Buxton International Festival Brochure 10 - 27 July 2025

EVENTS DIARY 2025

THURSDAY 10 JULY

7pm Ineza p27

9.30pm Graham Clark Quartet p27

FRIDAY 11 JULY

12pm Emily Masser Quartet p28

2pm David Goodhart p28

2.30pm Trio JDM p30

7pm Sir Stephen Hough p29

8pm Baiana p31

10.30pm Butcher's Brew p30

SATURDAY 12 JULY

10am Petroc Trelawny p32

1pm Alan Barnes p32

12.30pm Diane Abbott p33

3pm Anna Seward, A Woman of Enlightenment p33

5.45pm Opera Talk: Hamlet p16

6pm Song at Six p16

7pm Hamlet p18

7pm 100 Years of Oscar Peterson with Dean Stockdale and Strings p34

10pm Emma Rawicz Quartet p34

SUNDAY 13 JULY

9am Milo Harper p35

11am Festival Mass p17

1pm Dodeka p35

2.30pm Mēla Guitar Quartet p36

3pm The Birth of Buxton's 'Belle Epoque' p37

4pm Xhosa Cole Quartet p37

5.30pm Apollo's Cabinet p36

6pm Opera Talk: Shorts p16

7.15pm Shorts p24

8pm Georgina Jackson p38

9.30pm Craig Ogden Ensemble p38

MONDAY 14 JULY

10am Sarah Rainsford p39

11.15am The Portrait Players p39 2pm Ben Chu p40

5.30pm Opera in the Cavern p41 6pm Dr Ruth Larsen p41

6pm Opera Talk: Orphée p16

7.15pm Orphée p26

TUESDAY 15 JULY 10am Bendor Grosvenor p42 11.15am Gregory Feldmann and Nathaniel LaNasa p42 12.30pm James Rebanks p43 3pm Blessin Adams p43 3pm Three Tales to Retail p44 3pm Wigmore Soloists p44 6pm Opera Talk: Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine p16 6pm Opera Talk: Shorts p16 7.15pm Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine p22 7.15pm Shorts p24

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY

10am Claire Hubbard-Hall p45 11am Friends’ Day in the Assembly Rooms p45 11am The Three Dukes p44 11.15am Roderick Williams and Joseph Middleton p45

12.30pm Erling Kagge p46 3pm The King's Singers p46 4pm Duncan Weldon p47 6pm Opera Talk: Hamlet p16

7.15pm Hamlet p18 8pm Swingtime Big Band with Emma Holcroft and Matt Ford p47

THURSDAY 17 JULY

3pm Sex and Georgian Sensibilities p40 3pm Sacconi Quartet p40

9.30am Come and Sing with The King's Singers p48 10am Jonathan Sumption p48 11.15am Niamh O'Sullivan and Joseph Middleton p49 3pm Anna Seward, A Woman of Enlightenment p33 3pm Solem Quartet p49 4pm Iain MacGregor p50

6pm The King's Singers and Friends p50

5.30pm Musicals in the Cavern p51

6pm Opera Talk: The Impresario p16

7.15pm The Impresario p20

9.15am Jamie MacDougall as Lauder p51

FRIDAY 18 JULY

10am Joe Tucker p52

11am The Birth of Buxton's 'Belle Epoque' p37

11.15am Toby Spence and Joseph Middleton p52

12.30pm Jeremy Hunt p53

3pm The English Concert p53

3pm Masud Husain p54

6pm Dr Peter Collinge p54

7pm Opera Talk: Shorts p16

7.15pm Shorts p24

8pm Clare Teal, Denny Ilett, Lizzie Ball and the Orchestra of Opera North p55

SATURDAY 19 JULY

10am Lola Young p56

11.15am Mary Bevan and Joseph Middleton p57

12.30pm Polly Toynbee and David Walker p58

3pm Sex and Georgian Sensibilities p40

3pm Braimah Kanneh-Mason and Jâms Coleman p58

3pm Lady Nade p59

7pm Opera Talk p16

7.15pm Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine p22

8pm Barb Jungr Sings Dylan and Cohen p59

SUNDAY 20 JULY

11am Anna Seward, A Woman of Enlightenment p33

11am Festival Mass p17

1.45pm Opera Talk p16

2pm A Night With Josephine p60

3pm Hamlet p18

3pm Chloë Hanslip with Danny Driver p60

OPERA MUSIC BOOKS JAZZ WALKS

6pm Opera Talk: Orphée p16

7.15pm Orphée p26 8pm Rumer p61

MONDAY 21 JULY

10am Roman Krznaric p62 11.15am Fibonacci Quartet p62

3pm Three Tales to Retail p44 3pm Piatti Quartet p63

6pm Dr Richard Gaunt p63

6pm Opera Talk: The Impresario p16 6pm Opera Talk: Shorts p16

7.15pm Shorts p24 7.15pm The Impresario p20

TUESDAY 22 JULY

10am Helen Lewis p64

11am Sex and Georgian Sensibilities p40 11.15am Daniel Shao and George Todică p64 12.30pm William Dalrymple p65 3pm Celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen p65 4pm Laurence Rees p66

5.45pm Opera Talk: Hamlet p16

6pm Song at Six p16 7pm Hamlet p18

8pm Liza Pulman Sings Streisand p66

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY

10am Friends’ Day in the Assembly Rooms p67 10am Roger Clough p67

11am On The Medicinal Use of Buxton Water p67

11.15am Hope Cramsie p68 12.30pm John Crace p69 3pm The Williams-Howard Prize Concert p68 3pm The Birth of Buxton's 'Belle Epoque' p37

4pm The Tallis Scholars p70 4pm Lucy Hughes-Hallet p71 6pm Opera Talk p16

EVENTS DIARY CONTENTS

7.15pm Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine p22

8pm The Nightcreatures Duo p71

THURSDAY 24 JULY

10am Helen Castor p72

11am The Three Dukes p45

11.15am Alissa Firsova with Jane Burnell and Dan D’Souza p44

12.45pm Opera Talk: The Impresario p16

2pm The Impresario p20

3pm Imogen Cooper p73

4pm Ian Collins p73

4.45pm Opera in the Cavern p41

5.30pm Musicals in the Cavern p51

6pm Opera Talk: Orphée p16

7.15pm Orphée p26

FRIDAY 25 JULY

10am Joan Smith p74

11am Mark Stone and Stephen Barlow p74

12.30pm Gordon Corera p75

3pm Three Tales to Retail p44

3pm Alissa Firsova with the Belinfante Quartet and Will Duerden p76

4pm Sumit Paul-Choudhury p76

6pm Opera Talk p16

6pm Opera Talk: Shorts p16

7.15pm Shorts p24

7.15pm Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine p22

10am Peter Parker p77

SATURDAY 26 JULY

12.30pm Rev Richard Coles p77

11.15am Leo Popplewell p78

3pm Benjamin Grosvenor p78

4pm Simon Jenkins p79

6pm Opera Talk: The Impresario p16

7.15pm The Impresario p20

8pm The Entertainers p79

SUNDAY 27 JULY

11am Festival Mass p17

Scan the QR CODE to view our ‘Whats On’ listings online.

PAGES

THE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

Buxton is a beautiful spa town, home to breathtaking architecture. There are plenty of green spaces to enjoy, an abundance of lovely cafes and restaurants, and our venues are all within a few minutes’ walking distance of each other. Admire views of the Peak District countryside from the town centre and get involved in the buzz of Festival life.

A TYPICAL DAY

Live performance and music abound during the Festival. You can delve into one event, or make a day, a weekend, or a week of it, or join us for the entirety! Here’s what a typical day might look like:

10am Start your day with an opinion-forming book talk

11.15am Relax at a concert in the glory of St John’s Church

12.30pm Join the big conversations of the day at a pre-lunch book event

3pm Indulge in more world-class music at St John’s

4pm Hear from leading academics, writers and speakers at an afternoon book talk

6pm Get insights into the operas from BIF’s creative teams at a pre-opera talk

7.15pm Spectacular opera, featuring world renowned singers, at Buxton Opera House

8pm Late-night jazz at the Palace Hotel or at the Pavilion Arts Centre

OUR HISTORY

Buxton International Festival has been thrilling audiences since 1979. We have a reputation for offering often once-in-a-life-time opportunities to hear sublime but rarely performed operas.

