, performing standing up, sometimes from memory, and always engaging audiences with their musicianship and virtuosity. Most importantly, they arrange, recompose and interpret music from eight centuries to suit their unique line-up: from early music to classics and jazz, in the hands of Calefax all sounds fresh and new.

We tapped our feet too at the concert by Calefax – five extremely gifted Dutch gents who almost made the wind quintet seem the best musical format on the planet The Times

11 July 9.45pm Palace Hotel

£10 1 hour

Music of the Night with Rebecca Caine and James Church Internationally renowned soprano Rebecca Caine shot to fame as the star of Les Misérables and later opened the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera. Now a major star of musical theatre and opera on both sides of the Atlantic, Rebecca sings some of her favourites from The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Follies and Ragtime!

Rebecca Caine looked and sounded gorgeous The Sunday Times

12 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

Alicja S´mietana violin Evelyne Berezovsky piano Grieg Sonata no.1, opus 8 Schubert Rondo in A, D438 Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre Wieniawski Fantaisie brillante on themes from Faust, opus 20 Polish born Alicja S´mietana has been described by San Francisco music critics as ‘extraordinary, brilliant and sensitive’ and she has already gained the respect as soloist and chamber musician of world-famous musicians including Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Misha Maiski, Martha Argerich and Thomas Zehetmair.

A multi-prizewinner in international competitions, Alicia presents a varied programme from the lyrical folk character and drama of Grieg’s Sonata to Wieniawski’s great showpiece.

While working with Alicja I found not only a brilliant musician but a colleague interested primarily in the greater good of music Nigel Kennedy

12 July 3pm St John’s Church

£18 1 hour 30 minutes

Music at Twilight Emma Kirkby soprano Jakob Lindberg lute Emma Kirkby offers her own Grand Tour of seventeenth-century Europe, with a programme from the decades that marked the twilight of the Renaissance and the dawn of the Baroque age, with music by Dowland, Purcell, Schütz and Lawes.

Emma’s voice is richer and intensely expressive... her richly coloured interpretations of English songs show that the timbre of her voice, enhanced by a gentle vibrato, has mellowed over the years. Jakob accompanied gracefully throughout and offered several elegant solos New York Times

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13 July 1pm Palace Hotel

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£18 1 hour

John Lill piano Mozart Sonata in F, K332 Brahms Rhapsody, opus 79 Schumann Carnaval, opus 9 Known worldwide for his aristocratic interpretations of the great nineteenth-century masters, John Lill recently celebrated his 60th birthday. His programme culminates in Schumann’s musical representation of an elaborate and imaginative masked ball during carnival season.

Lill played the busy piano part it as though it was the easiest thing in the world, his hands rippling over the keys with never a missed note, in a performance that was never just a vehicle for showing off, but thoughtfully musical Seattle Post Supported by the Anglo Austrian Society

13 July 3pm St John’s Church

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

The Russian Chamber Philharmonic St Petersburg conducted by Juri Gilbo Grieg Holberg Suite, opus 40 Tzintsadze Georgian Folk Dances Bach Violin Concerto in E, BWV 1042 Bartok Romanian Dances Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, opus 48 Two years ago Festival audiences were thrilled by the superb playing of this string orchestra and we are delighted to offer a return visit, when they bring Tchaikovsky’s sparkling Serenade, written as homage to Mozart’s own serenades, and Grieg’s folkinspired dance suite.

Juri Gilbo and his orchestra gave the music their Russian soul and so won the hearts of the Germans.

An unforgettable event!

Osterländer Volkszeitung

14 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

Sarah-Jane Brandon soprano

Gary Matthewman piano

14 July 3pm Palace Hotel

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

Primrose Piano Quartet

Schumann Frauenliebe und -leben, opus 42 Liszt Three songs Rachmaninov Six songs

Mozart Piano Quartet in G minor, K478 Alwyn Rhapsody Strauss Piano Quartet in C minor, opus 13

Winner of the 2009 Kathleen Ferrier Competition, South African Sarah-Jane Brandon sings Schumann’s cycle of a woman’s response to love and life, coupled with Rachmaninov’s beautiful and romantic songs.

The Primrose Piano Quartet includes some of the UK’s most renowned chamber musicians, with years of experience gained in the Lindsay, Sorrel and Edinburgh Quartets. They have a particular passion for lesser-known English music and sandwiched between mature Mozart and youthful Strauss is the music of William Alwyn, an unashamed Romantic who preferred his music to appeal to the heart rather than to the head.

Meet one of tomorrow’s divas. The way she physically projects herself, with eloquence in her eyes and hands, recalls the days of silent cinema. For a 25year-old, her artistry is astonishingly mature. A born recitalist, she has an instinctive understanding of this difficult game. Covent Garden surely beckons.

The Independent

Their playing is selflessly beautiful…everything seems to be just right The Strad

The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund kindly sponsors the artists for this recital

Supported by The William Alwyn Foundation

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15 July 12.30pm Palace Hotel

Mainly music 37

£10 1 hour

A German journey with the Festival Chorus with Annette Saunders piano Our celebrated chorus enjoys a musical sojourn in Germany, celebrating the bicentenary of Schumann’s birth and sampling the Teutonic delights of songs and ensembles by Cornelius and Nicolai. Their stunning Rossini concert last year was a Festival highlight for many, so expect a journey to delight.

15 July 9.45pm Palace Hotel

£10 1 hour

El Ultimo Tango El Ultimo Tango is a quintet created by Eduardo Vassallo, the amazing principal cellist of the CBSO. With a line-up of flute, sax, cello, bass and piano, they specialise in music from Eduardo’s native Argentina with particular emphasis on the unforgettable music of Astor Piazzolla, and have performed all over the UK.

