B AT H L I V E S
Q&A
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he internationally renowned Iford Arts Festival entices some of the best musicians and singers to the South West, and this year is no exception. Three opera productions – all sung in English, for an intimate audience of 90 – form the backbone of the festival, with the ever-popular picnic proms and classical concerts in the enchanting miniature Italianate cloister, and a programme of stunning jazz events punctuating the season. The dreamlike atmosphere and overwhelming charm of the Grade-I listed Peto Garden at Iford is reason enough for a visit to Iford Manor, which is five miles from Bath in Bradford on Avon. But if you need another reason, the festival is particularly acclaimed for its productions of baroque opera, and this year’s dramatised Jephtha – Handel’s sensational family story – offers a rare chance to witness this wonderful work. Singers and musicians including Clare Teal and her trio, Hailey Tuck, and James Brown’s sensational saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis all make appearances over the summer, too. Here, Judy, the creative director and cofounder of Iford Arts, tells us more… For those who have been before, I would describe the Iford Arts festival as… A jewel/ Shangri-La/ Arcadia. Its location, its friendliness and its informality sets this festival apart from others. The highlights this year are… Our first-ever own production of Puccini’s La Bohème which will be conducted by Oliver Gooch with rising young tenor Anthony Flaum as Rudolfo, and Irish soprano Màrie Flavin as Mimì, together with Alison Langer as fire-spitting Musetta and Nicholas Lester as her longsuffering lover Marcello. You’ll also see our first dramatised oratorio – Handel’s dramatic account of the crisis in Jephtha’s life when he proposes to sacrifice his own daughter; singer Clare Teal; party bands at the proms; and our young singers concert in the cloister with Oliver Gooch. ‘Where else in the world can I see something like this?’ Is a comment often made by opera audiences at Iford. I was the co-founder of the festival in 1993, and it has always been my vision which has guided the festival along… Although people visit from all over the world, Iford is still seen as a well-kept secret. People living two miles away don’t always know about it. We are a tiny, so called ‘part-time’ team, working year-round in our office at Iford. It’s a family affair – the owners of the manor are ever so accommodating and are often
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JUDY EGLINGTON The co-founder of Iford Arts on the Shangri-La feel of the Iford Arts Festival, her experience of singing in a beehive tomb in Greece, and her memories of visiting the Theatre Royal Bath as a child found drinking coffee with the guests. We all do everything, we are crazily busy and work as a close team, so changes take a great deal of time. Don’t miss… Butterfly Day – a free day on 25 June for families who come to Iford to picnic and explore the wildlife of the valley, with arts, crafts and storytelling for children thrown in, too. The best bit about my job is… When we gear up for the opera festival. The production teams arrive after their London rehearsal run, and all sorts of surprising stuff and props appear in our office – from limbs, harps and theorbos, to babies and glue guns. My proudest achievement is… Seeing the potential of the cloister space at Iford, developing relationships and working with top performers to create new work there. I was born in Hilperton, grew up in Melksham and came to Bath with my mum and siblings… We would go on tiring shopping trips on Saturdays, we were regularly taken to the Theatre Royal Bath, and sometimes we sat in the gods and watched Gilbert & Sullivan – I loved it!
Bath is utterly extraordinary but I also love the countryside… I spent a lot of time staying on a farm in Atworth as a child; there was a pond where we used to catch tadpoles with a silver soup ladle. Now, my favourite places to visit in the city are Blue and Café Lucca in The Loft. My most treasured possession is an artwork by my daughter… Her name is Lucy Eglington, and a print of her latest painting hangs in our office at Iford. It’s stunning and has something big to say about climate change. Not many people know that… I love visiting unusual places and travelling. My two favourite moments were singing in a beehive tomb (good acoustics!) in Greece; and jumping out of volcanic hot springs into the shudderingly cold sea in Turkey. If I owned Bath for a day, the one thing I’d add is… An antipodean café.
The Iford Arts Festival runs from 27 May to 5 August. For more, visit www.ifordarts.org.uk