Initially founded to help restore Buxton Opera House, the Festival has run every year bar 2020, when our Digital Series was launched. Internationally acclaimed singers, musicians and speakers are all attracted to the spa town, and our Young Artists Programme continues to introduce audiences to the rising stars of the future.

Being

nominated for ‘Festival of the Year’ at the International Opera Awards and for ‘Achievement in Opera’ at the UK Theatre Awards has been an immensely rewarding honour.

We warmly welcome you to Buxton and the 46th Buxton International Festival. This year, we honour Malcolm Fraser’s vision for his fledgling festival by staging a new production of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, last seen at the Opera House in 1980. At the same time, we look to the future of opera by commissioning four short operas and by continuing our collaboration with the Norwich Theatre Royal in a joint production of a Double Bill: Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Poulenc’s La voix humaine. We are also thrilled to welcome the creative team from Opera Zuid in the Netherlands, presenting their sumptuous production of Mozart’s The Impresario, and Vache Baroque, making their festival debut with a sophisticated and charming production of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers. Five operas, spanning five centuries – and all you have to do is get your tickets and show up!

This year, we continue to expand our international partnerships with BIF’s first

bought the 2024 production of Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, which will tour to Sala Luis Miguel Cintra in Lisbon and the Theatro Circo in Braga in April 2025. In 2026, we are planning a joint production with the Nederlandse Reisopera, which will tour the Netherlands and make its UK debut at the Buxton Opera House.

Our partnership with The Orchestra of Opera North continues with our production of Hamlet and their participation in our Jazz series featuring Clare Teal and Lizzie Ball.

As is the case every year, we would not be able to produce our fabulous festival without the hard work and vision of our Artistic Director, Adrian Kelly, our Book Director, Victoria Dawson, and our Jazz Director, Neil Hughes. Once again, they have curated an outstanding line-up, bringing together the very best singers, musicians, speakers, and creative teams from across the United Kingdom and Europe to Buxton. The team in the office always deserves a shout-out for the year-round work they put into making the Festival work as well as it does.

We are particularly grateful to the trustees of the Colwinston Charitable Trust for their generous grant, which is underwriting our opera season again this year. The support from our Chair, Felicity Goodey, and the members of our board, the various Trusts and Foundations, corporate donors, High Peak Borough Council, syndicate members, and individual donors is indispensable in enabling us to produce the high-quality festival Buxton deserves. A special mention, too, of the invaluable contribution of our two kindred organisations: the Friends of BIF, for their annual grant, and the BIF Foundation.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all again on the forecourt, but this time – hopefully –without your brollies!

Michael Williams Chief Executive Officer

AT A GLANCE: OPERA

SATURDAY 12 JULY HAMLET 7pm p18

SUNDAY 13 JULY SHORTS 7.15pm p24

MONDAY 14 JULY ORPHÉE

7.15pm p26

TUESDAY 15 JULY TROUBLE IN TAHITI/ LA VOIX HUMAINE 7.15pm p22 SHORTS 7.15pm p24

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY HAMLET 7pm p18

THURSDAY 17 JULY THE IMPRESARIO 7.15pm p20

FRIDAY 18 JULY SHORTS 7.15pm p24

SATURDAY 19 JULY TROUBLE IN TAHITI/ LA VOIX HUMAINE 7.15pm p22

SUNDAY 20 JULY HAMLET 3pm p18

ORPHÉE 7.15pm p26

MONDAY 21 JULY THE IMPRESARIO 7.15pm p20 SHORTS 7.15pm p24

TUESDAY 22 JULY HAMLET 7pm p18

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY TROUBLE IN TAHITI/ LA VOIX HUMAINE 7.15pm p22

THURSDAY 24 JULY THE IMPRESARIO 2pm p20 ORPHÉE 7.15pm p26

FRIDAY 25 JULY TROUBLE IN TAHITI/ LA VOIX HUMAINE 7.15pm p22 SHORTS 7.15pm p24

SATURDAY 26 JULY THE IMPRESARIO 7.15pm p20

*When you book all 3 BIF Opera House productions (Hamlet, The Impresario, Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine).

A GLANCE: OPERA BUXTONOPERAHOU S

Join the Friends of BIF for early booking Annual membership starts from just £36

org . u k Reserve your souvenir programme now and save! £12 if reserved before 1 June (£15 regular price)

Buxton International Festival offers a breathtaking setting for an unforgettable celebration of opera, music books and jazz. With this year’s concert series, we have done our best to outdo last year’s offering, with an outstanding line-up of world-class artists.

It seems like only yesterday that we finished the 2024 Festival on a high with sold-out performances of Carlos Acosta’s extraordinary ballet evening at the Buxton Opera House. It was a fitting end to what felt like a pleasingly buzzing Festival. In September we learnt that we had been nominated for an International Opera Award in the category of Best Festival. Receiving the nomination alone felt like a vote of confidence in the work we have been doing, and it has motivated the Festival team to push ahead with some ambitious plans for the future.

Of course, the Festival is about so much more than opera. Both the book and jazz festivals enjoyed unprecedented success last summer. For this year’s concert series, we have done our best to outdo last year’s offering. There are too many highlights to mention all individually, although I am particularly pleased that the brilliant young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor will play a recital at the

in recent years, such as Imogen Cooper, Roderick Williams, the Sacconi Quartet and the English Concert, whose programme this year features the outstanding Irish mezzosoprano, Paula Murrihy.

Since I started at the Festival in 2019, we haven’t performed any French opera, with the exception of Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon in 2021. I am happy to say that we will remedy this in 2025 with no less than three works in French. The first is Ambroise Thomas’ romantic masterpiece Hamlet, directed by Jack Furness. I am delighted that for this project the Festival will collaborate again with the Orchestra of Opera North, building on the success of Ernani last year. We will also embark on a new collaboration with Vache Baroque, who will bring director Jeanne Pansard-Besson’s acclaimed production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Orphée to the Pavilion Arts Centre, conducted by the festival’s Music Director, Jonathan Darbourne.

We are proud to work together with another new partner, Opera Zuid, presenting director Christopher Gillett’s production of Mozart’s The Impresario, conducted by Dame Jane Glover. Our third French opera, Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine, which will be performed as part of a double bill with Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti directed by Daisy Evans and conducted by Iwan Davies.

Last but not least, we will be presenting Shorts, a collection of four newly commissioned chamber operas, each lasting twenty minutes. While opera is an art form with a rich history, it is vital that we invest in its future, and in Buxton we are committed to offering opportunities to the next generation of opera makers. It’s going to be another exciting festival in 2025.

I hope to see you there.

Adrian Kelly Artistic Director

AT A GLANCE: MUSIC

FRIDAY 11 JULY

SIR STEPHEN HOUGH 7pm p29

SUNDAY 13 JULY

MILO HARPER 9am p35

FESTIVAL MASS 11am p17

MĒLA GUITAR QUARTET

2.30pm p36

APOLLO’S CABINET 5.30pm p36

THE CRAIG OGDEN ENSEMBLE 9.30pm p38

MONDAY 14 JULY

THE PORTRAIT PLAYERS 11.15am p39

SACCONI QUARTET 3pm p40

OPERA IN THE CAVERN 5.30pm p41

TUESDAY 15 JULY

GREGORY FELDMANN AND NATHANIEL LANASA 11.15am p42

WIGMORE SOLOISTS 3pm p44

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY

RODERICK WILLIAMS AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON 11.15am p45

THE KING’S SINGERS 3pm p46

THURSDAY 17 JULY

COME AND SING WITH THE KING’S SINGERS 9.30am p48

NIAMH O’SULLIVAN AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON 11.15am p49