The Festival Chorus – vital, disciplined and sensitive

El Ultimo Tango clearly greatly empathises with Piazzolla’s vibrant, fiery tango music. They play with joie de vivre. There is a feeling of freshness and spontaneity about it all

The Independent

MusicWeb

Assured and affectionate playing

16 July 12.30pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour 15 minutes

Viardot – tribute to a genius with Miroslava Yordanova mezzo-soprano Giulio Zappa piano introduced by Julian Smith Pauline Viardot was a hugely talented pianist, singer and composer, and friend of Chopin, Liszt, Gounod, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Turgenev and George Sand.

This lecture recital, marking the 100th anniversary of her death at the age of 88, describes her world and famous friends, including some of the many songs she wrote and the operatic arias with which she was especially associated.

International Record Review

16 July 3pm St John’s Church

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

The Academy of Ancient Music Pavlo Beznosiuk violin Elin Manahan Thomas soprano Vivaldi The Four Seasons, opus 8 and ‘seasonal’ arias by Purcell and Handel Vivaldi’s most popular work was originally entitled ‘The Contest between Harmony and Invention’ and helped define the concerto form. The Academy of Ancient Music cleverly intersperses the violin concertos with arias from The Fairy Queen, The Triumph of Time and Truth, Ezio and Giulio Cesare, sung by the leading baroque singer Elin Manahan Thomas, who many will remember from her role here in Samson.

The AAM is on glorious form: the strings have a bite, precision and vibrancy any orchestra would envy International Record Review

Lebrecht Photo Library

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16 July 3pm Palace Hotel

Mainly music 39

£12 1 hour 10 minutes

My Darling Clemmie with Rohan McCullough written by Hugh Whitemore directed by Gareth Armstrong ‘My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me’ – Winston Churchill My Darling Clemmie is the remarkable, moving and highly entertaining story of the woman who married one of the truly great figures of the last century: Sir Winston Churchill, performed by the remarkable Rohan McCullough.

Compelling, engaging, intimately and beautifully realised – an unforgettable performance Roger Graef, Complicité Theatre Company

17 July 12.30pm Opera House

£6 1 hour

‘So, what’s my motivation?’

Alessandro Talevi, fresh from directing The Barber of Baghdad, guides willing volunteers from the Festival chorus in an opera workshop exploring the inner workings of the director’s mind!

17 July 2.30pm Tideswell Church

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

One Morning in May The stunning Dufay Collective presents a concert of English music from the 12th to 17th centuries in the beautiful and ancient ‘Cathedral of the Peak’. Tracing the roots of traditional song and dance music from Westron Wynd, Miri it is and Sumer is icumen in, they mix instrumental dances on pipes, flutes, vielle, harps, gittern, psaltery, fiddle and gurdy with ballads and dances heard in the streets and taverns of Renaissance London.

Please allow plenty of time if travelling from Buxton.

We suggest leaving Buxton at 1pm as the Carnival closes some roads and the town centre becomes virtually impassable for some hours.

18 July 1pm Palace Hotel

Di Xiao piano Mozart Sonata in BH, K570 Mendelssohn Songs without words Grieg Lyric Pieces, opus 43 Debussy Deux Arabesques Debussy L’Isle Joyeuse Two years ago the diminutive and charming Di Xiao gave us a superb recital and we welcome her again after a year when she has thrilled audiences across Europe on her Rising Star Tour, taking in 12 of the most prestigious concert halls from Athens to Barcelona. Other tours have taken her to Singapore, India, Malaysia and China.

The Chinese pianist Di Xiao presents a demanding programme of Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel and Messiaen that takes your breath away Kölner Philharmonie

See p23 for details of a talk by Hugh Whitemore at 4.30pm

£12 1 hour

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18 July 3pm Palace Hotel

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£18 1 hour 40 minutes

19 July 3pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

19 July 2pm Opera House

£10 stalls, £16 circle 2 hours

Hannah Marcinowicz Dante Quartet Cornelius Quartet no.3 in G major Verdi String Quartet Debussy Quartet in G minor, opus 10 Winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Chamber Music and the Chamber Music section of the BBC Music Magazine Awards, the Dante Quartet is known for its imaginative programming and the emotional intensity of its performances.

Here they offer a chance to hear our opera composers in chamber mode, including what is thought to be the first modern performance of a quartet by Peter Cornelius.

There’s a chance to hear Verdi’s Quartet in orchestral guise on July 21, see p45.

This was just the sort of event that makes festivalgoing worthwhile The Financial Times

saxophone

John Reid piano Demersseman Fantaisie sur un Thème Original Debussy Syrinx Hanabe No Uta Traditional Japanese Song Milhaud Scaramouche Grieg Once Upon A Time Matitia Au bonheur des dames De Rose Deep Purple Hannah is winning many new friends for the saxophone. Already an established soloist with the Philharmonia, LSO and BBC orchestras, she has given recitals at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall and was awarded the prestigious Médaille d’Or for chamber music.

Giselle Giselle is the ultimate Romantic ballet, a tale of innocence, betrayal and the redemptive power of true love, and one of the greatest and most popular ballets.

With outstanding classical dancers and expansive choreography this production by Independent Ballet Wales has original choreography, expressive costumes and atmospheric sets to make one of the most thrilling and entertaining dance events of the year.

