Festival and Friends 3 the Square, buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AZ
telephone: 01298 70395
friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk
2014 Festival dates: 11–27 July Visit the Festival website and join our monthly e-newsletter list for regular updates.
Message from the Chairman of Buxton Festival
The main thing that I want to say to you, as friends, is that we are very anxious to know your views about the Festival. From those of you who came, we want to know what you liked, what you did not like, what you thought about the arrangements and anything else you would like to tell us. There is an on-line questionnaire which you should have received already through the e-newsletter. If not, you can fi nd a link to it from the front page of the
New Festival Videos The Festival team are creating a series of videos for the new website so existing audiences can relive the highlights of this year’s Festival and new audiences can find out more about all aspects of the renowned summer event. This year, many performances and artists were captured on fi lm by the Festival videographer Mo El-Fatih. Mo spent many hours fi lming clips of a wide range of Festival events and interviewing artists, literary speakers, Festival friends, the Festival Board and team.
I do hope that all the Friends who were able to come to the Festival enjoyed it as much as I did. I want to congratulate Randall Shannon, Stephen Barlow, the Festival office team and all the volunteers on a very successful Festival. I think that the quality of operas and many concerts was very high, possibly the best we have ever achieved. I also want to thank Louise Potter who organises the Literary Series as well as being Chairman of the Friends. She is a volunteer in both capacities and makes a huge contribution to the Festival. This year’s Literary Series was of a consistently high standard and sold more tickets than ever before.
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk
The editing of over 12 hours of footage will take place during the next few months. The new videos will be ready to view on the Festival website and in e-shots in late autumn.
Festival website However, we also want to hear from those of you who did not come this year. We would like you to tell us why. It may be that you were just too busy; it may be that you were fi nancially stretched; it may be that you did not like the programme; it may be that you could not fi nd anywhere to stay that you liked. There may be any number of other reasons. Of course we do not want to pry into your affairs but if you have a reason for not coming that you think it would be helpful for us to know, please tell us. You could send an email to friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk or, if you don’t do computers, send me a note. We really are in listening mode. Meanwhile, thank you all for your support. Dame Janet Smith Chairman, Buxton Festival
Can you help? Would you like to help with some volunteering for the Friends’ Committee in the Festival office? If you are familiar with computerised accounts you are defi nitely the person we need. The accounts package we use for the Friends is Quickbooks which is a very simple system to use. The Committee is looking for a volunteer with time to spare, between November and January; a busy time of year when members renew their subscriptions.
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk ❘
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Message from the Chairman of the Friends Thank you for your continued support of the Festival. Without you there would not be a Festival and I am delighted so many of you keep returning every year to help make July the best month in Buxton! As I am sure you all know, this year and last we have been fundraising hard to keep the Festival going in difficult economic times and have raised an extra £50,000 to support the Festival this year. But we still really need your help if we are to continue mounting an annual arts event of opera, music and literature we have all come to love and enjoy. We know it’s a tough fi nancial time for many of you too and appreciate that the money you spend attending the Festival is valuable to you and us. We are going to write to all members later this year to ask you to consider upgrading your support one level, so if you are a Patron we ask you consider upgrading to become a Benefactor and so on. If everybody on the membership list upgraded one level we could raise an extra £283,000 helping to secure the long term future of the Festival. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my committee colleagues and all our volunteers who work tirelessly towards the success of the Festival.
