Overture: Friends Newsletter - Autumn 2021

OVERTURE

ISSUE ELEVEN | OCTOBER 2021 THE NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS O F B U X T O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E S T I VA L

DEAR FRIENDS MESSAGE FROM THE CEO OF BIF

Michael Williams with Errollyn Wallen, composer of Dido’s Ghost It was both heartening and heart breaking to see that many of our events ‘sold out’ but only with a 50% (and in the Opera House 42%) attendance. We were grateful to so many of you who were patient and understanding of our predicament and supported us by adhering to the guidelines. Government regulations forced us to make difficult decisions, and not all of them were the right ones. We underestimated the demand for single seats, for example, which meant that many of our loyal friends had to be put on a waiting list until we were able to reorganize the booking plans. This proved to be a mistake and I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused many of you. The Buxton Opera House box office staff, led by Dawn Foster, did a remarkable job managing the constant changes, the waiting lists, and the dreaded ‘bubble’ seating, and deserves a gold medal for all their efforts.

Congratulations are due to Adrian Kelly, the creative teams, and all the singers for the fourstar (and in one case 5-star) reviews we received for all the operas in our season. Adrian’s decision to work with Early English Opera, Dunedin Consort and Red Squirrel to mount operas with smaller orchestras, casts and technical teams meant that we were able to offer a compelling, innovative season which was well received. I was particularly pleased with the success of our joint production with the Buxton Opera House of 2

What a small miracle our 2021 festival was this year. We were one of the first major festivals to take place this year in the United Kingdom and, somehow, we managed to manoeuvre our way through the ever-shifting labyrinth of Covid protocols and deliver 118 events. It was a festival of two halves: rainy and overcast the first week and bright and sunny the next; rigorous Covid restrictions to begin with, and then ‘Freedom Day’ arrived half-way through and suddenly all the restrictions were lifted. We had to nimbly straddle these two different mind-sets and engage with the many different opinions on how we should proceed.

Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, which was wellattended and received great reviews. Strictly Musical proved to be the winning recipe for a concert in the opera house. We exceeded our attendance projections, and the audience gave the cast a rousing ovation. We plan to bring another Strictly concert next year. Strictly Irving Berlin, Strictly G&S, Strictly Shostakovich? The possibilities are endless, and we would love to hear what you might like to attend. And how wonderful, too, that we were able to add an additional performance of Cendrillon and The Enchanted Pig – two works that might have been created a hundred years apart but seemed to strike the right note. These two productions exemplified the idea of what a festival should provide: musical excellence, opportunities for young artists and adventurous productions.

Salons at the Assembly Rooms at the Crescent, which were all well attended and then undone by the difficult acoustics of the beautiful room.

We will need to find a solution to this problem if we decide to return to the Assembly Rooms next year.

Our music series this year was hit by the doublewhammy cancellation of Jennifer Pike and Martin Roscoe, which forced Adrian Kelly and Caroline Hewitt to call on favours from colleagues to step in at the last minute. We also lost our BIF Chamber Ensemble concert, Lauren Scott, the harpist for A Little Night Music, and two singers and a stage manager from Cendrillon to the pingdemic. Zorada Temmingh had to cancel her performance to avoid an enforced expensive hotel quarantine and John Tomlinson lost his voice in the middle of The Shackled King.

Despite these unfortunate events Roderick Williams delivered a sublime concert, Dame Sarah Connolly was magnificent, Fleur Barron was a revelation, Natalie Clein broke my heart and Tabea Debus was a delight. The English Concert returned with their world-class flair producing a concert of baroque music in their own inimitable style. The BBC Philharmonic took up their residence in the Octagon and the replacement violist, Karen Gomyo’s rendition of the Bruch concerto was nothing less than astonishing. We continued our support of the Northern Chamber Orchestra who provided musicians to play for A Little Night Music and The Dancing Master and enchanted us with their Nachtmusik concert at St John’s.

Despite the pandemic there remained a strong public appetite for cultural experiences. Even as we tentatively entered this new phase, and negotiated the uncertainties of a post-COVID society, the role of the Buxton International Festival remained as important as ever in

serving our audiences. With our Digital 2021 offering we hope to welcome arts lovers from all around the world, sharing with them the wonderful spirit of the Buxton International Festival, and hopefully enticing them to join us for the real thing in 2022. I hope you will support this new initiative and if you were not able to attend this year you will see what you have missed! And if you did attend, you can relive some of your experiences.