Please note: this performance uses recorded music

A superb young saxophonist The Times Supported by The Countess of Munster Musical Trust

When the first notes sounded it was, thrillingly, as though Beethoven was speaking to us direct The Sunday Times

Matt Wright, Independent Ballet Wales

42 Mainly music

19 July 9.45pm Palace Hotel

Mainly music 43

£10 1 hour

Tales of Terror Welcome to the quietly sinister world of the ghost story…where withered hands snatch at passers-by, rickety scarecrows lie chained to iron beds, and unpleasant surprises lurk among the tea leaves…

Pop into the antique shop where old paintings and doll’s houses suddenly come to life... or leaf through dusty books filled with shockingly lifelike pictures of hideous creatures and locks of hair pasted between the pages. But if you find buried crowns down on the beach, leave them well alone – they have probably been left there for a very good reason.

Join The Happiness Patrol for an intimate evening of gentle chills and pleasing terrors from acknowledged masters of the macabre.

Not recommended for those aged under 12!

20 July 3pm Palace Hotel

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

The Café Band tangos into the movies Expect another sell-out for this off-beat septet from Opera North in an ingenious programme combining their favourite tango music with links to music from their favourite films! So expect to Breakfast at Tiffany’s (where Some Like it Hot), experience the Scent of a Woman, cruise on the Showboat with Eyes Wide Shut and finally Escape to Happiness after a West Side Story!

20 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

A Samuel Barber celebration with the Festival Chorus and Buxton Festival Ensemble Andrew Greenwood conductor A Hand of Bridge Dover Beach Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings) Sure on this shining night Samuel Barber was one of the twentieth-century’s most accomplished composers for the voice and the enlarged chorus and ensemble marks the centenary of Barber’s birth with a staged performance of his short chamber opera A Hand of Bridge, directed by Alessandro Talevi. As one famous opera guide remarks, ‘less has been said by many longer operas’!

Also included are Dover Beach, with string quartet accompaniment and one of his most successful compositions, and the famous Adagio for Strings, equally effective and ethereal when transformed for voices as Agnus Dei.

44 Mainly music

21 July 11am Palace Hotel

Mainly music 45

£8 1 hour

Opera Scenes: Luisa Miller 23 July 11am Palace Hotel

£8 1 hour

Opera Scenes: The Barber of Baghdad An excellent introduction to the Festival operas, as members of the Festival Company understudying main roles enjoy their own performance of scenes with piano accompaniment, introduced by Andrew Greenwood.

21 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

Mary Plazas soprano Paul Nilon tenor Andrew Greenwood piano Two of the country’s most versatile singers take time off from Idomeneo to share their extensive repertoire in songs and duets by Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Donizetti, Britten and Somervell. A Festival special!

Mary Plazas gave a titanic performance as Lucrezia Borgia, negotiating Donizetti’s coloratura sweeps with heroic abandon The Financial Times

21 July 3pm St John’s Church

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

sinfonia ViVA conducted by Nicholas Kok Mozart Divertimento, K136 Strauss Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings Strauss Sextet from Capriccio Verdi String Quartet, arranged for string orchestra In a programme built around this year’s opera composers, sinfonia ViVA offers the autumnal preface to Capriccio and the late flowering of Strauss’s brilliance in his Metamorphosen, an intensely personal reflection on war-torn Germany.

Mozart and Verdi, two great opera composers, show that the absence of voices is no impediment to their genius!

21 July 5pm Devonshire Dome

£8 1 hour

Dulsori Dulsori (literally ‘wild beat’) rekindles the spirit of ancient Korea. From the intimacy of the heartbeat to the sizzling energy and passion of the full group, the frighteningly agile troupe whirls, twists, dances and defies gravity as they combine the age-old traditions and modern spectacle of their national art.

Their pace never lets up in a gripping performance of delicious percussion and crashing drums The Guardian

46 Mainly music

22 July 12.30pm Palace Hotel

Mainly music 47

£12 1 hour

23 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

Jonathan Lemalu bass baritone

Michael Hampton piano Programme to include songs by Schubert, Mahler, Finzi and Poulenc Jonathan Lemalu is a Pacific jewel. A powerful, warm and captivating bass baritone, Festival-goers have had the pleasure of seeing him develop into one of the most sought-after talents on the international concert, operatic and recital circuit. We’ve enticed him to our opera stage for the first time this year, and of course we had to ask for a recital as well!

Jonathan Lemalu’s voice is glorious, his stage presence warm and masterly The Observer

Sofya Gulyak piano Chopin 2 nocturnes, opus 55 Polonaise-phantasy, opus 61 2 Scherzos, opp. 20, 39 2 Mazurkas, opus 59 Ballade in G minor, opus 23 The Russian pianist Sofya Gulyak scooped first prize in the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, the first woman so to do. This crowned success in other major competitions in Helsinki, Copenhagen and South Korea. She marks Chopin’s bicentenary with a programme including some of his finest music.

Gulyak’s playing stayed fresh and precise throughout…cleanly articulating even the most devilish passages, with volcanic crescendos that climaxed in blazes of brilliant sound, and lyrical passages with lovely, limpid tone Washington Post

23 July 3pm St John’s Church

£18 1 hour 40 minutes

Northern Chamber Orchestra directed by Nicholas Ward Nicholas Daniel oboe Haydn Symphony no. 26, Lamentation Strauss Oboe Concerto Barber Canzonetta for Oboe and Strings Mozart Symphony no. 40 The Festival’s resident orchestra enjoys two classical symphonies and continues our Straussian theme with the ‘happy glow of the inspiration of old-age’ that is his oboe concerto, joined by Nicholas Daniel, one of the country’s most distinguished soloists.