Liz Mackenzie, David Heugh, Louise Potter and Randall Shannon at Chatsworth
It was a great pleasure to see so many friends in Buxton this year especially for our Friends’ Party when Stephen Barlow introduced us to the cast of the Double Bill operas which the Festival Friends sponsored this year. A most enjoyable production. Looking back a little further I would like to extend my thanks to The Duke of Devonshire for allowing the Friends to hold a reception at Chatsworth on 15 May and also to thank Investec for their support. We enjoyed a wonderful recital by Lizzie Ball and Morgan Szymanski
Friends enjoying a concert at Moorcroft House
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www.buxtonfestival.co.uk
in the magnificent Painted Hall. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Sir Philip and Lady Haworth and Philip and Pat Holland for hosting two very successful fundraising events for the Festival. These three events help raise £5,000 for the Festival. If you would like to help the Festival by hosting a lunch or musical evening please do let me know. I look forward to seeing you at our future fundraising events. Louise Potter Chairman, Friends of Buxton Festival
What the critics said 25 renowned critics and reviewers saw over 50 performances during the Festival. Reviews included five stars for La Finta from The Guardian and an excellent review for the Double Bill in the Observer. The Festival audience enjoyed reading the full range of reviews displayed on Water Street. The Double Bill ‘The 35th Buxton Festival could not have had better for its opening night’ ★★★★ The Guardian ‘The genuinely festive Double Bill is conducted by Stephen Barlow, whose imaginative programming and communicative energy have made Buxton irresistible’ The Observer ‘The Northern Chamber Orchestra was outstanding, their neat and perfectly balanced playing the joy of the evening’ Yorkshire Post
La Colombe
‘Anne Sophie Duprels put the French dialogue over superbly, of course, and sings gloriously alongside Ryan Macpherson’ Manchester Evening News ‘Anne Sophie Duprels is so alluring and sings so beautifully. Barlow conducted the Northern Chamber Orchestra briskly and with a real feel for Saint Saëns’ delightful score.’ The Arts Desk La finta giardinera ‘Harry Fehr’s Buxton staging, vividly designed by Yannis Thavoris and authoritatively conducted by Nicholas Kraemer, makes a surprisingly strong case for this disregarded piece’ ★★★★★ The Guardian ‘A dazzling, bold and inventive production bright colourful and classy’ The Arts Desk ‘There was rapturous applause at the close of Buxton Festival’s fabulous new production’ The Oxford Times
La Princesse Jaune
La finta giardiniera
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Something truly exceptional I am delighted to be writing to you about a Festival marked by what may well prove to be an absolutely unique Buxton event, namely the superb weather which lasted without fail for the duration of a splendid 17 day span. I do hope it won’t be the exception to the rule about Buxton and summer rain, but the chances are that we were treated to something truly exceptional, which as always in this country was such a surprise that our venues and their proprietors had trouble keeping us all cool. That was difficult enough for our audiences certainly, but our artists, singers and instrumentalists alike bore the sometimes sweltering temperatures in the main, although we all know what extreme heat can do to intonation and mood! But a pleasant spin off was that open necked shirts added to the attentive informality of the Festival, and even Mr Stephen Gadd at the enjoyable Royal Gala left his tail coat in the wings when the spotlights and ambient temperature became too much for him. The Literary series this summer proved the flourishing nature of interest everywhere in authors’ appearances and conversations mixed with visits from those with a high profi le in the media. It was a record breaking year at Buxton. Our literary series grows and grows,
and next year you can expect even more variety and depth as we develop this burgeoning arm of the Buxton Festival, hoping to entice the busiest novelists and commentators to what is now a literary series competing happily with Cheltenham and Hay on Wye. There was also a noticeable and gratifying growth of interest in the high quality Concert Series; an invigorating and diverse series taking in the best of Chamber Music and musicians, recitals and Music Theatre. To have witnessed someone as fi ne and sophisticated as Anne Sophie Duprels giving two performances of Poulenc’s masterpiece La Voix Humaine was one thing, but to hear Pascal Roge accompanying her was a rare pleasure. The Fibonnacci Sequence too, presenting different players of the highest and renowned quality from concert to concert, in programmes mixing classics with rarely heard masterpieces, gave some stunning performances in a wonderfully inclusive atmosphere stripped of stiffly-ironed formality. The very best of chamber music and musicians and invigorating programming is now a fi xture at Buxton, added to which are concerts from our own Northern Chamber Orchestra, who are as much part of the family here as anyone. Their playing and commitment, as they worked extremely hard during the Festival for all to see, raises standards even higher.