This year’s festival was made possible by an anonymous donation, funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund, various Trusts and Foundations, but most significantly because of your annual subscription to the Friends of BIF. Thank you for being a Friend of the Festival. We couldn’t have run the festival without our outstanding group of volunteers (who looked very sharp in their BIF waistcoats) and interns who did an excellent job in facilitating the smooth running of all our events. They were headed by Jean Ball, our Front of House Manager, who did a sterling job. Jean has been working for the festival for the last thirty years and is retiring from her role. On behalf of the whole team, a huge thank you, Jean, for the invaluable contribution that you have made to the festival.

We’re grateful too, to the Arts Council of England for their ongoing commitment to our festival. I received this wonderful endorsement from Heloise Davies, our Relationship Manager: “There is real leadership for the sector being undertaken by BIF at the moment. Long may it continue.”

I look forward to seeing you at our BIG BIF Weekend in October and if not then, at our Festival in 2022.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS, CEO

I was fortunate to meet most of the authors who attended our Book Festival. Victoria Dawson rose to the challenge of dealing with the Covid crisis rocking the UK publishing industry and managed to woo a raft of top-quality authors.

What a pleasure to hear Andrew Marr expound on the Elizabethans, Matthew Parris develop his theory on what makes a great life, the Prime Minister panel debate the best and the worst first ministers and to witness the queue of book buyers and autograph hunters for Neil Oliver, Ben Macintyre and Nazir Afzal. Adrian and Vicky put together a sparkling collection of Festival 3

2021 IN NUMBERS 19,197 tickets sold

118 events featuring music, opera, books and experiences

5 Operas

1 musical

206 concert artists and musicians

54 singers

35 speakers

8 interns

5 venues

2,215 Friends of BIF

56 volunteers

2,100 hours of volunteer time 4

5

W H AT T H E C R I T I C S S A I D ‘Buxton International Festival still feels more festive than any other arts jamboree so far this summer’ The Telegraph

‘Few UK events can match the Buxton International Festival either for its appealing location, or for the quantity - as well as the quality - of its offerings, whether in opera, books or music’ The Stage

HHHH

A Little Night Music

HHHH

Acis and Galatea

‘Buxton does it beautifully’

‘The musical performance is impeccable…conductor Christian Curnyn demonstrates complete mastery of Handel’s idiom. The orchestra is superb’

The Telegraph HHHH ‘A magical production. A perfect blend of sparkle, edge and poignancy’

The Stage HHHH

Classical Music Daily

‘There’s no mistaking the musical quality.’

The Times HHHH

‘This is another hugely successful and ambitious venture from the BIF, the festival continuing to support new and rare opera while also attempting to extend their range and audience’ Opera Journal

Dido’s Ghost

HHHHH

‘The entire show is a treat’ The Stage

‘It’s a stimulating piece of creation and adaptation, done to a very high standard indeed, and may even be remembered as one of the most striking and original artistic products of the Covid-era’

Cendrillon ‘This performance of Cendrillon was an absolute joy. Directed with care and resourcefulness by Laura Attridge…The best 75 minutes I’ve spent in ages’ The Guardian HHHH

The Arts Desk ‘An accomplished and attractive work that the Buxton company made into a substantial success’ Opera Now

HHHH ‘It zips along with enormous vim’ Spectator

Dancing Master ‘The word rollicking was invented for operas such as Malcolm Arnold's The Dancing Master…75 minutes of exuberant, extrovert music-making’ The Times HHHH

HHHH

Enchanted Pig ‘There’s an outstanding wealth of youthful talent on stage’ The Stage HHHH ‘It is full of youthful exuberance and enthusiasm, fast moving, musically varied and very funny’ Sheffield Telegraph

6

7

N E W F E S T I VA L D AT E S & OPERA LINE-UP

7 - 2 4 J U LY 2 0 2 2

The Buxton International Festival team is excited to announce our 2022 season of Rossini’s La Donna del Lago, Donizetti’s Viva la Diva, Hasse’s Antonio e Cleopatra, Kate Whitley’s Our Future in Your Hands, and Styne’s Gypsy: A Musical Fable.

LA DONNA DEL LAGO Music by Gioachino Rossini, libretto by Andrea Leone Tortola Adrian Kelly, Conductor Jacopo Spirei, Director Madeleine Boyd, Designer A Buxton International Festival production Venue: Buxton Opera House Dates: Fri 8th, Tue 12th, Fri 15th, Sun 17th, Fri 22nd July 2022 La Donna del Lago, one of the most lyrical of Rossini’s opera seria works, will be conducted by Adrian Kelly, and directed by internationally renowned Jacopo Spirei. The opera is based on the epic poem The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott, wherein Elena is being pursued by not one but two tenors: King James V, disguised as the humble Uberto, and his enemy, and rival in love, Rodrigo Di Dhu. Complicating matters is the fact that Elena herself loves Malcom (a trouser role) the son of another of the king’s political adversaries.