SOLEM QUARTET 3pm p49

MUSICALS IN THE CAVERN 5.30pm p51

THE KING’S SINGERS AND FRIENDS 6pm p50

JAMIE MACDOUGALL AS LAUDER 9.15pm p51

FRIDAY 18 JULY

TOBY SPENCE AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON 11.15am p52

THE ENGLISH CONCERT AND PAULA MURRIHY 3pm p53

SATURDAY 19 JULY

MARY BEVAN AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON 11.15am p57

BRAIMAH KANNEHMASON AND JÂMS COLEMAN 3pm p58

SUNDAY 20 JULY FESTIVAL MASS 11am p17

A NIGHT WITH JOSEPHINE 2pm p60

CHLOË HANSLIP WITH DANNY DRIVER 3pm p60

MONDAY 21 JULY FIBONACCI QUARTET 11.15am p62

PIATTI QUARTET 3pm p63

TUESDAY 22 JULY

DANIEL SHAO AND GEORGE TODICĂ 11.15.am p64

CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF JANE AUSTEN 3pm p65

AT A GLANCE: MUSIC

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY

HOPE CRAMSIE 11.15am p68

THE WILLIAMSHOWARD MEMORIAL PRIZE RECITAL 2.30pm p68

THE TALLIS SCHOLARS 4pm p70

THURSDAY 24 JULY

ALISSA FIRSOVA WITH JANE BURNELL AND DAN D’SOUZA 11.15am p72

IMOGEN COOPER 3pm p73

OPERA IN THE CAVERN 4.45pm p41

MUSICALS IN THE CAVERN 5.30pm p51

FRIDAY 25 JULY MARK STONE AND STEPHEN BARLOW 11am p74

ALISSA FIRSOVA WITH THE BELINFANTE QUARTET AND WILL DUERDEN 3pm p76

SATURDAY 26 JULY LEO POPPLEWELL 11.15am p78

BENJAMIN GROSVENOR 3pm p78

SUNDAY 27 JULY FESTIVAL MASS 11am p17

Reserve your

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We consistently programme a variety of jazz at Buxton, and 2025 is no different. From centennial celebrations to emerging artists, we have you covered.

Iam delighted to present a series of jazz compositions that span brand new work to the celebrated musicality of Oscar Peterson – one hundred years after his birth. In jazz, our connections back to the roots of the music continue to inspire us today – the form, the passion, and the tunes that we are so familiar with, updated and arranged anew.

Jazz at The Palace

Our home during the first weekend, where we present 12 gigs over three and a half days, from voice to trios, to Latin rhythms and contemporary compositions – there is something for everyone. Jazz at the Palace is just a gorgeous setting for our Festival within the Festival.

Our headliners range from soulful jazz with Ineza on the opening night, Brazilianinfluenced rhythms with Baiana on Friday, a celebration of Oscar Peterson on Saturday with strings and horns, and to close the weekend, we have Georgina Jackson’s Mighty Mini Big Band on Sunday, with her Vintage Vegas sound – including Louis, Ella and Ray Charles. And just when you think we have exhausted the genre, we drop right into the International Festival’s second two weeks. We weave jazz and strings, big band and New Orleans and we even add a Folk and World element on the middle Saturday.

On Friday 18, we have the most special of collaborations when we invite the Orchestra of Opera North to join forces with the Clare Teal Quartet and Denny Ilett to perform the iconic Bossa albums from Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. Ian Bateman has transcribed the albums, conducts the orchestra and is joined by Buxton’s favourite, Lizzie Ball, on voice and violin. We sincerely hope you can make space in your programme to come and witness Latin for Lovers, a one-off concert in the Opera House.

Following a very special gig, we have a first for the festival: we invite Lady Nade and Barb Jungr to play a different stream of music, Folk and World, beginning with an afternoon of original music. Lady Nade was nominated as Artist of the Year in 2023 for the AMAUK awards. In the evening, Barb Jungr explores the music of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan; she is rightly recognised as the greatest interpreter of these poetic masters.

On the Sunday, back at The Opera House, we delve into the more soulful sounds of Rumer, who released her triple-platinum album Season of My Soul in 2010. The writer of Slow and Aretha celebrates that outstanding album.

We head into the final week with a real theatrical treat on Tuesday: Liza Pulman and her six-piece band celebrate the music of Barbra Streisand. And to close the jazz element, we have a real supergroup on Saturday 26, The Entertainers. The songs pay homage to the audiences who come and go, the lonely, bruised, glamorous, secretive souls who can be found at the bars of any club in the world, from Ronnie Scott’s to The Blue Note Tokyo to Birdland in New York.

We’ll be having so much fun, please come and join us.

Neil Hughes Jazz Director

AT A GLANCE: JAZZ

THURSDAY 10 JULY

INEZA 7pm p27

GRAHAM CLARK QUARTET 9.30pm p27

FRIDAY 11 JULY EMILY MASSER QUARTET 12pm p28

TRIO JDM

2.30pm p30

BAIANA 8pm p31

BUTCHER’S BREW 10.30pm p30

SATURDAY 12 JULY

ALAN BARNES 1pm p32

100 YEARS OF OSCAR PETERSON WITH DEAN STOCKDALE AND STRINGS 7pm p34

JAZZ

EMMA RAWICZ QUARTET 10pm p34

SUNDAY 13 JULY DODEKA 1pm p35

XHOSA COLE QUARTET 4pm p37

GEORGINA JACKSON 8pm p38

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY

SWINGTIME BIG BAND WITH EMMA HOLCROFT AND MATT FORD 8pm p47

FRIDAY 18 JULY

CLARE TEAL, DENNY ILETT AND THE ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH WITH SPECIAL GUEST LIZZIE BALL 8pm p55

SATURDAY 19 JULY

LADY NADE 3pm p59

BARB JUNGR 8pm p59

SUNDAY 20 JULY RUMER 8pm p61

TUESDAY 22 JULY LIZA PULMAN 8pm p66

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY THE NIGHTCREATURES DUO 8pm p71

SATURDAY 26 JULY THE ENTERTAINERS 8pm p79

DAY AND WEEKENDER TICKETS

Enjoy a long weekend of jazz at a discounted rate during BIF’s opening weekend. Pick a Day ticket or a Weekender ticket to get a host of benefits:

JAZZ WEEKENDER TICKET

The jazz combo that everyone’s talking about! We’re once again offering our popular Jazz Weekender tickets, granting you access to all BIF jazz events during the Festival’s opening weekend from Thursday 10 July to Sunday 13 July, at a heavily discounted price. Enjoy a spectacular weekend of live music, with 12 gigs varying from jazz, blues, funk and Latin, plus an Oscar Peterson extravaganza. Tickets cost £175, a saving of over £60.

JAZZ DAY TICKETS

Get a jazz day ticket for Thursday 10, Friday 11, Saturday 12 or Sunday 13. They cost from £30, with savings of up to 21%.

Hear for yourselves unique storytelling, challenging ideas and deep personal experience from the serious to the (slightly) frivolous. All by way of frostbite, positive thinking and public service.

It is of great pride to me that one of the themes of this year’s Festival is extraordinary women, not just as the subject of events but in their participation. Diane Abbott has been a member of Parliament since 1987. She now enjoys the title, The Mother of the House as the longest continuously serving female MP and yet during that service has received a barrage of vicious social and print media criticism. Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey grew up in care but through a stellar list of public appointments, arts management and academia, gained a seat in the House of Lords in 2004 as one of the first Black female life peers. Sarah Rainsford is ‘an exceptional and fearless’ BBC correspondent who has reported from Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Turkey, Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2021 she was expelled by the Russian government as part of retaliatory actions over news coverage. Truly Champion Women will grace our stage this July.

One may argue about the most pressing issues of the day, but surely in the provision of care for the elderly, the hypothetical becomes the personal for many. David Goodhart’sThe Care Dilemma argues that we need a new policy statement which supports

equality while valuing community and the family. Roger Clough, former professor of social care describes his own Oldenland, ‘as my companion, my shadow and confederate, maybe my friend’ and considers ‘how do I navigate a good older age?’ Masud Husain is both an internationally eminent neurologist and a master storyteller. How does the brain make us who we are and act in the ways we do? Sumit Paul-Choudhury is an astrophysicist-turned-journalist and former editor-in-chief of New Scientist magazine. Despite losing his wife to an aggressive form of ovarian cancer, he describes himself as an optimist and in his new book The Bright Side describes with wit and empathy how positive thinkers, however irrational, have an evolutionary advantage. Jeremy Hunt served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019. Jeremy will be with us to discuss Britain’s place in the world in a book that promises to be ‘neither tubthumpingly nationalistic nor pessimistically declinist’. Erling Kagge is a man who has conquered the extremes of our planet with a positive personal philosophy. The first man to have reached the North Pole, South Pole and the summit of Everest on foot, Erling is a Norwegian lawyer, entrepreneur and politician. We are delighted to be bringing him from Oslo to Buxton to hear about his new book, North Pole: The History of an Obsession.