Stephen Barlow
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www.buxtonfestival.co.uk
Operatically, the Festival continues to provide experiences unavailable elsewhere, bringing back artists who are now well known, alongside those whose names will, without doubt, become household names, as well as visiting companies of impeccable pedigree. We provided something for everyone’s curiosity this year, from Vivaldi’s fi rst opera to a Music Theatre Wales UK premiere, by way of Mozart, Gounod, Saint-Saens, Messager and Britten, the latter to sold out performances. The mix from year to year and in the longer term affords us the opportunity to provide productions and quality of performance, that others look at a touch jealously. For this we and our broader audiences, are grateful to all those who support us, particularly the Friends. These are difficult times fi nancially for all of us. This becomes clearer as more of us fi nd our means being stretched, and the Festival is no exception. However, as we raise the national and international profi le and strengthen our foundations, I am certain that ever higher standards, our traditional focus on operatic repertoire that is worthy of production but lesser known, a shared belief in the rewards of Buxton’s unique focus as a broad arts Festival and the Festival’s growing worth in Buxton’s own and the region’s longer term development, we shall continue to flourish splendidly. Stephen Barlow Artistic Director
Literary Series Review— Breaking Records for Books! We are happy to announce that the Literary Series at this year’s Festival broke all records, selling more than 10,000 seats for a series of packed-out talks by some of the country’s best-known authors. It was certainly not just quantity, but quality too that prevailed, sending audiences away informed, entertained, and eager for more next year. In the spirit of a festival where opera reigns supreme, the series was bookended by two events that explored that most enigmatic of art forms: Peter Conrad’s scintillating discussion with Artistic Director Stephen Barlow, and Barry Millington’s magisterial survey of Wagner, ‘Sorcerer of Bayreuth’. Away from the writer’s desk, designer Thomas Heatherwick explained to Joanna Lumley how some of his most eyecatching creations came into being, and the Duke of Devonshire took us on a delightful trawl through the treasures of Chatsworth, old and new. Nick Robinson brought the house down with stories from behind the newsdesk of Downing Street and beyond, while Chris Mullin and Ann Widdecombe each provided their own inimitable take on the vagaries of politics and politicians. Roy Hattersley turned his attention to the Devonshires, Antonia Fraser brought the drama of the Great Reform Bill vividly to life, Jane Ridley reinvigorated the somewhat jaded figure of Bertie (Edward VII), and Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson delighted a packed
Ann Widdecombe
house with vignettes from the annals of diplomacy. And while Simon Jenkins took us through a rollicking history of England, encompassing all this and much more, William Dalrymple whisked us to far-flung Afghanistan and the unimaginable dramas of the Great Game. Some of our bestknown speakers came to talk about novels they had written: Melvyn Bragg’s semiautobiographical Grace and Mary, Sandi Toksvig’s Valentine Grey and Frances Osborne’s Park Lane, while veterans Jane Gardam and Duke of Devonshire with Waterstones staff Deborah Moggach discussed their something for everyone in this year’s latest work. We dipped into Jane Austen Literary Series, and we hope to bring with John Mullan, humanism with A.C. an equally exciting feast of ideas and Grayling, church architecture with the opinions to the Festival next year. irrepressible Matthew Rice, walking with Julia Bradbury and birdwatching Louise Potter and Ariane Bankes with Derek Niemann – truly, there was
Nick Robinson
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Audience Survey 2013 At the time of going to press, we’re still collecting responses from our 2013 online survey. It’s clear that there’s much work to be done before the 2014 Festival, but so far the input we’ve had from those who have replied has been very encouraging. 81.9% were very satisfied with their visit to Buxton, with 90.2% rating the Festival’s value for money excellent or good. We continue to have a very loyal on-going audience, with 52.7% of the audience having attended more than 5 Festivals, and 54.4% of the respondents being Friends of Buxton Festival. 61.3% still book as a result of the initial brochure mailing.