Set in the 16th Century Scottish Highlands, it is an opera of love, loyalty and lochs with expansive ensembles and sparkling orchestration.

Venue: Buxton Opera House Dates: Sun 10th, Thur 14th, Tue 19th, Thur 21st, Sat 23rd July 2022 Donizetti’s opera, original titled Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali, is a delightful parody about a regional opera company’s preparation for a performance of an opera seria. The plot centres on Agatha, an aging diva, who announces that she will take on a role in the opera. The role is written for a baritone and George Humphreys (who sang the title role in Eugene Onegin in 2019) slips into the role of the indestructible Agatha as if born to it. Donizetti’s score is a celebration of virtuosic music, brim filled with a combination of traditional forms that lovers of opera seria will easily recognise. Stephen Medcalf will head the Salzburg creative team and Iwan Davies will conduct the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Kit Hesketh-Harvey has been commissioned to write a new text and translation to transfer the plot to the British opera scene.

ANTONIO E C L E O PAT R A

V I VA L A D I VA

Music by Johann Adolf Hasse, libretto by Francesco Ricciardi

Music by Gaetano Donizetti

A Buxton International Festival production

Adapted from plays by Simeone Antonio Sografi, new English version by Kit Hesketh-Harvey

Venue: Pavilion Arts Centre

Iwan Davies, Conductor Stephen Medcalf, Director Yannis Thavoris, Designer Kate Watson, Choreographer 8

A Salzburg State Theatre production in association with Buxton International Festival

Dates to be announced When Johann Adolf Hasse’s serenata, Antonio e Cleopatra, was staged on a country estate near Naples in 1725, the elite audience would not have batted an eyelid that the role of Cleopatra

Buxton International Festival team and interns

was taken by the 20-year-old soprano castrato Farinelli, and that of Mark Antony by contralto Vittoria Tesi. Savouring their vocal prowess, the newly Italianised Hasse created a score whose melodic allure and deft characterisation made it an instant hit. The beauty of Hasse’s music cannot fail to captivate listeners today as it did nearly three centuries ago.

OUR FUTURE IN YOUR HANDS Commissioned by Buxton International Festival and Royal Overseas League Music by Kate Whitley, text by Laura Attridge Tom Newall, Conductor Mark Burns, Director A Buxton International Festival production in association with Royal Overseas League

Venue: St John’s Church Dates: Sun 10th, Sun 17th July 2022 Oratorios are a powerful medium for expressing important sacred and secular ideas. The BIF Creation Project will feature two contrasting oratorios that explore the ideas of creation. The Buxton Musical Society will mount a ‘Come and Sing’ performance of Haydn’s The Creation which celebrates the creation of the world, as described in the Book of Genesis. BIF has commissioned Kate Whitley to create Our Future In Your Hands (text by Laura Attridge) which explores how climate change is slowly destroying our planet.

G Y P S Y: A M U S I C A L FA B L E Music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents Paul Kerryson, Director 9

Venue: Buxton Opera House Dates: Thur 7th, Sat 9th, Wed 13th, Sat 16th, Wed 20th, Sun 24th July 2022 Following our successful collaboration with the Buxton Opera House with Sondheim’s A Little Night Music we are pleased to announce that next year’s joint production will be the Mother of All Musicals – Gypsy: A Musical Fable. Directed

by Paul Kerryson, this jewel of Broadway's Golden Age, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Arthur Laurents, boasts an incomparable score, a brilliantly conceived book, and one of the greatest leading roles ever to grace the Broadway stage. The musical follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an affectionate eye on the hardships of show business life.

Libretto after a novel by Jane Austen

THE PLANS FOR THE 2022 PROGRAMME ARE R E A L LY E X C I T I N G

Venue: St John’s Church

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FRIENDS OF BIF

M A N S F I E L D PA R K A Waterperry Opera Festival production Music by Jonathan Dove, libretto by Alisdair Middleton

Dates: Tues 12th, Thur 14th, Mon 18th, Thur 21st July 2022

VIOLET A Music Theatre Wales production cocommissioned and co-produced with Aldeburgh Festival and Theatre Magdeburg in association with London Sinfonietta Writer: Alice Birch Composer: Tom Coult Date: Mon 18th July 2022

PA U L K E R R Y S O N ’ S M E M O R I E S O F G Y P S Y Gypsy is known to be the “mother of all musicals” and for good reason!