I cannot do justice to the talent and authority in our books line-up for 2025. Please come and hear for yourselves unique storytelling, challenging ideas and deep personal experience from the serious to the (slightly) frivolous. All by way of frostbite, positive thinking and public service. Expect emotion, outrage, some laughter and certainly entertainment in literary form.

Victoria Dawson Book Festival Director

BOOKS AT A GLANCE: BOOKS

FRIDAY 11 JULY

DAVID GOODHART

2pm p28

The Care Dilemma: Caring Enough in the Age of Sex Equality

SATURDAY 12 JULY

PETROC TRELAWNY

10am p32

Trelawny’s Cornwall: A Journey Through Western Lands

DIANE ABBOTT MP

12.30pm p33

A Woman Like Me: A Memoir

MONDAY 14 JULY

SARAH RAINSFORD

10am p39

Goodbye to Russia: A Personal Reckoning from the Ruins of War

BEN CHU 2pm p40

Exile Economics: What Happens if Globalisation Fails

PUMP ROOM TALK:

DR RUTH LARSEN

6pm p41

Mistresses: Women in the Georgian Country House

TUESDAY 15 JULY

BENDOR GROSVENOR

10am p42

The Invention of British Art

JAMES REBANKS

12.30pm p43

The Place of Tides

BLESSIN ADAMS

3pm p43

Thou Savage Woman: Female Killers in Early Modern Britain

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY

CLAIRE HUBBARDHALL 10am p45

Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence

ERLING KAGGE

12.30pm p46

The North Pole: The History of an Obsession

DUNCAN WELDON

4pm p47

Blood and Treasure: The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to Ukraine

THURSDAY 17 JULY

LORD SUMPTION

10am p48

The Challenges of Democracy and The Rule of Law

IAIN MACGREGOR

4pm p50

The Hiroshima Men: The Quest to Build the Atomic Bomb and the Fateful Decision to Use It

FRIDAY 18 JULY

JOE TUCKER

10am p52

The Secret Painter

JEREMY HUNT MP

12.30pm p53

Can We Be Great Again: Why it’s now or never for Britain

MASUD HUSAIN

3pm p54

Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain

PUMP ROOM TALK:

DR PETER COLLINGE 6pm p54

Madam Geneva: Gin and the Georgians

SATURDAY 19 JULY

BARONESS LOLA

YOUNG

10am p56

Eight Weeks: Looking Backwards, Moving Forwards, Defying the Odds

POLLY TOYNBEE AND DAVID WALKER

12.30pm p58

The Only Way is Up: How to Take Britain from Austerity to Prosperity

MONDAY 21 JULY

ROMAN KRZNARIC 10am p62

History for Tomorrow: How the Past Can Inspire Our Future

PUMP ROOM TALK: DR RICHARD GAUNT

6pm p63

Sex and Scandal in an 18th Century Election

TUESDAY 22 JULY

HELEN LEWIS 10am p64

The Genius Myth WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

12.30pm p65

The Golden Road: How India Transformed the World

LAURENCE REES 4pm p66

The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings from History

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY

ROGER CLOUGH 10am p67

Oldenland: A Journey in Search of the Good Last Years

JOHN CRACE

12.30pm p69

Taking the Lead: A Dog at Number Ten

LUCY HUGHESHALLETT 4pm p71

The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham

THURSDAY 24 JULY

HELEN CASTOR

10am p72

The Eagle and The Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV IAN COLLINS AND MARTIN COCKER

4pm p73

Blythe Spirit: The Remarkable Life of Ronald Blythe

FRIDAY 25 JULY

JOAN SMITH

10am, p74

Unfortunately, She was a Nymphomaniac: A New History of Rome’s Imperial Women

GORDON CORERA

12.30pm p75

The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB

SUMIT PAULCHOUDHURY

4pm p76

The Bright Side: Why Optimists have the Power to Change the World

SATURDAY 26 JULY

PETER PARKER

10am p77

Some Men in London: Queer Lives 1945-1967

REVEREND RICHARD COLES

12.30pm p77 Death on Location

SIMON JENKINS 4pm p79

A Short History of British Architecture: From Stonehenge to The Shard

AT A GLANCE: WALKS

ANNA SEWARD, A WOMAN OF ENLIGHTENMENT

SATURDAY 12 JULY ......... 3pm p33

THURSDAY 17 JULY 3pm p33 SUNDAY 20 JULY 11am p33

THE BIRTH OF BUXTON’S ‘BELLE EPOQUE’

SUNDAY 13 JULY ........... 3pm p37

FRIDAY 18 JULY 11am p37

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 3pm p37

SEX AND GEORGIAN SENSIBILITIES

MONDAY 14 JULY ......... 3pm p40

SATURDAY 19 JULY 3pm p40 TUESDAY 22 JULY ......... 11am p40

THREE TALES TO RETAIL

TUESDAY 15 JULY 3pm p44

MONDAY 21 JULY ......... 3pm p44 FRIDAY 25 JULY 3pm p44

THE THREE DUKES

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY ...... 11am p44 THURSDAY 24 JULY 11am p44

ON THE MEDICINAL USE OF BUXTON WATER

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 11am p67

SONG AT SIX

DATES AND TIMES

Tues 22 July 6pm

VENUE

Bandstand at Pavilion Gardens

TICKETS

FREE

Don’t miss this free 15-minute concert, performed by members of the Festival’s Young Artists Programme. Have your spirits lifted with live music from these talented young singers in the beautiful surroundings of Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens.

OPERA TALKS

BUXTON OPERA HOUSE AND PAVILION ARTS CENTRE £3

Join our creative teams for insights into the history, music and vision behind this year’s operas.

HAMLET

Buxton Opera House

SATURDAY 12 5.45pm – 6.15pm

WEDNESDAY 16 ...... 5.45pm – 6.15pm

SUNDAY 20 1.45pm – 2.15pm

TUESDAY 22 ......... 5.45pm – 6.15pm

THE IMPRESARIO

Buxton Opera House

THURSDAY 17 6pm – 6.30pm

MONDAY 21 6pm – 6.30pm

THURSDAY 24 ........ 12.45pm – 1.15pm

SATURDAY 26 6pm – 6.30pm

TROUBLE IN TAHITI / LA VOIX HUMAINE

Buxton Opera House

TUESDAY 15 6pm – 6.30pm SATURDAY 19 ........ 6pm – 6.30pm

WEDNESDAY 23 6pm – 6.30pm FRIDAY 25 ........... 6pm – 6.30pm

SHORTS

Pavilion Arts Centre

SUNDAY 13 .......... 6pm – 6.30pm TUESDAY 15 6pm – 6.30pm FRIDAY 18 ........... 6pm – 6.30pm MONDAY 21 6pm – 6.30pm FRIDAY 25 6pm – 6.30pm

WE’RE ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET AND YOU’RE INVITED

The stage is set, the red carpet is rolled out, and the festival is about to begin!

There’ll be live music and treats on the red carpet, and the chance to mingle with the creative forces behind the Festival.

Come and celebrate the launch of Buxton International Festival 2025 and the premiere of BIF’s production of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, Saturday 12 July 2025 from 6pm

FESTIVAL MASSES

Sunday 13 July Various, see below St John’s Church Free, Donations Welcome

The Festival Masses are a Sunday morning favourite: beautiful choral masses in the wonderful acoustic of St John’s Church. They are presented by Buxton Music Society and the Buxton Madrigal Singers, under the direction of Michael Williams MBE, with Sam Hayes as Choral Director.