the Buxton Fringe and the most popular opera companies are Opera North, English National Opera, English Touring Opera and Welsh National Opera. As always we have been very interested to hear your comments. Inevitably, some of them drew attention to areas where there might be room for improvement with, as you might expect, the most regularly voiced issues being the heat and sound quality in the Opera House and Arts Centre and the lack of numbered seating in St John’s Church. We will certainly be passing on your thoughts to the Opera House and Pavilion Gardens in an attempt to improve matters for next year. However, it’s also been heartening to
Although the average age of our audience remains high, it was very encouraging to see increased numbers in both the 31–44 and 45–54 age groups compared with last year. In terms of the information that we put out, it was heartening to fi nd that, when asked ‘How informative is the Festival brochure?’ 88.8% rated it excellent or good, with 82.9% rating our new website as excellent or good. 96.6% of you were very satisfied with the ticket booking process. Interestingly, despite some of the issues encountered this year (and we’ll come to those when we discuss the comments later), 92.1% rated the venues as satisfactory. In 2006, we asked whether you would like more opportunities for online booking and the majority said no. Now 55.3% of you prefer to book online – a sign of how computers have changed all of our lives. That said, in terms of using social networking as a marketing tool for the Festival, 62.7% of the audience are not signed up to Facebook, Twitter etc – it’ll be interesting to see how that develops in the coming years. Opera remains the most important aspect of the Festival to you, with the music and literary series now about neck-andneck behind. 62.3% of you are still most influenced by the repertoire on offer. 50.4% come from within 50 miles of Buxton – and as a consequence don’t pay for accommodation! Your top three papers are The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph. Most popular other events and venues visited are Buxton Opera House, The Lowry, Bridgewater Hall, Glyndebourne and
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receive more positive comments such as: ‘I think the Festival line up is amazing and we are very lucky to have it in Buxton’, ‘the best opera programme for several years’ and ‘Love it! The friendliest week of the year.’ We’re not being complacent but it’s always good to get the plaudits as well as the brickbats! The survey will remain available until the end of September, so please do take the time to complete it. If you’re not online, drop us a note to the office address, or email info@buxtonfestival.co.uk if you have any comments you’d like to make. Robbie Carnegie Marketing Manager
HRH The Duke of Gloucester attends the Festival’s Opera Gala HRH the Duke of Gloucester was joined by HM Lord-Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Derbyshire at a stunning Gala at Buxton Festival on Sunday 7 July. The performances by two of the country’s most sought-after singers, celebrated soprano Claire Rutter and acclaimed baritone Stephen Gadd, were described as ‘superb’ by a renowned opera reviewer. The Duke of Gloucester commented that ‘Buxton Festival has enriched the lives of countless people from the historic spa town, across the UK and beyond since 1979. It is clear that Buxton and it’s festival are entering a golden era.’ The evening was kindly sponsored by the Manchester office of Brewin Dolphin.
HRH The Duke of Gloucester with Alan Wells and Dame Janet Smith
David Heugh our Director of Fundraising looks back on his first 9 months Well, I have now experienced my very first Buxton Festival. What did I expect? Well, I certainly didn’t expect a tropical heat wave for nearly 3 weeks! Instead of commuting daily from Sheffield, I lived on Broadwalk for the Festival duration and I was really able to immerse myself in the feel, atmosphere and amazing friendliness of the Festival. Many of our new sponsors were funding the morning Literary talks so I was in early every day and then the evening events gave me the opportunity to meet current and potential Benefactors and Funders during the intervals or after the operas. We really do have some very loyal supporters who see coming to the
Jonathan Wragg, Chief Executive of Investec with Dame Janet Smith at Chatsworth