Combine a fabulous score

by Jules Styne, book and lyrics by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim, repeating their previous huge success of West Side Story and you have the recipe for one of the most iconic musicals of all time. It is based on the true story of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee and her tempestuous relationship with Rose, her furiously ambitious mother. Although this heartwarming musical is packed with hit numbers, perhaps it is the final solo, Rose's Turn, which thrills and shocks in its bold intensity. A vocal challenge for any musical actor. The role of Rose was created by Broadway legend Ethel Merman who claimed to sing either loud or VERY loud!

However, Gypsy premiered in London with the equally legendary Angela Lansbury. I made my first ever visit to London at the age of eighteen. I was there for five nights and I was determined to see as many West End musicals as possible. Only one stood out - Gypsy with a knock out performance by Miss Lansbury! Forty years later I found myself in a London theatre number one dressing room with Janie Dee who starred in my recent Buxton Festival 10

production of A Little Night Music, and the then 90 year old Lansbury. They were both starring in a revival of Noel Cowards Blithe Spirit, but Lansbury was happy to recall her fabulous portrayal of the ruthless Rose. Her insight into the complex character of Rose and indeed the whole musical was an experience which I will never forget.

Now at last I am thrilled to be directing a new production of this classic musical for the next coproduction between the Buxton International Festival and Buxton Opera House.

Gypsy has a sophisticated and brassy score reflecting the dying days of vaudeville in 1930s America. The superb and humorous lyrics by a young Sondheim perfectly capture the highs and lows of the American Dream with Rose’s determination to make at least one of her two daughters a star. Nothing will get in her way, not even her devoted lover Herbie, but just who is Rose really batting for?

Audiences have thrilled to the story of Gypsy for over sixty years and I’m sure the 2022 Festival audiences will be equally enthralled by this funny, edgy but emotional musical. In some ways Gypsy bursts the bubble of the American Dream but in the end as Rose affirms in the Act One finale show stopping number - “Everything’s coming up Roses for you and for me”!

As the nights draw in, the two gloriously sunny weeks of the 2021 Festival seem a distant dream – but what a happy memory of summer and the chance to see live performances once again. Against the odds the Festival Team put on a fantastic show and the Friends, as ever, showed their support by returning to Buxton in their numbers. The box office sales showed that by the end of Priority Booking this year the Friends had bought 7% more of the total tickets sold compared to 2020. That’s an incredible figure, which shows how important you all are to the success of the Festival – thank you.

For those of you who like statistics, another positive figure is the 17% growth of the Friends Membership compared to 2020 – we very much hope we can carry on growing as we look to

CHRISTMAS CARDS

A Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival production

2022. Renewal letters will be in the post in early October so please do continue to support us if you can.

It was a real delight so meet and chat to so many of you at the Friends’ Days and other events during the Festival but we were also acutely aware that, for various reasons, many of our Friends weren’t able to join us this year. We really missed you and offer an extra big thanks for your ongoing support. The plans for the 2022 programme are really exciting and ideas for 2023 already emerging so I am confident that when you come back to Buxton it’ll be worth the trip to the hills!

PETE SPRIGGS Chair, Friends of Buxton International Festival

All proceeds from the sale of these cards will benefit Buxton International Festival

Cards available for mail order on our website Visit: www.buxtonfestival.co.uk/support-us/shop 10 cards with envelopes Angel Surrounded by Music Madonna and Child Angeli Laudantes 2 Christmas Foliage

114 x 160mm 141 x 141mm 141 x 141mm 141 x 141 mm

£4.25 £4.95 £4.95 £4.95

Please note postage fees will be applicable

11

N E W FA C E S

H O L I D AY S F O R F R I E N D S O F B I F

WE ARE PLEASED TO WELCOME TWO NEW TRUSTEES TO THE BIF FRIENDS BOARD

WITH JOHN WHIBLEY’S ‘HOLIDAYS WITH MUSIC’ It’s been a relief and a pleasure to be able to travel with musical holiday groups again over the past few months to Garsington, Glyndebourne, Dartington and of course Buxton itself. As the Autumn sunshine reminds us of what summer should have been like, in the spirit of ‘optimism - but with Plan B to hand’ at Whibley HQ, having taken on board Travel for the Arts, we’re busy planning ahead.

Full details of our 2022 opera holidays will be in our next brochure, out at beginning of October 21. As always we are pleased to make a contribution towards Friends fundraising for each opera holiday booked by a Friend of Buxton Opera. We’re also pleased to be able to extend to 1 December 2021, our summer Buxton Friends offer of an additional £50 towards any opera holiday if you send in a copy of this article.

After a career in the public sector in London, Sarah moved to Athens, Greece to teach English as a Foreign Language. In the Athenian heat, she wrote her first crime novel, In Bitter Chill, set in a Derbyshire Peak District winter. Her second book in the series, A Deadly Thaw, was called ‘relentless in its grip’ by the Financial Times and her third novel A Patient Fury, was the Observer’s Thriller of the Month. Her Gothic novel, The Shadowing, published as Rhiannon Ward was a Radio Times book of 2020.