Sunday 13 July 11am – 12.30pm

Buxton Madrigal Singers and Orchestra

F Schubert Mass in C Major, D452

Sunday 20 July 11am – 12.30pm

Buxton Music Society Chorus

J Haydn Nelson Mass

Sunday 27 July 11am – 12.10pm

Buxton Madrigal Singers

M A Charpentier Messe de Minuit

HAMLET

Ambroise Thomas (1811 – 1896)

A Buxton International Festival production, featuring the Orchestra of Opera North Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet epitomises the Grand Opera tradition that was popular in 19th century France, a genre that celebrates breathtaking spectacle, dramatic storytelling, large casts and choruses and lush orchestration. Thomas was one of the country’s most acclaimed composers of his day, with Hamlet and Mignon among his best-known works. Hamlet was a sensation, performed 276 times during his lifetime, before fading from the repertoire – until now.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s iconic play, this opera tells a tale of vengeance, madness, and doomed love. It follows the young Danish prince as he encounters his father’s ghost and embarks on a quest for justice and revenge. Thomas’ score intensifies the psychological drama of the tragedy, while giving special prominence to Ophelia, whose role captivated audiences of the era.

‘The music has a bit of everything, wonderful melodies as well as incredible virtuosic scenes and chorus numbers.

Hamlet’s rousing drinking song and Ophelia’s mad scene are the best known arias, which singers often use to showcase their voices. It’s an unforgettable work that’s rarely performed and deserves revisiting.’ Adrian Kelly, BIF’s Artistic Director

Buxton International Festival returns to its roots with this production, having performed Hamlet once before in 1980. The then fledgling Festival (it was in its second year) put together an extraordinary cast led by Sir Thomas Allen in the title role, with Christine Barbaux as Ophelia and Donald Maxwell as Hamlet’s ghostly father.

Music by A Thomas, libretto by M Carré and J Barbier, based on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Sung in French with English surtitles.

DATES AND TIMES

Sat 12 July 7pm

Wed 16 July 7pm

Sun 20 July 3pm

Tues 22 July 7pm

VENUE

Buxton Opera House

TICKETS

£26 - £91

Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of Buxton International Festival’s Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk.

CREATIVE TEAM

Adrian Kelly Conductor

Jack Furness Director

Sami Fendall Designer

Jake Wiltshire Lighting Designer

Erika Gundesen Repetiteur

CAST

Gregory Feldmann Hamlet

Alastair Miles Claudius

Yewon Han Ophélie

Richard Woodall Polonius

Allison Cook Gertrude

Joshua Baxter Laërte

Tylor Lamani Marcellus

Dan D’Souza Horatio

Per Bach Nissen Ghost

John Ieuan Jones First gravedigger

James Liu Second gravedigger

Duration: 3 hours, including a 30-minute interval.

Note: Please note the 7pm start, rather than traditional 7.15pm.

BUXTONOPERAHOU S E 10%OFF OPERA*

*When you book all 3 BIF Opera House productions (Hamlet,

The Impresario, Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine).

THE IMPRESARIO

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)

An Opera Zuid production in collaboration with Buxton International Festival, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.

It’s 1800 and Leo – a down-on-his-luck impresario, Mozart fan, and comfort eater of little Dutch pancakes – has been tasked with putting on an opera. It should be easy. But what will the opera be and who will star in it? Meanwhile, there’s a jump-in singer from Bucharest, a tenor who’s trying to seduce the soprano, warring divas, and a director with an idiotic concept. It could all be happening in the present day – and, as it turns out, much of it is.

Mozart was part-way through composing The Marriage of Figaro when he was ordered to create this one act comedy by Joseph II. The Emperor was hosting an elaborate party for visiting dignitaries and wanted to stage a competition between a singspiel and an Italian opera for the after-dinner entertainment. Mozart was commissioned to create the former and thus Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario) was first performed on 7 February 1786 in the grand orangery of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The work was up against the composer Salieri’s one-act opera Prima la musica, poi le parole.

‘This production brings fresh energy to Mozart’s witty opera. Director Christopher Gillett has created a version that is fun and playful and that blends sharp comedy with Mozart’s brilliant music.’ Adrian Kelly, BIF’s Artistic Director.

Music by W A Mozart, libretto by JG Stephanie. Spoken text, in English, by Christopher Gillett.

Sung in German and Italian with English surtitles.

DATES AND

TIMES

Thurs 17 July 7.15pm

Mon 21 July 7.15pm

Thurs 24 July 2pm Sat 26 July 7.15pm

VENUE

Buxton Opera House

TICKETS

£26 - £91

Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of Buxton International Festival’s Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk.

CREATIVE TEAM

Dame Jane Glover, Iwan Davies

Conductors

Christopher Gillett Director

Joyce Henderson Associate Director

Bretta Gerecke Designer (Set and Lighting)

Leo van den Boorn Costume Designer

Adam McDonagh Repetiteur

CAST

Nazan Fikret Madame Herz

Jane Burnell Mademoiselle Silberklang

Conor Prendiville Monsieur Vogelsang

Dan D’Souza Buff

Owain Rowlands John

Inguna Morozova Evie

Joyce Henderson Lisa

Jamie MacDougall Dan

Duration: 90 minutes, with no interval.

BUXTONOPERAHOU S E 10%OFF OPERA*

*When you book all 3 BIF Opera House productions (Hamlet,

The Impresario, Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine).

DOUBLE BILL: TROUBLE IN TAHITI / LA VOIX HUMAINE

Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) / Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963)

A Buxton International Festival and Norwich Theatre production, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.

Enjoy a captivating double bill of opera, which pairs Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti with Poulenc’s La voix humaine. Both works delve into the human psyche, examining the complexities of love, isolation and the yearning for connection.

In Trouble in Tahiti, Bernstein paints a portrait of suburban discontent as we follow Dinah and Sam, a young couple who seem to have it all. Their immaculate home, gleaming kitchen, and modern conveniences suggest the American dream. Yet beneath this polished surface, their marriage is crumbling. Sam buries himself in work and at the gym, while Dinah seeks solace in the psychiatrist’s office and the cinema. When she sees a film Trouble in Tahiti she fantasises about escaping to a place of true happiness. Is it a vision she and Sam could ever reach together? Throughout the opera, a jazz-infused vocal trio act as a playful Greek chorus commenting on the era’s societal expectations and ideals of suburban bliss.

In contrast, La voix humaine brings us into the intimate, heart-wrenching world of a woman during a final phone call with her lover. Based on Jean Cocteau’s monodrama, this onewoman opera is an emotional tour de force, with Poulenc’s hauntingly expressive score weaving through every shifting emotion.

Alone in her apartment, Elle waits for the phone to ring. After a series of wrong calls, she finally hears his voice. Their conversation is a journey through flirtation, love, anger, and despair, laid bare in one last bid for connection.

Together, Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine offer a powerful night of opera, immersing audiences in the highs and lows of love.

Trouble in Tahiti Music and Libretto by L Bernstein. Sung in English with English surtitles.

La voix humaine Music by F Poulenc, libretto by Jean Cocteau. Sung in French with English surtitles.

DATES AND TIMES

Tues 15 July 7.15pm Sat 19 July 7.15pm Wed 23 July 7.15pm Fri 25 July 7.15pm

VENUE

Buxton Opera House

TICKETS

£26 - £77

Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of Buxton International Festival’s Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk.

CREATIVE TEAM

Iwan Davies Conductor

Daisy Evans Director

Loren Elstein Designer

Jake Wiltshire Lighting Designer

Rebecca Warren Repetiteur

TROUBLE IN TAHITI CAST

Charles Rice Sam

Hanna Hipp Dinah

Chloé Hare-Jones Vocal Trio

Ross Cumming Vocal Trio

Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.

BUXTONOPERAHOU S E 10%OFF OPERA*

*When you book all 3 BIF Opera House productions (Hamlet,

The Impresario, Trouble in Tahiti and La voix humaine).

SHORTS

Jasper Dommett, Martin Green, Thandanani Gumede, Zodwa Nyoni, Josh Overton, Carmel Smickersgill and Jessica Walker

A Buxton International Festival production, featuring the Northern Ballet Sinfonia

Step into the future of opera with Shorts, where four brand new compositions come to life in one evening.

Created from scratch, BIF has commissioned seven award-winning writers and composers to create four 20-minute operas. Expect an evening of engaging, original story-telling from artists whose credentials include the BBC, Opera North, Channel 4, Netflix and whose achievements include Ivor Novello and Sunday Times Playwright Awards. Each performance offers a new perspective on opera, bringing together compelling narratives and a diverse range of musical styles, which blend the traditional with the modern.

