WELCOME Artistic Director’s

I would like to embolden you to visit on the opening weekend. There is such a special atmosphere, and this year we have a spectacular opening Monday, with concerts featuring Nicola Benedetti and the American jazz trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis.

Welcome to Buxton International Festival 2023! Once again, it has been my responsibility to put together a programme of operas and classical concerts which can both attract new audiences and meet the expectations of those who know the Festival well. I feel privileged to work alongside Victoria Dawson and Neil Hughes, whose flair for curating the book and jazz elements of the Festival never fails to amaze me.

Vincenzo Bellini was admired by romantic composers as varied as Chopin and Wagner for his extraordinary gift for melody. La sonnambula epitomises the bel canto tradition and I am excited to bring it to life in Buxton along with a dazzling young cast.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s operas are a regular feature of most summer festivals, but Il re pastore remains something of a rarity, even though it contains some of Mozart’s most exquisite music. The production will be directed by Jack Furness, one of the UK’s most exciting young stage directors.

Our third production in the Buxton Opera House is a new work which combines the music of one of the 20th century’s most gifted melodists, Ivor Novello, with the story of one of Buxton’s most celebrated figures, Vera Brittain. Directed by Kimberley Sykes, The Land of Might-HaveBeen is a new musical, which promises to be entertaining and poignant in equal measure.

Following the recent success of productions of works by Viardot, Dove and Hasse in the Pavilion Arts Centre, we will also present George Frideric Händel’s masterful Orlando in a production by the Liberata Collective, which puts authentic baroque music-making alongside authentic Baroque Gesture.

As usual, the classical music programme celebrates some of the UK’s most acclaimed musicians. Paul Lewis presents the first two parts of a four-part Schubert programme (to be completed in 2024). Joanna McGregor returns with a programme that showcases her inimitable flair. Another of the country’s leading pianists, Peter Donohoe, appears alongside the exuberant clarinettist, Sacha Rattle.

The song recitals this year have been curated by Joseph Middleton, whose ‘Seasons’ series, brings together four of the country’s finest singers: soprano Lucy Crowe, mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, tenor Nicky Spence and baritone Ashley Riches.

Other chamber music highlights include Festival favourites the Sacconi Quartet, the awardwinning Sitkovetsky Trio and also the outstanding Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. If you haven’t attended a concert in the spectacular Assembly Rooms at the Crescent, I recommend that you give it a try, and if you haven’t heard The King’s Singers live (and even if you have), you really should not miss their concert in the Octagon.

Not to be missed!

Adrian Kelly Artistic Director