Festival as their cultural event of the year. All the Literary speakers were generous in giving credit to our sponsors, even The Duke of Devonshire, who said that it was the fi rst time he had been sponsored! Box Office income, the Friends, and statutory funding will never meet the costs of arts organisations or festivals like ours and therefore fundraising from Trusts and the private sector is crucial. In addition to long standing supports like the University of Derby and the Old Hall Hotel we have been successful in bringing on board companies like Investec Wealth, Northern Rail, Virgin Money, Virgin Trains, Hilton Hotels, Thornbridge Brewery, Hidden Hearing, Central Technology, The Fox and Goose, Iconic Events, Brewin Dolphin, Clipper Tea and Waterstones. Our previous bookshop partner was delighted that we had secured Waterstones this year to provide the Festival bookshop and organise the literary signings. Having a national brand as a partner also helps me to attract other companies and we certainly hope that Waterstones will continue the partnership. At one point, Waterstones emailed their one million Loyalty Card holders with an advertisement for the Festival reaching an audience we could never hope to reach. As well as the Festival, Investec Wealth sponsored a May Friends’ event at Chatsworth and they are kindly
sponsoring the 7 November Friends’ event at Whirlowbrook Hall in Sheffield. Still in Sheffield, we hosted The Master and Mistress Cutler and The President and Chairman of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce for most of the events on 8 July and they have agreed on further talks to try and increase the number of visitors from the greater Sheffield region. We also had fi rst-time support from The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield City Hall and Music in the Round in the form of emailing our Festival programme to thousands of their supporters and we will do the same for them in return. On the other side of the Pennines there is also tremendous potential. The Manchester office of Brewin Dolphin sponsored our Royal Opera Gala on 7 July at the Opera House and used the event to entertain 30 of their top clients and I hope this will encourage other North West fi rms to come on board next year. As Director of Fundraising, there is a delicate balancing act of bringing in funding and sponsorship and still keeping the artistic integrity and ethics of our very special Festival organisation. I certainly hope that you can see and recognise that we are doing this and of course I welcome any help and especially, good introductions!
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk ❘
David Heugh Director of Fundraising
September 2013
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Thank you for the opportunity During the Festival, I worked as part of a small team of six Festival Assistants, who worked alongside the office team ensuring the smooth running of the Festival. We had various roles including frontof-house responsibilities, working closely with the artists before and after performances, surtitles, hosting cast parties and many more. It was a great chance for us to see how a festival of this calibre runs from the inside out, as well as the challenges the company faces including funding and customer satisfaction. It was also a great
opportunity to meet and work alongside some great people, from the assistants themselves who I’m sure we have formed some strong friendships through, as well as people we would hope to work with in the future such as directors/backstage/musicians. Overall, the Festival was a brilliant four weeks away in surprisingly sunny Buxton and I would defi nitely like to be a part of it again. Charlie Tarrant Festival Assistant
Buxton Festival Assistants 2013
Jim Robinson and Alan Buckley The Friends of Buxton Festival mourn the passing of Jim Robinson and Alan Buckley, two stalwart supporters of the Festival and the Friends Committee. Jim died on Saturday 4 May aged 72. Friends’ Chairman, Vice Chairman and programme note writer for the Festival programme book for many years, he will be remembered for his great wit and sense of humour! Jim was involved with the Festival from the beginning, helping Malcolm Fraser backstage and joined the Buxton Festival Society in 1987 which is now renamed as the Friends of Buxton Festival Committee where he served as Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary over many years. In 1999 he forged a partnership with Glyn Foley, the Festival’s Chief Executive, to write programme notes for the Festival Programme Book, a prized souvenir for Festival goers over many years and to the present day. He will be greatly missed by Festival Friends, Committee Members and many others who enjoyed his friendship, his amazing knowledge of music and opera and above all his sense of humour. His memory will live on through his programme notes and through the remembrances of the many Friends of the Festival who knew him. We will remember his wonderful witty introductions to Friends’ events, whether the Opera Study Days, or the Opera Breaks, or events held in the homes of long standing friends of the Festival. My personal memories started from the time of my Chairmanship of the Southern Friends of the Buxton Festival, a London