She’s also the writer of Doctor Who audio dramas and her articles and short stories have appeared in The Guardian, Sunday Express magazine, Metro, and other print and online publications. She was one of the inaugural judges for The Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel.

In addition to writing, Sarah is an experienced event chair, Board Member of Derby Book Festival and the Crime Writers Association. and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Sheffield University.

12

From Chapel-en-le-Frith, Rees Webster is a musician based in the UK and in Germany.

Having grown up with the outstanding support of Derbyshire youth music-making, Rees is delighted to be involved in the local arts sector with the Friends of BIF. A freelance oboist, Rees has an active chamber music career in the UK and abroad, and has worked domestically with orchestras including the Britten Sinfonia and the London Symphony Orchestra. Rees runs the Endelienta Ensemble, a chamber orchestra who return to Cornwall this New Year for their sixth residency. A lover of arts festivals, Rees regularly performs at the Santander Encuentro and is involved in the planning for the St Endellion Easter Festival.

In 2019, Rees was a Junior Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he completed his Masters with Distinction and a Concert Recital Diploma. Rees read Music at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar, President of the Cambridge University Musical Society, Principal Conductor of the Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra and winner of the University Concerto Competition. He is a former Principal Oboe of the National Youth Orchestra, for which he was inspired to apply by the Derbyshire Youth Orchestra staff!

Please feel free to get in touch with us by email john@whibley.co.uk 01663 746578 and we’ll happily send you further info about the opera holidays listed here.

2022 OPERA HOLIDAYS Wagner’s Ring in Berlin...................3 - 10 January Opera in Venice & Trieste ...................1 - 5 March Tosca in Trieste and Le Baruffe in Venice WNO in Cardiff ...................................7 - 20 March Don Giovanni, Jenůfa, Madame Butterfly Opera in Hamburg ...........................19 - 23 March La traviata, Aida, and - at the Elbphilharmonie CBSO with Sheku Kanneh-Mason WNO in Llandudno.............................28 - 30 April Don Giovanni, Jenůfa Opera in Turin and Milan......................7 - 11 May including Un Ballo in Maschera at La Scala Opera at Grange Festival and Grange Park ...........................29 June - 2 July Tamerlano, Macbeth and Otello Opera at Garsington and Longborough ...............................22 - 26 June Orfeo, Rusalka, Die Tote Stadt Wagner’s Ring in Leipzig.......................6 - 11 July Opera in Munich...................................22 - 26 July Capriccio, Rosenkavalier and La Bohème

S AV E T H E D AT E - 1 8 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 BIF is proud to support a fundraising event, promoted by the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, BIF Board member and former Chair of the Friends, Louise Potter.

‘One Night Only’ takes place on Friday 18 February with Danielle de Niese (soprano) and Nicky Spence (Tenor), two of our finest and most acclaimed singers, performing a mixture of operatic and classical repertoire.

The Northern Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by John Andrews, and the Kinder Chorus will also be taking part.

The concert is to raise funds for backstage improvements at Buxton Opera House. To book tickets please contact the Opera House box office on 01298 72190

‘As High Sheriff of Derbyshire, I very much want to play a positive part in highlighting the outstanding heritage in our beautiful County.

Our much loved Buxton Opera House opened in 1903 and was designed by the great theatre architect, Frank Matcham. The existing back stage is outdated and needs considerable redevelopment to enable the theatre to provide the facilities that meet modern needs. Please support my fundraising initiative by buying tickets and donating. Thank you!’

LOUISE POTTER D L High Sheriff of Derbyshire 13

glug of BIF to warm us as Autumn approaches. A shorter Festival means no less gravitas amongst our speakers. a medley of operatic arias and duos, with many a story to tell.

Martin Roscoe is back!

Following his unfortunate withdrawal from the summer festival due to injury, we are delighted to welcome illustrious pianist Martin Roscoe back to our concert platform in what will no doubt be a truly inspiring recital.

THE BIG BIF WEEKEND 15 & 16 OCTOBER COME AND JOIN US IN BUXTON THIS AUTUMN FOR A WONDERFUL WEEKEND BREAK WITH MUSIC AND WORDS. For our music element of the weekend, we have a fabulous line-up of young emerging artists alongside well established performers.