Nicholas Daniel was the very embodiment of that ‘classical’ spirit that Strauss exuberantly and nostalgically transformed in the filigree of his imagination The Times

24 July 1pm Palace Hotel

£18 1 hour

Pascal & Ami Rogé piano duet

Debussy Petite Suite 6 Préludes La Mer, poème symphonique Pascal Rogé is one of the great interpreters of French music – his name is synonymous with the best playing of French repertoire in the world today. For several years Pascal has enjoyed playing recitals for fourhands with his partner Ami Rogé. Together, they have travelled to the world’s prestigious festivals and concert halls, from New York to Beijing.

Their Debussy programme culminates in a version of La Mer which the composer wrote before the more familiar orchestral version, bringing every splash and wave to life in a vividly exciting score.

A concert of sheer delight and a reason for celebration – their pianism was seamlessly superb Dominion Post, Wellington

48 Mainly music

24 July 3pm Palace Hotel

Mainly music 49

£12 1 hour 15 minutes

Larkin’s England in words and music

24 July 9.45pm Palace Hotel

£10 1 hour 10 minutes

The World’s Wife

with Ian Buckle piano reader tbc

Adapted from the poems of Carol Ann Duffy Performed by Linda Marlowe Directed by Di Sherlock

The poetry of Philip Larkin is much loved for its ‘piquant mix of lyricism and discontent’. 25 years after his death Larkin’s darkly humorous view of human foibles and failings has lost none of its power to provoke and delight. Its bittersweet quality is present in much of the English piano literature by the poet’s contemporaries, and Ian Buckle’s selection of miniatures – from Bridge, Britten, Coates and Ireland to Colin Matthews and Graham Fitkin – is interspersed with readings to reflect the view of England created by ‘the country’s greatest post-war writer’.

A new stage version of the acclaimed poems that imagines the wives’ perspective of famous men through the ages. From Mrs Faust to Frau Freud, Queen Kong to Mrs Midas, this delightful show slices through history and myth, whilst casting an astute glance over the modern world. Laced with dark humour and acerbic wit, this passionate exposé will enthral lovers of Duffy’s brilliant and often controversial verse.

Linda Marlowe’s virtuoso performances have enjoyed great acclaim including international tours and West End seasons.

Joyfully refreshing. Oh, do go and see this: it’s wonderful The Observer

© The Estate of Philip Larkin

25 July 12.30pm Palace Hotel

£12 1 hour

The cellos of the CBSO de Falla 3 Dances from The Three-Cornered Hat Casals Les Rois Mages Casals Song of the Birds Brubeck God’s Love Made Visible Brubeck The Desert and the Parched Land de Falla 6 Popular Spanish Songs The uniquely wide range of the cello and the sonorous richness of its tone mean that it is the string instrument best suited to playing en masse. The introduction to Rossini’s William Tell overture marks its first appearance in this medium and Romantic-era cellistcomposers such as David Popper, and Heitor VillaLobos, have also done much to build a serious repertoire for cello ensemble. The CBSO cellos perform regularly as an ensemble in Centre Stage, the CBSO’s own chamber music series, with a repertoire of transcriptions and original works ranging from JS Bach to Eric Coates.

25 July 2.30pm Palace Hotel

£18 1 hour 30 minutes

Aces High with VOCES8 VOCES8 made such an impression last year in the little Chatsworth theatre that we simply had to invite them back so more people can experience their stylish performance! With a dash of danger, a hint of high society and a mixture of three parts suave English gentleman to one part beautiful femme fatale, they offer the perfect Festival finale with a new programme of classic song from Gershwin and Kurt Weill to Nat King Cole and Bernstein.

The a capella VOCES8 offers an impressive stage presence with imaginative theatricality and a well balanced programme Classical Music Daily

50 Enjoy Buxton

Enjoy Buxton 51

12, 22 July: 12pm £6, including coffee 1 hour 30 minutes Project X

13, 20 July: 12pm £6, including coffee 1 hour 30 minutes Project X

14, 21 July: 11am £6, including coffee 1 hour 30 minutes Poole’s Cavern

10, 17 July: 3pm £6 1 hour Devonshire Dome

11 July 12.30pm £20 Old Hall Hotel

21 July 12.30pm £25 Old Hall Hotel

The Devonshires in Buxton

The future of Buxton’s heritage

A Woodland Walk

A Taste of the Peaks

Festival Sunday Lunch

Friends’ Lunch

This walk, led by Jennie Ainsworth, begins before the building of the Crescent, when Gilpin described the town as ‘surrounded by dreary barren hills’ and explores The Slopes and the fashionable lower town around the Crescent.

Here is Georgian elegance at the spa, recreated from the architecture and from anecdotal accounts derived from diaries and letters of visitors and travel writers.

From the Opera House, Slopes and Pavilion Gardens to the Devonshire Royal Campus and the ambitious plans for the Crescent and Thermal Spa, Buxton’s rich architectural heritage is enjoying a new lease of life through a programme of heritage-led regeneration.

Conservation expert Richard Tuffrey leads a walk taking in all of these projects and more, looking at their recent and past history and some of the issues surrounding their restoration.

Led by Alan Walker, this walk explores the industrial remains from the 18th and 19th centuries on Grin Low and the area’s special fauna and flora, leading to Solomon’s Temple, said to have been built by Solomon Mycock in the 1890s to provide work for the unemployed. The site is reputed to be an early Bronze Age burial site, where crouched burials and cremated human remains were found in the late 19th century.

Sitting atop a ridge at 1440 feet, it enjoys excellent views of the town and surrounding countryside. Stout footwear and outdoor clothing recommended.