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based group who held events to spread awareness of the Festival and to raise money for the Festival. During many telephone conversations with Jim, as Friends’ Chairman a great deal of humour was exchanged! Our Committee always appreciated his support of our work. We all remember his nurturing of the talent of young musicians and his concern for the success of their careers. Alan died on Friday 3 May after a long illness bravely borne. Alan and his wife Anne, became Friends of the Festival in 1988. In 2001 Alan became Secretary of the Friends’ Committee under the Chairmanship of Charles Richardson, and retired from the Secretaryship in 2009. His quiet efficiency and his sense
Jim Robinson and Alan Buckley
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of humour were much appreciated by the Committee members. He was a man of words, a man of talking and listening, and a man of wit and humour. Upon retirement from a lifetime of working as a lawyer, Alan was thrown into a village life that he loved. A dedicated committee man, he loved being part of an organisation that would actually do something. His involvement in the Buxton Festival and Eyam Museum all point to a Service Before Self attitude. He will be remembered as a fi xer of problems and smoother of feathers and a rock solid, dependable and unflappable man. Esther Allbutt Friends’ Committee
Successful Festival Launches April was an exciting and busy time for our Buxton Festival Launches which were held in Sheffield, London, Manchester and on our home patch here in Buxton. Our Chairman Dame Janet Smith, Randall Shannon, Stephen Barlow and David Heugh were all involved in giving presentations and encouraging new companies and contacts to be involved in this year’s Festival. The fi rst Launch, sponsored by Central Technology Ltd, was held at the Crucible Theatre and The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, The Master and Mistress Cutler were among 90 senior figures from the world of industry and commerce to hear about this year’s exciting programme. This was our fi rst high profi le Launch in Sheffield and resulted in 3 new sponsorship deals. Our Buxton MP, Andrew Bingham, kindly facilitated the London Launch at the House of Commons. The Terrace Pavilion overlooking the Thames is one of the most exclusive venues in London and over 130 senior figures from the arts, commerce and politics enjoyed the sunshine and our hospitality. The Rt Hon. Maria Miller MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport gave the official welcome and well-praised the work of
London Launch
Manchester Launch
Buxton Festival and our economic and artistic impact on the region. Matthew Parris kindly came and spoke about his passion for Buxton Festival to the assembled guests. The networking was excellent and we gained lots of new contacts. The team then raced back to Buxton for our Launch the very next day on home territory in The Pavilion Café where over a hundred friends, funders, supporters and volunteers were interested to hear about the July Opera, Music and Literary programme. Our fi nal Launch a week later was kindly sponsored by Virgin Money at their superb Customer Lounge in King Street Manchester. We see lots of untapped potential from the Manchester region, so our Launch focused on guests from the corporate and commercial sector and was extremely successful in terms of contacts and enquiries. In all the Launches we emphasised the benefits of the corporate sector sponsoring, supporting and linking with Buxton Festival. Additionally, there is nothing like a personal introduction to a potential sponsor or funder and those are always welcome! David Heugh Director of Fundraising
Sheffield Launch
Buxton Launch
Tutti Concert This autumn the Festival is coordinating a large-scale project for young instrumentalists in the area. The project involves working in partnership with the Derby City and Derbyshire Music Partnership, Dark Peak Music Service and Peak District Music Service. The younger children who play in the two music centres’ Intermediate Wind Bands will take part in workshops led by composer Duncan Chapman to compose and rehearse a new piece of music for wind band. The young people who play in the two music centres Senior groups – Peak District String Orchestra and Dark Peak Youth Orchestra will come together to create a symphony orchestra to be conducted by Festival Artistic Director Stephen Barlow. Stephen will conduct the orchestra in performances of William Walton’s Henry V Suite and Beethoven’s Leonora. The project culminates in Tutti—a concert on 20 October at St John’s Church at 7pm—when the children and young people’s hard work will be celebrated with a public performance. We would like to invite Friends of Buxton Festival to support this project by attending the concert which will be of the highest standard. Tickets can be purchased on the door (£5 adults and children free). Buxton Festival is currently fundraising for this project in order to be able to deliver it at no cost to the young people or organisations involved. If you would like to make a donation to support this exciting project please send a cheque (made payable to Buxton Arts Festival Limited) to Claire Barlow, Buxton Festival, 3 The Square, Buxton SK17 6AZ.