Inevitable

It’s a countdown to the end of the world. But that’s someone else’s problem … Would you spend the rest of your life turning the crank, or are you only delaying the inevitable?

Composed by Carmel Smickersgill (Nominee Ivor Novello Award 2020, Winner Rushworth Composition prize), with libretto by Josh Overton (Sunday Times Playwright Award Winner).

Life Gets Stretched

20 years in 20 minutes. A couple meet, fall in love, and marry. But life is long and people change, will their bond prove strong enough?

Composer and librettist Martin Green (winner Ivor Novello Award 2021, winner BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards).

Disorderly House

1927, a private party in Fitzroy Square. Sensational dancer Bobby Britt entrances his guests with Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils, but the entertainment crashes down when the police raid.

Composed by Jasper Dommett (Ivor Novello Nominee 2020), with libretto by Jessica Walker (Oper Leipzig, Wigmore Hall, Opera North, Royal Exchange Theatre).

Tears Are Not Meant To Stay Inside

Tears Are Not Meant To Stay Inside is an ancestral ritual of healing and release. Nomvula feels displaced and invisible in her life. She goes to a Traditional Healer to cure her unsettled spirit.

Composed by Thandanani Gumede (whose appearances include Opera North and the BBC Proms), with libretto by Zodwa Nyoni (writer for BBC, Channel 4, Netflix)

Director Marcus Desando makes his Buxton International Festival debut having worked extensively in South Africa (directing credits include Dido and Aeneas, Carmen, La Bohème, and Rigoletto). Rebecca Meltzer returns to the Festival following her success with Mansfield Park in 2022, and with an impressive set of directing credits under her belt (Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, English Touring Opera, Welsh National Opera, amongst others).

With designs by Elliot Squire (BIF’s La Canterina and The Boatswain’s Mate, 2024), these productions promise an evening of fresh creativity and inventive performances.

Sung mainly in English, with surtitles.

DATES AND TIMES

Sun 13 July 7.15pm

Tues 15 July 7.15pm

Fri 18 July 7.15pm

Mon 21 July 7.15pm

Fri 25 July 7.15pm

VENUE

Pavilion Arts Centre

TICKETS

£45

Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of Buxton International Festival’s Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk.

CREATIVE TEAM

Marcus Desando and Rebecca Meltzer Directors

Elliot Squire Designer

Alex Chisholm, Emma Jenkins & Sasha Milavic Davies

Dramaturgs

Duration: 2 hours, including a 20-minute interval.

ORPHÉE

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 – 1704)

Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers

A Vache Baroque Production

Step into a world where love defies even the boundaries of life and death. Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s baroque opera opens with the wedding of Orphée and Euridice. The celebrations are in full swing when tragedy strikes and Euridice is fatally bitten by a snake. Orphée holds her as her life slips away, leaving him devastated and ready to follow her into death. But his father Apollon (the god Apollo) suggests another option. Orphée can brave the underworld to bring Euridice back. Armed only with the power of his voice, he must sway the gods to reclaim his lost love, whilst testing his resolve to the limits.

La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers is a gem in baroque opera, composed for an ensemble and small orchestra. It is stylishly brought to life by Vache Baroque, a dynamic and innovative period ensemble with a passion for championing rarely heard music.

Music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The libretto, whose author is unknown, is based on the myth of Orpheus as told in Book 10 of the Metamorphoses, Ovid.

Sung in French with English surtitles.

DATES AND TIMES

Mon 14 July 7.15pm Sun 20 July 7.15pm Thu 24 July 7.15pm

VENUE

Pavilion Arts Centre

TICKETS

£10 - £50

Concessions: £10 tickets for under 35s, who are part of the Friends of Buxton International Festival’s Next Gen scheme. Join for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk.

CREATIVE TEAM

Jonathan Darbourne Music Director

Jeanne Pansard-Besson Director

Simeon Qsyea Choreographer

Laura Jane Stanfield Designer

Louise Bakker Assistant Director

Laura Pearse Associate Designer

Josie Ireland Associate Lighting Designer

Hervé Goffings French coach

CAST

Samuel Boden Orphée

Henry Waddington Pluton

Lauren Lodge-Campbell Euridice

Naho Koizumi Daphné

Katie-Louise Dobson Enone

Lila Chrisp Arethuze/Proserpine

Alexander Chance Ixion

Lars Fischer Tantale

Jamie Woollard Apollon/Tityé

Fi Silverthorn Dancer

Kenji Matsunaga Dancer

In partnership with BirdGang Ltd.

Duration: 1 hour 25 minutes, including an 20 minute interval.

Thursday 10 July 7pm – 8.30pm

Jazz at The Palace

£20

Ineza and her quartet will present an exclusive preview of her debut album, to be released in late ‘25. Be among the first to experience her take on contemporary Jazz, featuring introspective lyrics and rich, evocative soundscapes.

Rwandan-born, Belgian vocalist Ineza has firmly established herself as a powerful and expressive artist in the UK Jazz scene – an in-demand vocalist with a distinctive voice that has captured the attention of critics and audiences alike.

Ineza Vocals

Michael Lack Alto Sax

Rob Brockway Piano

Ben Crane Double Bass

Kuba Miazga Drums

THURSDAY

GRAHAM CLARK QUARTET

Thursday 10 July 9.30pm – 11pm

Jazz at The Palace

£15

Violin virtuoso Graham Clark returns to BIF after a stunning gig in 2023. A Buxton resident for over 25 years, Clark is well-known for his weekly jazz residencies and his unique blend of jazz, rock, and experimental music. He’s played with legends like Daevid Allen and Elbow, and as a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The quartet delivers inventive, panache-filled jazz, and promises an unforgettable performance.

Graham Clark Violin

Richard Wetherall Piano

Paul Baxter Bass

Johnny Hunter Drums

EMILY MASSER QUARTET

Featuring Alex Clarke

Friday 11 July 12pm – 1.30pm

Jazz at The Palace

£15

Emily Masser is fast becoming one of the most exciting young voices in the jazz scene. At just 20 years old, the Wigan-born vocalist has gained recognition from jazz luminaries following her debut album Introducing Emily Masser, recorded with The Clark Tracey Quintet. Emily will be performing song-book standards with a modern twist, alongside an all-star rhythm section, and special guest Alex Clarke on sax. Expect distinctive arrangements and a soulful delivery that brings a modern edge to timeless tunes.

‘Her range, variation, and seemingly effortless delivery reflect a confidence and ability that belie her years.’ Jazz Journal

Emily Masser Vocals

Matyas Gayer Piano

James Owston Bass

Steve Brown Drums

Alex Clarke Sax

DAVID GOODHART

Friday 11 July

Pavilion Arts Centre

2pm – 3pm

£14

The Care Dilemma: Caring Enough in the Age of Sex Equality

Family life has changed rapidly over the past 60 years. Increased opportunities for women, greater freedom and autonomy, and a more equal domestic sphere have brought considerable benefits. However, there have been losses as well as gains: liberal trends have produced negative consequences in family breakdown, children’s mental health, and the undervaluing of care. Falling birth rates also present major demographic and social challenges. The costs fall disproportionately on the working poor and left-behind ‘somewheres’, and, for many, are starting to outweigh the benefits. David suggests we need a new policy settlement that supports gender equality while also recognising the importance of stable families and community life. David Goodhart is a British journalist, founder and a former editor of Prospect magazine.

SIR STEPHEN HOUGH PIANO

Friday 11 July 7pm – 9pm (including an interval)

St. John’s Church £35, Balcony £30

C Chaminade Automne, Autre Fois, Les Sylvains

F Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor, S178

R Schumann Carnaval, Op. 9

R Sherman arr. Hough Mary Poppins Suite

Named by The Economist as one of ‘Twenty Living Polymaths’, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career as a concert pianist with those of a composer and writer. The first classical performer to be given a MacArthur Fellowship, he was awarded a Knighthood for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2022. His programme takes in Chaminade’s vividly characterful short pieces, Liszt’s heaven-storming Sonata, Robert Schumann’s fanciful portrait-gallery, and his own suite from the classic Disney film musical, Mary Poppins

TRIO JDM

Friday 11 July 2.30pm – 4pm

Jazz at The Palace

£15

Dave Walsh is known for his superlative drumming with countless jazz greats, awardwinning singer-songwriters, and chart-topping pop acts alike. Guitarist Jamie Taylor has been heard with some of the finest jazz musicians from either side of the Atlantic. His bop-influenced work is regularly heard at legendary London venues like Ronnie Scott’s and The Troubadour. On hammond organ is the wonderful Martin Longhawn, perhaps best known to jazz audiences for his work with the excellent Svarc Hanley Longhawn group.