Interactive cookery demonstrations led by chefs from two of the Peak District’s best-known restaurants: Michelin starred Fischer’s at Baslow Hall and double AA rosette winners East Lodge Country House Hotel. Using the high-tech cookery demonstration suite at the University of Derby’s stunning Devonshire Dome, the chefs show how our region’s top quality produce can just as easily be used to make delicious meals at home as in an award-winning kitchen.

Come to be inspired by these talented local chefs and to taste some of their creations.

The Festival Lunch is a great opportunity to enjoy a delicious meal in the Old Hall Hotel’s restaurant in the company of other Festival-goers. Please book through the Festival Box Office and note that all booked places have allocated seating.

The Devonshires in Buxton and The future of Buxton’s heritage walks are kindly supported by Project X A Taste of the Peaks is kindly supported by Waitrose

A long-established Festival tradition to share experiences with Friends. All members and their guests welcome. Please book through the Festival Box Office and note that all booked places have allocated seating.

25 July 12.30pm Old Hall Hotel

Patrons’ Lunch An invitation will be sent separately to all Patrons. No booking through the Festival Box Office.

52 Masses, Organ and Fringe

Booking information 53

Festival masses St John’s Church

with soloists from the Festival Company As these are church services, no tickets are required.

11 July 10.45am Mozart Missa Brevis in C, K258 Buxton Madrigal Singers and Orchestra, recorded by the BBC for broadcast on July 18

Book early!

18 July 11.15am Dvorˇák Mass in D

Patrons & Gold Friends Priority booking: 3–9 March

N.B. Patrons’, Gold Friends’ and Friends’ priority booking is by post only.

25 July 11.15am Palestrina Missa Brevis

Friends’ membership

Buxton Madrigal Singers and Orchestra

Single membership

Joint membership

Book up to two tickets per event during the priority period.

Book up to four tickets per event during the priority period.

Organ Recitals Two recitals by Ben Giddens (Magdalen College, Oxford) and Peter Stevens (King’s College, Cambridge) on the four manual Hill organ in the glorious acoustic of St John’s Church.

You can secure your seats up to three weeks earlier if you join the Friends – many events do sell out quickly.

15, 19 July 4.30pm St John’s Church £10, concessions £8

How to book 0845 12 72 190

Buxton Festival Fringe The Fringe runs concurrently with Buxton Festival and offers a spectacular programme of theatre, comedy, music, film, exhibitions, poetry, children’s events and street entertainment. The 2010 Fringe also features, for the first time, a military tattoo at the Dome! One of the largest Fringes in England, it offers some 500 events including a free afternoon sampler at the Pavilion Gardens on 11 July.

The Fringe is open to all with no selection or censorship. The programme is published in early June and on www.buxtonfringe.org.uk, where you can order a printed programme and find out how to become a Fringe Friend. For other queries call 01298 79351.

£30 per annum

General booking From 31 March Telephone

7–25 July

Priority booking: 10–30 March

Buxton Musical Society Chorus and Orchestra

£20 per annum

Promoted by St John’s Church

Friends

Box office hours

Pre-Festival Monday to Saturday, 10am–8pm Sunday, 12pm–8pm During the Festival: Every day, 10am–8pm Please do not call the Box Office before 31 March unless inquiring about tickets purchased during priority booking.

Online

www.buxtonfestival.co.uk

In person

Buxton Opera House, Water Street, Buxton SK17 6XN Tickets are also available on the door half an hour before each event, unless sold out.

By post

Festival Box Office, Buxton Festival 3 The Square, Buxton SK17 6AZ

Please note

• Pay by cheque where possible please – it saves us money!

• For opera bookings: ensure you state a second seating choice, as your first may have sold out.

• To allow for alternative seating areas and discounts leave the amount on your cheque blank.

• Make cheques payable to High Peak Theatre Trust Ltd. • Enclose a stamped addressed envelope to receive your tickets.

Refunds Tickets can neither be refunded nor exchanged.

Box office staff will try to re-sell tickets – a 10% administration fee will be charged.

General information 01289 70395

Prices and seating plan 55

54 Booking information

Special offers

Stage Stalls A–J

Only one offer per ticket. All offers are subject to availability.

2010 Programme Book

Receive a 10% discount for all performances except Saturday evenings.

The indispensable guide to the Festival, with 170 pages of details of all performances and artists, and also articles and background information on the operas and their composers. Order in advance and collect at the Festival. Price £10

See four or more operas and save!

Opera on CD (see booking form for information)

Groups of ten or more

Access Information

Stalls K–N Stalls O–Q

Dress Circle

Boxes

Upper Circle Boxes

Boxes

Wheelchair users

Book tickets for four operas and deduct £4 from the cost of each ticket (excludes Gallery, Upper Circle Side seats and boxes).

Opera House Standby Students, under 18s, the unwaged and senior citizens may purchase any available seat for a performance at half price from 6.45pm on the day of performance (excludes Saturday operas). Personal callers at the Box Office only.

Under 30s – Festival for a Fiver From 1 June all available seats are £5 for under 30s.

Book at the Opera House box office or by phone.

Tickets must be collected from the box office and proof of age provided. Festival for a Fiver tickets cannot be purchased over the internet. The offer excludes Festival Lunches.

We are pleased to welcome people with disabilities to the Festival. At the Opera House there are four spaces for wheelchair users in the stalls and two seats designed for easy transfer from a wheelchair. Toilet facilities for the disabled are available.

Help with hearing The Opera House has a passive infra-red (PIR) system for people with hearing impairments. This works through a special headset (rather than your hearing aid), available from the theatre – please reserve one when you book your tickets (a £10 deposit is required).