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Friends’ Opera Holidays— February to May 2014 We are pleased to offer the Friends through our travel partner, Grosvenor Travel, a fantastic range of opera holidays from February to May 2014. Enjoy an escape from the winter gloom to the mild climate of Barcelona and hear Juan Diego Flórez sing Bellini at the Liceu, whilst Ferruccio Furlanetto sings Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. At the beginning of April there is the opportunity to visit Norway’s two leading cities: Bergen and Oslo. Bergen is set amongst incredible fjörd scenery whilst Oslo has possibly the fi nest modern European opera house. The Golden Cockerel and Don Giovanni are our double-bill. May is one of the most popular months to travel and we have no less than three holiday choices. Continuing our exploration of Eastern European countries and their opera houses, we visit Warsaw and the still relatively unknown gem city of Wroclaw, where they also perform lots of opera! Mid-May is an incredible time to visit Canada. Travelling to Toronto, Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa we can see up to four operas by Puccini, Massenet, Verdi and Donizetti and enjoy a wonderful very inclusive itinerary.
Outreach Programme This year we have taken a new approach to our work with young people and the community. We now co-ordinate a year-round programme of Outreach projects all under the umbrella theme of ‘music and words’. Projects aim to engage with different sections of our community, help local schools to deliver quality music education, help with specific social needs with creative arts based projects, provide platforms and opportunities for young people and artists who have potential, foster an interest in performing arts in our community, and work in partnership with local organisations to encourage shared resources and expertise. This year projects included musical storytelling sessions for under-5-yearolds, singing master-classes for secondary school choirs at which vocal coaches taught the choir the marching chorus from Carmen, two-day ‘introduction to opera’ workshops in primary schools in which the children composed and performed their own 20-minute opera, an electronic composition project for teenagers, a concert for children with special needs, concert in day-care and residential centres for the elderly, and a national poetry competition with associated schools workshops. Here are some comments from participants: Singing Master-classes: ◾ “It was a really nice experience and I loved all the acting, singing and movement” ◾ “It was amazing. The singing was fabulous. The acting magical and overall it was better than what I can say in words.”
◾ “It was different (in a good way) it raised my confidence as a singer; it gave me a chance to experience and to hear professional singers.” Electronic Composition: ◾ “I liked all of the imagination that we used and all of the creativity. I liked how we made all of the music ourselves and how it was our own.” ◾ “I liked listening to all the sounds and hearing them all come together to make a piece of music.” Introduction to Opera: ◾ “I enjoyed making up our own world” ◾ “I learn how to stand in front of an audience and how to work in a team” This summer for the fi rst time we included a series of family and free events at the Festival. In total over 6,000 people came to events ranging from storytelling, to immersive theatre inside a giant metal whale, to a touring exhibition from the National Gallery. These events aim to develop new, wider audiences for the Festival and we look forward to continuing this strand of our programming in the future. All Outreach projects are offered at no cost to participants, so we greatly appreciate the support of our lead supporter The University of Derby along with a range of other corporate sponsors, charitable trusts and foundations, individual donors, local authorities and Arts Council England. If you would like to help support this aspect of the Festival’s work you may like to consider a donation to our dedicated Education Fund. Simply send a cheque (made payable to Buxton Arts Festival Limited) to Claire Barlow, Buxton Festival, 3 The Square, Buxton SK17 6AZ.
Late May we return to Spain to the country’s other two leading opera houses, Bilbao and Madrid. We visit historic Spain from the Basque country to the capital stopping in Burgos and Segovia on the way. Great singers such as Marcello Giordani, Martina Serafi n and Anne Sofie von Otter star in Turandot, Orphée et Eurydice and Les contes de Hoffmann. We do hope you can join the Friends in at least one of our opera holidays. Please see the enclosed brochure for full details.