We start off on Friday evening with two exquisite singers from English National Opera’s Harewood Artists scheme, Welsh soprano Rhian Lois and baritone Alex Otterburn, performing with BIF Artistic Director Adrian Kelly. They will be performing

14

For our Saturday afternoon concert, the exciting Corran Quartet (BIF Chamber Ensemble 2021) make a welcome return from their Buxton debut in July performing works by both Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Musical talent often runs in families (think of the Jackson Five or The Andrew Singers), but way before these, there were the Mendelssohns: Felix and his older sister Fanny.

For this concert, the Corran perform one of each from Felix and Fanny's quartet repertoire.

Our final musical contribution comes from the exciting Jazz group, XPQ. With award winning jazz guitarist Nigel Price (Ronnie Scotts) alongside virtuosic Greek saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos, this evening promises to be like no other!

Our literary line-up this October encompasses gothic conspiracy, political thought, the antiapartheid movement, the hastening of technological change and a memoir of family secrets. Rather than a little drop of BIF as the weather turns this should be considered a big

Often I am told that an author we have coming to Buxton is a ‘particular hero (of mine)’. With the announcement of Lord Peter Hain in our programme I have heard that phrase many times, not least from our interviewer for that event, the inimitable Gerry Northam. Peter has held the position of Secretary of State for both Wales and Northern Ireland and has been Secretary of State for work and Pensions. Peter’s book A Pretoria Boy charts his dramatic 50 year political career.

Paul Mason is a journalist and commentator who was both Economics Editor for Channel 4 News and Newsnight. Now recognised as a substantial political writer, Paul resigned from television broadcasting so that he could engage with left wing political debate outside of the confines of impartiality. Paul’s new book How to Stop Fascism has been described as ‘a visceral reminder of what's at stake, and every page is an urgent invitation to resist’ (David Lammy).

Azeem Azhar is a strategist, product entrepreneur and analyst. He serves as a member of the editorial board of the Harvard Business Review and has previously held roles at Reuters, the BBC and served as an editor at The Economist and The Guardian. Azeem’s new book which shares its title with his acclaimed podcast, Exponential, argues that we are entering a new era of human history, driven by a wave of

transformative exponential technologies. It explains why this change has come about, what effect it has on economics, politics and society, and what we should do about it.

Meriel Schindler is an employment lawyer and partner at London law firm Withers. She is also a trustee of Arvon, the writing charity.

Meriel’s book The Lost Café Schindler is both an epic family memoir and a serious social and political history which has garnered rave reviews. Meriel found the process of writing the book very cathartic, and I’m sure the impulse to try and better understand a parent after their death is something that will resonate with our Friends.

Rhiannon Ward is better known to Festival regulars as Sarah Ward, Derbyshire set crime writer, BIF interviewer and Secretary of the Crime Writers Association. As Rhiannon Ward she enjoyed critical success with her first gothic novel The Quickening and now joins us for her second novel in this genre, The Shadowing. Taking Southwell Workhouse in Nottinghamshire as her setting, Sarah once again masters ‘sense of place’ as a significant character within her plot.

Join us for a special dram of BIF literature with all the talents of the Festival you support so heartily.

15

F R O M O U R F R I E N D S AT T H E N C O ONE OF THE JOYS OF THE 2021 FESTIVAL WAS WELCOMING THE NORTHERN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BACK TO BUXTON FOR TWO PRODUCTIONS AND A CONCERT IN ST JOHN’S CHURCH. THEY ARE AN INDISPENSABLE PART OF THE FESTIVAL, ANNUALLY GARNERING RAVE REVIEWS FROM THE CRITICS. THIS YEAR WAS NO EXCEPTION. In September 2021, the NCO will return to its Macclesfield home for a season of eight concerts with a live audience, as well as giving four concerts at Manchester’s Stoller Hall, which will also be streamed online. Guest soloists include violinist Chloë Hanslip and guitarist Craig Odgen (who both performed at Buxton this summer) and cellist Raphael Wallfisch.

Artistic Director of the NCO, Nicholas Ward, said “We are presenting this season as an expression of hope – that once again people will gather together to hear live performances of great music played by excellent musicians and some great soloists. With help from the Arts Council and all our loyal supporters we have put together a concert series to stimulate, soothe, move and entertain.”

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

THE DANCING MASTER

‘A quick word for the Northern Chamber Orchestra under Wyn Davies, and the tarnished silver string-tone and haunted woodwinds of Jonathan Tunick’s Ravel-inspired original orchestrations. I’d been dreading a keyboardheavy Covid-era rescoring. This was a subtle and sophisticated treat.’

‘Credit to the conductor John Andrews and the Northern Chamber Orchestra for delivering the score with such verve.’

‘The Northern Chamber Orchestra, under Wyn Davies, with prominent woodwinds, maintains perfect balance with the singers.’