Please note: the PIR system operates only in certain parts of the auditorium – please check when booking.

There is also an inductive loop system at the right hand Box Office counter.

Facilities for people with disabilities Please call the Festival office on 01298 70395 for information about facilities for disabled people at all Festival venues. We will do our best to facilitate your visit to the Festival.

Under 16s

Gallery

Performances at the Opera House (Please make cheques payable to High Peak Theatre Trust)

Luisa Miller

Barber of Baghdad Idomeneo Stalls A–J K–N O–Q Dress Circle Boxes Upper Circle, A–D Boxes* Side seats* Gallery

£ 45 37 27 54 25 37 15 10 18

£ 30 25 20 35 25 20 10 10 10

* Some seats have restricted view

Go half price to all performances.

Other performances (Tickets from the Opera House Box Office)

We regret that tickets can neither be exchanged nor money refunded. Box Office staff will endeavour to re-sell tickets, subject to demand.

A 10% administration fee will be charged.

Box Office 0845 12 72190 from 31 March

The Festival reserves the right to make alterations to the programme, although it is correct at the time of going to press. In accordance with standard theatre policy, latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance.

On-line booking via www.buxtonfestival.co.uk from 31 March

Opera talks & Masses free Concerts £6 –£20 (see individual entries) Giselle £10 stalls, £16 circle Literary events £6 , £10 Walks £6 Festival Sunday Lunch £20 Friends’ Lunch £25

Zaide Into the Little Hill Trouble in Tahiti Alcina £ 37 33 24 44 25 33 15 10 18

56 Where to stay

The Best of Buxton & Beyond A guide to services in and around Buxton – where to stay, eat and what to do, to make your Festival visit even better.

For more information contact the Tourist Information Centre on 01298 25106 or www.visitpeakdistrict.com www.visitbuxton.co.uk

Where to stay 57

Alison Park Hotel

Having just passed its centenary year, our beautiful Edwardian hotel is set in its own gardens, only five minutes’ walk away from the Opera House and the Pavilion Gardens.

The hotel is family run, currently in its third generation, combining the traditional values of a welcoming atmosphere and good, fresh food, locally sourced where possible, and informal, yet attentive service.

Our bedrooms offer a combination of double, twin, single or family accommodation, all non-smoking. Our cosy lounges and bar provide a peaceful retreat, with the private patio offering al fresco dining. Our conservatory and restaurant provide a comfortable setting for a hearty breakfast.

3 Temple Road, Buxton, SK17 9BA Tel: 01298 22473 www.alison-park-hotel.co.uk

32 St John’s Road, Buxton SK17 6XQ t: 01298-22462 e: portland.hotel@btinternet.com www.portlandhotelbuxton.net 22 bedroom, family-run hotel with pleasant bar and restaurant located only 150 yards from the Opera House. Rooms are comfortable with TV, tea and coffee making facilities, en-suite.

Early pre-theatre dinners available with an opportunity to enjoy dessert and coffee after the performance. Car parking available.

Bed & Breakfast from £47 per person Single supplement £15 per night Dinner, Bed & Breakfast from £68 per person Rates are for a minimum of two nights

58 Where to stay

Where to stay 59

Devonshire Lodge Guest House 2 Manchester Road Buxton SK17 6SB 01298 71487 enquiries@devonshirelodgeguesthouse.co.uk www.devonshirelodgeguesthouse.co.uk ETCffffSilver Award A friendly family-run guest-house. This fine Victorian house, located in the best area of Buxton, is just a 3 minute walk from the Opera House, Pavilion Gardens and main shopping precinct.

B&B from £30 per person, based on 2 people sharing a double or twin room

9 Green Lane B&B 9 Green Lane Buxton SK17 9DP 01298 73731 book@9greenlane.co.uk www.9greenlane.co.uk ETCffffSilver Award

B&Bs, Guest-houses & Small hotels

Buxton Victorian Guest House 3a Broad Walk Buxton SK17 6JE 01298 78759 buxtonvictorian@btconnect.com www.buxtonvictorian.co.uk AA & ETCfffffSilver Award Somewhere special! A warm welcome is assured at our 5-star rated non-smoking guest-house. Relax in one of 8 beautifully decorated en-suite bedrooms, many overlooking the Pavilion Gardens and magnificent Opera House. Private car park. B&B from £38 per person based on 2 people sharing

Edwardian house, quietly located but within a ten minute walk of the Opera House. All rooms are fully en-suite, each equipped with TV and hospitality tray to provide very comfortable accommodation. Ground floor rooms available.

Private parking. B&B from £35 per person

Grendon Guest House Bishops Lane Buxton SK17 6UN 01298 78831 www.grendonguesthouse.co.uk VB ✱ ✱ ✱ ✱ ✱ Gold Award Situated a 15 minute stroll from the Pavilion Gardens and Opera House, Grendon offers the warmest of welcomes. Spacious and luxurious ensuite rooms with the most comfortable beds will ensure an excellent night’s rest. Delicious breakfasts and on site parking. B&B £40–£47per person

High Croft Guest House

Stoop Farm

High Croft Manchester Road Chapel-en-le-Frith SK23 9UH 01298 814843

Hollinsclough Buxton SK17 0RW 01298 23618

www.highcroft-guesthouse.co.uk bbbbb Silver Award

stoop.farm@btinternet.com www.stoopfarm.co.uk VB bbbb

Just 10 minutes from Buxton, a Five Star graded, Silver Award winning country house in 1½ acres of peaceful, mature gardens adjoining golf course and Combs Reservoir with magnificent views. Prices from £37.50 per person