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Professor John Coyne, Lady Jasmine Cavendish and Randall Shannon with some of this year’s Poetry Competition winners
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Friends’ Events New venue
Stephen Barlow & Friends
Autumn Opera Break
Annual General Meeting
Buxton Opera House 8 & 9 November
Lee Wood Hotel, Buxton Friday, 7 February, 2014 at 11.30am
Stephen Barlow and Joanna Lumley’s Studio, London Wednesday, 9 October at 7pm
We are delighted to have been invited by Stephen and Joanna for a musical evening in their central London studio. Our esteemed Artistic Director, Stephen Barlow will be joined by two leading singers to present a programme of operatic favourites. More details will be available on the Festival website for this event soon. The evening will include food and wine. Tickets £60. Directions will be sent to those who book. New venue
Just Wyn! Whirlowbrook Hall, Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield Thursday, 7 November at 7pm Sponsored by Investec
We are delighted that our entertainment for this Friends’ event will be the conductor and pianist Wyn Davies. Regular visitors to the Festival will be familiar with Wyn’s own particular brand of light-hearted entertainment at the piano which never fails to entertain when he switches to his alter ego as a fabulous cabaret entertainer—there is simply no one better. We have chosen the lovely Whirlowbrook Hall, a new venue for us and hope that our many Sheffield friends and those who live in the surrounding towns and villages will wish to join us for this special evening. The evening will start with a Wyn Davies welcome glass of fi zz and include a 3-course dinner, menu: Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup Baked Chicken Breast and Prosciutto Passion Fruit Crème Brûlée A vegetarian option will also be available. Tickets £60.
All members welcome to attend and fi nd out more about how the Friends’ is run and also details about the 2014 Festival. Booking opened for this event with our last newsletter. We now have a limited number of single rooms for those wishing to book a residential package. Briefly the programme is as follows: Friday, 8 November 4.30pm
Welcome drink
5pm
two-course dinner
6.30pm
pre-opera talk
7.30pm
The Coronation of Poppea by Monteverdi
Saturday, 9 November 11.00am Coffee 11.30am English Touring Opera Recital 12.30pm Sandwich lunch 5pm
two-course dinner
6.30pm
pre-opera talk
7.30pm
Agrippina by Handel
AGM Lunch Lee Wood Hotel, Buxton Friday, 7 February, 2014, 12.30pm
Our fi rst event of the year is a convivial lunch for members following the Annual General Meeting. £30 including coffee. Menu: Pea and Ham Soup Roast Chicken Supreme Apple and Cinnamon Crumble Vegetarian option: Assortment of Seasonal Melon Wild Mushroom and Madeira Risotto Fresh Fruit Salad New venue
Spring Recital and Lunch Upper House, Kinder Road, Hayfield Wednesday, 14 May, 2014, 12.30pm
Price per person sharing a twin or double room is £325. Single room package is £365, including 2 nights D, B&B at the Old Hall Hotel and top price seats in the Dress Circle for both operas. You may wish to organise your own accommodation at one of the many local B&Bs if so you can book the nonresidential package at £160. Members wishing to extend their stay may like to know Opera North’s visit to The Lowry this autumn will include 3 Britten operas: Tuesday, 5 November: Peter Grimes Wednesday, 6 November: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Thursday, 7 November: Death in Venice
By kind invitation of Nicola Hudson we are delighted to offer to members this exciting opportunity to visit Upper House, once home to Sir James Watts, Lord Mayor of Manchester, for a recital and lunch. The programme for this event will be announced soon on the Festival website. Sir James Watts, as Lord Mayor of Manchester and very wealthy textile merchant, entertained many society figures at his shooting parties. His son, also James, became the brother-in-law of Agatha Christie who enjoyed many stays at the house. This beautiful home is surrounded by stunning tranquil countryside and isolated on one side by Kinder Scout. Our event will include music in the Banqueting Hall followed by lunch. Tickets £45.
New venue
Christmas Event Fairleigh, 5 Marlborough Road, Buxton Friday, 6 December at 6.30pm
We are delighted to have been invited by Guy Milner Esq, a new resident of Buxton and long-time supporter of the Festival to share an evening with him in his beautifully restored Victorian residence just behind the Devonshire Dome. We have invited singers from the Buxton Musical Society to join us for some musical entertainment. Wine and food will be served on arrival. Tickets £25.
Upper House, Hayfield
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk ❘
September 2013
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Festival Chairman: Dame Janet Smith Executive Director: Randall Shannon Artistic Director: Stephen Barlow Friends’ Patron: Donald Maxwell Friends’ Chairman: Louise Potter Buxton Festival Foundation Chairman: Ian Johnston Buxton Arts Festival Limited: Registered Charity No. 276957
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September 2013 ❘ www.buxtonfestival.co.uk
Friends of Buxton Festival: Registered Charity No. 513970