British Theatre Guide

The Times

‘John Andrews leads the Northern Chamber Orchestra in a poised but playful account of the music, which is tuneful and colourful. The one to a part ensemble becomes virtually a role in the drama itself with its busy interplay of sonorities – notably from the percussion – but it allows Don Diego, Monsieur, and Gerard to come to the fore in their extended set pieces, the closest passages to arias in this continuous score and each, in some way, a parody.’

Classical Source

16

It was with much sadness that we learned that our former colleague Liz Mackenzie had died just before this year’s Festival. Liz was the Press and PR Manager for the Festival from 2013 to 2016. She was a wonderful colleague to work with and had an energy that helped her achieve great success in everything she did, putting her heart and soul into every project she undertook.

Liz’s work at BIF helped maintain and improve the Festival’s position as one of the country’s best regarded summer festivals, enticing all the country’s national press to Buxton each July to review our rarely performed operas as well as the broadcast media channels pitching up in town to interview artists and organisers. Being a local girl, she knew the importance of reaching out to the communities that the Festival serves, informing many local groups about the marvellous events and opportunities available for them on their doorstep. The Festival was frequently featured in the Buxton Advertiser, Derbyshire Life and Pure Buxton magazines and

www.ncorch.co.uk

The Spectator

A N A P P R E C I AT I O N LIZ MACKENZIE

became a firm fixture to many local people as a result of the increased attention Liz found for the Festival.

Liz went on to work as the PR Manager for the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust, a position which kept us in touch as the Buxton Crescent development came to fruition and now a popular place for Festival visitors to stay. We will miss Liz and remember her for being such a lovely colleague and for the dedication she had in helping the Festival grow.

LEE BARNES

LAST CHANCE TO VIEW BIF D I G I TA L F E S T I VA L The BIF Digital Festival, a filmed archive of the best opera, music and book events from 2021, is available to view online until 31 October 2021.

Events include the much-praised Cendrillon as well as Roderick Williams and Susie Allan, Tabea Debus and Elizabeth Kenny, Andrew Marr, Matthew Parris, The Prime Ministers Panel and Nazir Afzal.

concerts and operas. The full pack of 18 events costs £40 (worth £125 if events bought individually).

The channel can be accessed via the events listed under the What's On page on the Buxton International Festival website.

www.buxtonfestival.co.uk/whats-on

The special BIF Digital Festival 2021 channel allows ticket holders to view recordings of the live events via a variety of devices. Prices range from £5 for individual book events to £10 for 17

NIKKI GETS H E R FA I R Y TA L E M O M E N T IN CINDERELLA SHOW BUXTON FESTIVAL FOUNDATION When we receive news of a legacy gift to the Foundation, it is always with gratitude, but also with a touch of sadness that a supporter of the Festival has died. In recent months we received two legacies, from Morwenna Brooks and Mark Brackenbury, both of whom were remembered in the Festival Programme. Their generosity brings the value of our endowment to just under £200,000.

I suggest that the 2021 Festival will be remembered as much for the enthusiasm and gratitude of the performers to be playing to a live audience as for the content of their performances. It was also a great pleasure to welcome back to Buxton many Friends that we hadn’t met in person for two years or longer. One such Friend, Judith Tanner from South Wales, wrote the following article, explaining why she had decided to include the Buxton Festival Foundation as beneficiaries of her estate - and then told me she’d done so.

JANE DAVIES Chairman, Buxton Festival Foundation 18

Better “Late” Than Never!

“

It is probably fair to say that – in financial terms – pensioners have come through this pandemic rather better than a lot of other people. Since March 2020, payments of occupational and state pensions have continued to arrive regularly in our bank accounts; and what’s more, during this period we have been unable to spend any of this income on normal recreational activities. So, what is to stop us now from donating this surplus to what we consider to be “good causes”?

In my own case, although this timely “pandemic bonus” enabled me to self-fund essential eye surgery, I am bound to confess that Caution might otherwise have headed my list of priorities in deciding what to do with any such windfall. I have always looked to my savings to top up my pension as necessary; and so, after a few carefully considered donations, my inner squirrel would probably have simply tucked most of it away in a savings fund.

But my favourite good causes would not have missed out in the long run, as my will enables me to be more generous in death than I can afford to be in life - largely because the value of my estate will include the market value of my house (unless I have had to sell it to fund an over-long dotage!). All of my bequests are expressed as fractions of my estate, which is such a simple way of inflation-proofing them all, rather than having to carry out regular reviews to update individual amounts.