We provide luxury farmhouse accommodation. Our location is very peaceful and private, with many walks from your door, yet only a 10 minute drive to Buxton. Delicious breakfasts are prepared using local produce. Prices from £40 per person per night

Lakenham Guest House

Westminster Hotel

11 Burlington Road Buxton SK17 9AL 01298 79209

21 Broad Walk Buxton SK17 6JR 01298 23929

enquiries@lakenhambuxton.co.uk www.lakenhambuxton.co.uk ETCffff

enquiries@westminsterhotel.co.uk www.westminsterhotel.co.uk

Sample Victorian elegance in one of Buxton’s finest guest-houses. Lakenham offers all modern facilities, yet retains its Victorian character. Furnished with period furniture and antiques. Superb central location overlooking the Pavilion Gardens, just 5 minutes’ walk from the Opera House. B&B from £40 per person

Oldfield Guest House 8 Macclesfield Road Buxton SK17 9AH 01298 78264 avril@oldfieldhousebuxton.co.uk www.oldfieldhousebuxton.co.uk AA bbbb Spacious en-suite rooms, comfortable beds, delicious breakfasts, friendly atmosphere, nonsmoking, off-street car parking and within easy walking distance of the Opera House, restaurants and pubs. B&B £37.50 per person per night

Small family-run hotel overlooking the Pavilion Gardens. Short stroll to Opera House. All rooms ensuite and non-smoking. TV, tea and coffee making facilities. Large car park. Great food and warm welcome. B&B from £32 per person

Self-Catering Accommodation

Hope Farm House Alstonefield Nr. Ashbourne DE6 2GE 01298 687418 www.hopefarmhouse.co.uk Timeless elegance in a charming early 18th Century farmhouse. Sleeps 10/12. Just outside one of the Peak District’s prettiest villages, close to Dovedale and the Manifold Valley. Invite your friends and have an unforgettable house party!

Where to eat/What to do 61

60 Where to stay/Where to eat

The perfect place to relax, unwind and explore the Peak District, just 10 minutes from Buxton Opera House

No.6 The Square Tearooms 01298 213541 louise@no6tearooms.co.uk www.no6tearooms.co.uk Traditional English tearooms situated opposite the Opera House. Special Festival fare pre-opera with Champagne. Booking advisable. Open 10am–7pm.

Festival fare available 5.30–7pm.

& MARTIN ON 01298 83219 WEB www.WheeldonTreesFarm.co.uk

CALL DEBORAH

Where to eat

The Café @ The Green Pavilion 4 Terrace Road Buxton 01298 77480 A stylish, fully licensed, café adjacent to the highly acclaimed Green Pavilion florists. Friendly relaxed atmosphere. Fresh food cooked daily. Enjoy lunch, brunch or a light snack made from wonderful local produce. Pre-theatre suppers available – see our daily specials boards for details.

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A small independent restaurant in three rooms over two floors – one ground, two cellar – we use fresh produce, local where possible, prepared and cooked to order. Recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide and the Rough Guide to Great Britain. Pre- and post-theatre suppers are available by reservation.

–adjective showing good or outstanding judgment and understanding: a discerning critic of good food.

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columbine1@btinternet.com www.buxtononline.net/columbine

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7 Hall Bank Buxton 01298 78752

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Self-Catering Accommodation cont.

–noun a meeting place for the discerning

the old court house, george street, buxton tel:01298 77079 (george street is opposite the opera house)

Old Hall Hotel The Square Buxton 01298 22841

What to do

info@oldhallhotelbuxton.co.uk www.oldhallhotelbuxton.co.uk

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery

Old Hall Hotel and Wine Bar across the leafy square from the Opera House – the perfect venue for preand post-theatre meals. Restaurant open 5.30–11pm.

Wine Bar open all day from 10am. Last orders for food 11pm.

Terrace Road Buxton SK17 6DA 01298 24658

Kwei Lin Chinese Restaurant

Explore the geology, archaeology and creative spirit of the Peak District. The annual Derbyshire Open Art Exhibition showcases works by professional and amateur artists. Also showing: A New Zealand Adventure by John & Carole Dronsfield, and oil paintings from the museum’s own collections.

1 Lower Hardwick Street Buxton 01299 77822 Kwei Lin Chinese Restaurant has been open since 1994. A wide and varied vegetarian menu is available.

Children and families are always welcome. Open from 5pm (closed on Tuesdays). Service and quality is our motto.

buxton.museum@derbyshire.gov.uk www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/buxton_museum

Crich, Matlock DE4 5DP 01773 854321 enquiry@tramway.co.uk www.tramway.co.uk Step aboard a vintage tram and travel back in time along a recreated village street complete with working pub. Explore fascinating exhibitions and watch trams being restored from the Workshop Viewing Gallery. Children’s playground, tearooms, shops, Woodland Walk and Sculpture Trail.

D

Crich Tramway Village

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What to do cont.

What to do 63

F M RE IS E SI O N

62 What to do

THE GREAT DOME

ART FAIR

PEAK DISTRICT PRODUCTS

24th-25th July 2010

10am-4.30pm

Reliable friendly local drivers

Wheelchair accessible cabs

J.A.M.

TAXIS SERVICES DAY/NIGHT SERVICE DISTANCE NO OBJECT

The Great Dome at The Royal Devonshire Campus, 1 Devonshire Road, Buxton SK17 6RY.