Expect to hear accessible original music alongside material from a wide range of composers and eras.

Dave Walsh Drums

Jamie Taylor Guitar

Martin Longhawn Organ

BUTCHER’S BREW

Friday 11 July 10.30pm – late

Jazz at The Palace

£15

A late-night treat, with the fabulous Butcher’s Brew playing jazz, funk, blue note and Latin.

A lot of trumpeter Ray Butcher’s work is inspired by Miles Davis. He has performed at The 606 Club, Ronnie Scott’s, and many others. He performed the trumpet solo on ‘God’s Great Dance Floor’, for Grammy-nominated singer Martin Smith, and also the version by Chris Tomlin, for the album Burning Lights. He has also worked with Dr John, Mica Paris, Robbie Williams and many commercial artists.

‘Ray Butcher is a trumpeter and composer who has clocked up years of achievements’ Cross Rhythms

Ray Butcher Trumpet

Tim Amann Piano

Ed Kainyek Sax

Mike Green Bass

Miles Levin Drums

BAIANA

Friday 11 July 8pm – 9.30pm

Jazz at The Palace

£25

Baiana is the Brazilian-inspired project of Liverpoolborn singer-songwriter Laura Doyle.

Refreshingly joyful and charismatic, Baiana’s live show promises a heady mix of infectious rhythm, superb musicianship, and beautiful songs.

The full band, including the trio from the Haggis Horns (who’ve worked with the likes of John Legend, Mark Ronson, Corinne Bailey Rae and Amy Winehouse), is coming to Buxton, featuring a line-up of some of Europe’s leading jazz musicians.

A hugely popular draw at Love Supreme and Ealing Jazz Festival, Baiana also headlined the Southend Jazz Festival, as well as supporting Brazilian mega-star Gilberto Gil on his UK tour.

‘The band we are all obsessed about’ Deb Grant, BBC 6 Music

Laura Doyle Vocals

Snowboy Percussion

Steve Parry Keys

John Wheatcroft Bass

Mickey Dunne Guitar

Davide Giovannini Drums /Vibes

The Haggis Horns

Malcom Strachan Trumpet

Athol Ranson Sax

Rob Mitchel Sax

VISITOR INFORMATION

Saturday 12 July is Buxton Carnival day, please allow extra time for travel.

PETROC TRELAWNY

Saturday 12 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

Trelawny’s Cornwall: A Journey Through Western Lands

His first name is shared with one of Cornwall’s most celebrated saints, his second is the name of its unofficial national anthem. But when a stranger challenges the BBC Radio 3 Breakfast Show and BBC Proms presenter Petroc Trelawny on his ancestry, he is inspired to return to the lands of his boyhood to rediscover the place where he grew up, and attempt to confirm if he still belongs there. Petroc embarks on a slow journey that sees him visit old mine workings, ancient churches, sites where new technology was forged, and places where poets, musicians, architects and film makers have worked to shape Cornwall’s cultural identity.

ALAN BARNES

Saturday 12 July 1pm – 3.30pm

Jazz at The Palace

£25

Alan Barnes ‘Works of Art’

A Celebration of Art Pepper’s Centenary

Alan’s Inspiration: ‘I have assembled this all-star band to celebrate the centenary of Art Pepper’s birth in 1925.’

‘Art Pepper first came into my life at around 15 through a double album, Art Pepper – Discoveries, recorded in the early ’50s. The alto sax playing … was clear, virtuosic and accurate – a beautiful, fresh, full-of-life sound that danced over time in a light and subtle yet intensely probing way. From that moment, one thing was clear: for me, that was how the alto saxophone should be played.’

Alan Barnes Saxes/Clarinet

James Davison Trumpet

Robin Aspland Piano

Jeremy Brown Bass

Steve Brown Drums

VISITOR INFORMATION

DIANE ABBOTT

Saturday

Saturday 12 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House £17

A Woman Like Me: A Memoir

Ever since the day she first walked through the House of Commons as the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott has been a fearless and vocal champion for the causes that have made Britain what it is today, from increasing access to education for Black children to speaking out against the Iraq war. A unique figure in British public life, Diane has often had nothing but the courage of her convictions to carry her through incredibly hostile environments, from torrential abuse in the mainstream media and on social media, to being shunned by the political establishment, including by her own party. A Woman Like Me is an inspirational memoir that celebrates how one woman succeeded against massive odds and built an extraordinary legacy.

ANNA SEWARD

A Woman Of Enlightenment

Saturday 12 July 3pm – 4.30pm

Meet outside the Pump Room £15

Join Anna Seward, a Georgian poetess, brought vividly to life by one of Discover Buxton’s actor guides, for a promenade in the year 1808. Hear her views on her fellow guests and on Georgian attitudes to independent women. Described as a ‘Dr Darwin in petticoats’, Miss Seward‘s fierce intellect demands attention. This route is not wheelchair accessible and features uneven pavements, steps and a steep hill.

event is sponsored by

VISITOR INFORMATION

Saturday 12 July is Buxton Carnival day, please allow extra time for travel.

100 YEARS OF OSCAR PETERSON WITH DEAN STOCKDALE AND STRINGS

Plus special guests Alan Barnes, Mark Armstrong and Emily Masser

Saturday 12 July 7pm – 9.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£25

Following an acclaimed performance last year, the Dean Stockdale Quartet returns with a new set for a very special evening to honour the one and only Oscar Peterson. Born 15 August 1925, 2025 marks the legendary jazz pianist’s 100th birthday.

This show will feature the quartet and some special guests – Alan Barnes, sax, Mark Armstrong, trumpet, Emily Masser, vocals, and the Amika string quartet – performing new arrangements of Oscar’s music.

Dean Stockdale Piano, Tim Williams Guitar, Gavin Barras Bass, Gaz Hughes Drums, Mark Armstrong Trumpet, Alan Barnes Sax • Amika String Quartet, Peggy Nolan Cello Lucy Nolan Viola, Laura Senior Violin, Simmy Singh Violin • Vocals Emily Masser

EMMA RAWICZ QUARTET

Saturday 12 July 10pm – late

Jazz at The Palace

£20

Emma Rawicz is a young saxophonist, bandleader, and composer with astonishing musical maturity. At just 22 years of age, she has achieved a huge amount, including the release of two critically acclaimed albums, extensive headline tours across 15 countries, and appearances in high-profile festivals and venues.

Her projects include her regularly touring quartet and sextet line-ups, duo concerts with pianist Gwilym Simcock, and her 20-piece Jazz Orchestra, which has already performed her exciting original music at important London venues.

‘The name Emma Rawicz is on everyone’s lips right now’

Julian Joseph, J to Z, BBC Radio 3

Emma Rawicz Sax

Elliot Galvin Piano

Kevin Glasgow Bass

Asaf Sirkis Drums

MILO HARPER HARP

Sunday 13 July 9am – 10am

Assembly Rooms

MORNING SERENADE

£20

S Prokofiev, arr. Vera Dulova ‘Morning Serenade from Romeo and Juliet

Y Bowen Arabesque

W A Mozart, arr. Milo Harper Rondo in F Major, K494

C Debussy, arr. Milo Harper Suite Bergamasque, L75

F Poulenc, arr. Milo Harper Mélancolie, FP 105

B Bartok Three Hungarian Folksongs from the Csik district, Sz 35a

E Parish Alvars Introduction and Variations on Bellini’s opera Norma, Op. 36

Milo Harper is devoted to showcasing the harp’s rich history and poetic depth. A graduate of London and New York conservatories, he is now performing with the Berlin State Opera. An acclaimed soloist, he has earned numerous awards and regularly plays in leading orchestras. Following his recital for BIF last year, he returns with a programme ranging Mozart to Bartók, ending with an operatic showpiece by a leading English harpist of the 19th century.