I pondered whether to leave these various bequests as lovely surprises for the recipients when the time comes. Then I considered the position of a body such as the Buxton Festival Foundation, and the sheer impossibility of making any spending commitments if its entire income consists of “lovely surprises” and decided it might be helpful to advise the chairman of my intentions. I know this gives Jane Davies a vested interest in my early demise, but that’s a risk I’m prepared to take.

JUDITH TANNER Member of Friends of BIF

”

Singer Nikki Martin had her own fairy tale moment when she took the leading role as Cinderella on the Buxton Opera House stage just three years after working there backstage as an intern.

Playing the title role in Cendrillon, a 19th Century opera based on the Cinderella story, Nikki won The Guardian critic’s heart with “her silver-voiced performance” as part of the Buxton International Festival (BIF) Young Artists programme.

Nikki Martin as a festival intern, second from right

The cast was made up of the next generation of opera singers, most of them fellow graduates of the Royal Northern Colege of Music, which has a long-standing partnership with BIF. In 2018, Nikki was one of the hopeful interns who slogged away behind the scenes, running errands, clearing up, setting up and getting the lowdown on how the opera world works.

“I didn’t think I’d be up there in the spotlight, although I really wanted to be,” said Nikki.

After graduating, 24-year-old Nikki sent her CV to BIF, hoping her time as an intern had counted for something.

“It was quite surreal,” said Nikki about getting the part. “I didn’t expect it would happen in just three years.”

And The Young Artists lived up to their promise, with The Spectator reporting that the capacity audience “just kept applauding,” while The Times said: “this young Buxton International Festival is full of vocal promise.”

Nikki said: “Buxton is unique in the fact that there are so many young performers. That’s an essential career development.”

She praised the atmosphere Artistic Director Adrian Kelly creates for young artists: “You don’t feel that you’re going to get fired if you do something wrong. You feel nurtured.

Nikki Martin in Cendrillon “If you needed help or advice, there were people there who would help you to work stuff out.”

Nikki’s career has taken her from Hawaii to Vietnam, with a spell touring the UK in Gilbert and Sullivan.

“You are going to be paid to do something you like and see places you probably never would have seen and probably will never see again.”

The next stage is to move to London and build a freelance career in music, with the ultimate aim of working in Europe.

“It’s kind of the dream,” she said.

Interviewed by John Phillips 19

BECOME A SYNDICATE MEMBER

Most importantly, you will be supporting BIF’s artists and musicians as we look to the future after a couple of challenging years and reach out to new audiences.

This is your opportunity to take a leading role in next year’s operas

For more details contact joanne.williams@ buxtonfestival.co.uk or call 01298 70395 Pictured: Anne-Fleur Werner & Raimundas Juzuitis in the Salzburg production of Viva la Diva @Tobias Witzgall

Syndicates are groups of people who come together to support productions and enjoy unique insights into how we put the festival together.

Join one of our opera syndicates and follow our new production Donna del Lago from the beginning as part of the creative process right through to the opening night. Or support Viva la Diva our co-production with Salzburg State Theatre and receive invites to closed working rehearsals, find out more about the cast and conductor.

You can join one of the syndicates by supporting us with a donation and receive: t t

t t

Acknowledgement in the Festival programme Regular updates in the run up to the 2022 performances with details of characters and costumes Access to behind-the-scenes tours to see set and costumes from a new perspective Credit on the supporter’s page of our website

As a Syndicate member, you will play an important role in supporting a production from start to finish, with unique insights into the planning and rehearsal process.

JOIN OUR FESTIVAL CIRCLE Festival a circle of Business Join our Circle ofCircle, local Businesses that share patrons thatfor share yourInternational enthusiasm for Buxtonand enthusiasm Buxton Festival, International Festival, and play major role in play a major role in building thea Festival’s future. building the Festival’s future.

As a member of our Festival Circle, you’ll receive a As a member of our Festival you’ll number of unique benefi ts asCircle, a thank youreceive for youra number of unique benefits as a thank you for your support: support: t Year round website advert featuring on our t Year round website advert featuring on our ‘Where to Stay’, ‘Where to Visit’ ‘Where to Eat/ ‘Where to Stay’, ‘Where to Visit’ ‘Where to Eat/ Drink’ pages (restricted exclusively to members) Drink’ pages (restricted exclusively to members) t Quarter page advert in the Programme Book with t Quarter page advert in the Programme Book with the opportunity to upgrate at discounted rates the opportunity to upgrate at discounted rates t Two tickets to a Festival event of your choice t Two tickets to a Festival event of your choice t Festival events events t Access Access to to Priority Priority Booking Booking for for Festival t t Complimentary Complimentary Festival Festival Programme Programme t t Invitation Invitation to to launches launches and and events events For further details on becoming a Festival Circle member, contact lucy.marsden@buxtonfestival.co.uk