Lady drivers available

4, 7, 8 seater saloons and estates

Manned Office at 5 Market Place, Buxton w w w. p e a k d i s t r i c t p r o d u c t s . c o . u k

NEW Design Museum, Café and Country Shop Come to the David Mellor Country Shop for the best of modern tableware and kitchenware, including the world famous David Mellor cutlery.

Visit the new Design Museum showing the full historic collection of Mellor designs from tea spoons to traffic lights, and try our beautiful new café.

On the B6001 outside Hathersage.

The Round Building, Hathersage, Sheffield S32 1BA Tel: 01433 650220 Open Mon to Sat 10am – 5pm, Sun 11am – 5pm

t: 01298-72333

64 What to do

Travel 65

Take the train to the

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Manchester - Buxton *

Off-Peak Day Return

£8.20

DUO £12.30 *

Stockport - Buxton Off-Peak Day Return*

£7.80

DUO* £11.70

Take a friend for half-price. Just ask for a DUO ticket! *Terms and conditions apply, adult fares quoted are correct in Jan 2010. 



For information on train times and fares call National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or visit our website

www.northernrail.org

“Nothing so liberalises a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel” - Mark Twain Our network connects some of Britain’s best cities and most scenic destinations, faster than ever before, so now’s the time to expand your horizons.

Book online at virgintrains.com Virgin Trains is proud to support the

Please check timetables before your travel. Some weekend services may be subject to alterations due to improvement works. Visit virgintrains.com for fares, times and full details.

66 Travel

IC HARD WI HARDW C

NT

Ashwood Park

M A

S

ET RE ST

EAGLE PARADE

AD BAKEWELL RO

Police Station

T

K( PE DE HAR ST TING RIA TON N) RO AD

M

E RK

BRO AD WA L

K

Market Place

H

FIE FAIR

Coach Park

Town Hall

G HI

RO AD

R ST. GE O RG ES TREE T

ST. GE

W AT E

ID BR

The Slopes

A6 to MANCHESTER, GLOSSOP, HAYFIELD, CHINLEY & NEW MILLS

(PEDESTRIAN) DENS G AR

K BAN

AD RO

Poole’s Cavern

ING SPR

TERRACE ROAD

Old Hall Hotel

Pavilion Gardens

FIE LD R OAD

Q

Project X

L HAL

OAD SR Pavilion Gardens N’ The Octagon JOH

GTON BURLIN

L CC MA

ES

U

Opera House

ROAD

The Crescent

E AR

ST.

THE SQ

D OA

ON ATI ST

T AN DR UA

St. John’s Church

A55 to LEEK & MACCLESFIELD

TH E

Devonshire Dome

Cricket Ground

KR PAR

Palace Hotel

LD

RO

AD

OA D

Buxton Station

STREET

HI RE

K

AD RO

PARK R

DE VO NS

TR EE T

MAN CHE STE R

The Lee Wood Hotel

D ROA CE LA PA

A5004 to STOCKPORT & WHALEY BRIDGE

Methodist Church

A6 to BAKEWELL & MATLOCK

BATH ROAD

WEST ROAD

AD RO LE DA LON DO NR OA D

A515 to ASHBOURNE

How to get to Buxton By car

Buxton is only an hour’s drive from the M1, M6, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby. The AA provides a route planner on www.theaa.com.

Car parking

There are 1001 car park spaces in Buxton including:

Opera House

ay and display parking for 50 cars, including P 2 spaces for the disabled.

Charges: 1 hour 70p, 2 hours £1.20, 4 hours £2.50, free after 6pm

Pavilion Gardens

Parking for 260 cars, including 15 spaces for the disabled.

Charges: 1 hour £1, 2 hours £1.60, 4 hours £3, over 4 hours £5, free after 6pm

Palace Hotel

or non-residents: £3.50 for 3 hours and then F £1 per hour. £7.50 spent on refreshments gives 3 hours free parking.

Please allow extra time if travelling by car on Carnival Day (July 17)

By rail

Regular Virgin trains from Euston to Macclesfield (and a 20 minute taxi journey for around £25, or hourly connecting bus service No.58), Stockport and Manchester (journey time approx. 2 hours) with connecting Northern Rail services to Buxton. The last train from Buxton to Manchester leaves at 10.56pm.

National Rail

08457 48 49 50 www.nationalrail.co.uk www.virgintrains.co.uk www. northernrail.org

By bus

Direct buses to Buxton operate from Chesterfield, Derby, Glossop, Huddersfield, Macclesfield, Sheffield, Stockport and Stoke.

For more information visit www.derbysbus.info, www.traveline.org.uk 0871 200 22 33 or call National Express 08717 81 81 81.

By air

Regular national and international flights to Manchester (44 [0] 161 489 3000) and Nottingham East Midlands airports (44 [0] 871 919 9000)

Festival sponsors & supporters Buxton Festival appreciates important financial assistance from:

Media partners:

The Festival gratefully acknowledged further support of many sponsors and donors including: The AA Barceló Palace Hotel Best Western Lee Wood Hotel Brooke-Taylors Solicitors Columbine Restaurant The Daily Mail Dow Hyperlast East Lodge County House Hotel Going Digital Limited The Green Pavilion The Grove Hotel Hewson & Howson Chartered Accountants The Moorside Grange Hotel and Spa Northern Rail Simon Watkinson Photo Training Tom Son Limited Waitrose Waterstone’s

Trusts: The William Alwyn Trust The Buxton Festival Education Fund The Countess of Munster Trust Martyn Donaldson Music Trust The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust The Hall Bank Trust Rotary Club of Buxton The Tesco Charity Trust

Registered Charity No.276957 Design: Glorious Creative