DODEKA

Sunday 13 July 1pm – 2.30pm

Jazz at The Palace

£22

Ivo Neame’s ‘Dodeka’ is a unique new band formed in 2022. Following the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, he decided to record new music for a virtual big band. In May 2020, Help Musicians and Arts Council England supported him in multitracking a big band album – this eventually became Glimpses of Truth. Thanks to music technology and the internet, Neame produced a critically acclaimed work during a tough time. As it was possible to record musicians from their homes anywhere in the world, he also decided to involve US jazz stars Gilad Hekselman and Ingrid Jensen on the record.

Brinley Heywood-Snell Lead trumpet

Robbie Robson Trumpet

Miguel Gorodi Trumpet

Mike Chillingworth Alto Sax

George Crowley Tenor Sax

Emma Rawicz Tenor Sax

Jon Shenoy Baritone Sax

Ivo Neame Piano

Tom Farmer Bass

Josh Blackmore Drums

MĒLA GUITAR QUARTET

GUITAR QUARTET

Sunday 13 July 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Assembly Rooms

£20

Winners of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition 2023, the Mēla Guitar Quartet are known for their imaginative, engaging programming, ingenious arrangements, and for commissioning celebrated original works. The quartet has released four albums and recently undertook a six-week tour of America and Canada with the Guitar Foundation of America. ‘A stunning display of virtuosity… wizardry… revelatory music making’Soundboard, 2023. Their programme of transcriptions also includes an original piece by Laura Snowden, which they commissioned.

OVERTURES AND DANCES

C Saint-Saëns Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah (arr. Bovey)

C Debussy Deux Arabesques (arr. Tarlton)

L Snowden My Clock is Broken!

S Rachmaninoff Polka Italienne (arr. Grayaznov/Tarlton)

E Humperdinck Overture to Hansel and Gretel (arr. Tarlton)

M Glinka Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila (arr. Tarlton)

APOLLO’S CABINET

Sunday 13 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Assembly Rooms

£20

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining in!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and works by Germany’s most gifted composers are being performed … and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion.

Apollo’s Cabinet has won a number of international prizes, including 1st prize and audience prize of the SMADE Musica Antigua Estella competition with this programme.

A Birthday Party for the KingMusic at the Court of Frederick the Great

J G Graun Concerto in C Major for recorder and violin

G P Telemann Overture Suite: Les nations anciens et modèrnes, TWV55:G4

J S Bach Two canons from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079

J J Quantz Trio Sonata in C Major

J S Bach Four-part canon from Musical Offering, BWV 1079

J A Hasse Cantata per Flauto

J S Bach ‘Schafe können sicher weiden’ (Sheep may safely graze), from cantata ‘Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd’, BWV208

G P Telemann selected movements from Overture Suite: Les nations anciens et modèrnes, TWV55:G4

Traditional birthday song: ‘Hoch soll er leben’

G P Telemann Concerto for flute and recorder This performance is made possible thanks to the Royal Over-Seas League

THE BIRTH OF BUXTON’S ‘BELLE EPOQUE’

AND ITS LEGACY

Sunday 13 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet at St John’s Church £15

Join a Discover Buxton tour guide for a delightful stroll to discover the remarkable history of Park Road as you are introduced to the stories of some of the inhabitants who have left their legacy on this beautiful part of Buxton. From Vera Brittain to Sir Clive Lloyd this is a road with secrets to explore. This walk is wheelchair accessible.

XHOSA COLE QUARTET

Sunday 13 July 4pm – 6pm

Jazz at The Palace £22

FreeMonk

We are delighted to welcome the return of Xhosa Cole following his stand-out gig in 2023. He celebrates the compositions of pianist Thelonious Monk. FreeMonk explores, abstracts and collages Monk’s compositions, breaking his music out of convention and breathing new life into these timeless tunes. Joining Cole are some of the finest improvising musicians in the UK: Pat Thomas on piano, Josh Vadivello on bass and Tim Giles on drums.

‘It is the highly gifted Xhosa Cole who is currently making most waves … Cole has the rich expressive range and technical skills that characterise significant soloists’ – The Guardian

Xhosa Cole Tenor

Pat Thomas Piano

Josh Vadiveloo Bass

Tim Giles Drums

GEORGINA JACKSON

Sunday 13 July 8pm – 9.30pm

Jazz at The Palace

£25

‘Sass and Brass’ with her Mighty Mini Big Band

Expect a velvet-voiced pick and mix of swinging, bluesy ballads and iconic songs, alongside a hefty dose of sizzling brass. It celebrates some of the ‘Vintage Vegas’ sounds that have inspired Georgina’s unique talent, from Louis and Ella to Ray Charles, Sinatra and Adele.

Her band features some of the most incredible musicians in the UK today. The band may be mini, but it sure is mighty!

Georgina Jackson Trumpet/Vocals/Flugel

Karen Sharpe Tenor Sax

Craig Wild Trumpet

Mike Feltham Trombone

James Pearson Piano

Tom Farmer Bass

Matt Skelton Drums

THE CRAIG OGDEN ENSEMBLE GUITAR,

VIOLIN AND CELLO

Sunday 13 July 9.30pm – 10.30pm

Assembly Rooms

£20

J S Bach Goldberg Variations, BWV988, transcribed by David Juritz

Bach’s Goldberg Variations have challenged musicians, fascinated composers and mesmerised audiences for nearly 300 years. Virtuoso guitarist Craig Ogden and renowned cellist Adrian Bradbury join forces with violinist David Juritz to perform his stunning transcription of one of Bach’s greatest masterpieces. Streamed over 4 million times, this version of Bach’s monumental work takes the listener on a journey through a constellation of different forms and emotional responses in an hour of sublime music.

SARAH RAINSFORD

Monday 14 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

Goodbye to Russia: A Personal Reckoning from the Ruins of War

In 2021, BBC Foreign Correspondent

Sarah Rainsford set out to write a book about how Russians who dared to think differently to the Putin regime were being labelled as enemies and traitors. It was to chart Russia’s slide from democracy and warn of where the crushing of liberties could lead. She had experienced something of that herself when she was expelled from Moscow as a supposed ‘security threat’.

Then, in February 2022, Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, moving faster than her worst fears. The culmination of many years of on-the-ground reporting, Goodbye to Russia shines a light on the attacks on freedom that Sarah has witnessed and paints an intimate portrait of the individuals who have tried to resist.

THE PORTRAIT PLAYERS

Monday 14 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

THE NEW LYRE – SONGS BY 17th CENTURY WOMEN

B Strozzi La riamata da chi amava

B Strozzi Amor dormiglione

I Leonarda Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 16 No. 12: I. Adagio; II. Allegro e presto (arr. for viol)

B Strozzi L’amante segret

I Leonarda Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 16 No. 12: V. Aria, Allegro (arr. for viol)

I Leonarda Ad arma, o spiritus

F Corbetta Chaconne

F Caccini O vive rose

F Campana Nobil piaga al mio cor

F Caccini Dov’io credea le mie

speranze vere

B Strozzi Begli occhi

Described in its debut concert as ‘beguiling’, The Portrait Players is an all-female trio whose programmes are inspired by historical characters. Founded in January 2023, they have quickly established a busy concert schedule across the UK and are delighted to be current Stoller Hall Young Artists. Their programme comprises vocal and instrumental music by Barbara Strozzi, Isabella Leonarda, Francesco Corbetta and Francesca Caccini.

‘A delightful evening that combined charm and virtuosity in equal measure’ Music in Durham.

BEN CHU

Monday 14 July 2pm – 3pm

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

Exile Economics: What Happens if Globalisation Fails

Nations are turning away from each other via sanctions, trade wars and real wars. With every shock, governments double down on self-sufficient economics and the global supply chain weakens.

‘Securonomics’ sounds resilient, but it’s terrible news for individual prosperity, shared equality, national security and international cooperation. A striving for national self-sufficiency is shaping up to be one of the greatest forces of twenty-first century geopolitics and economics - yet it is a desire that is only hazily understood, both in its nature and its consequences. In Exile Economics, Ben Chu lays out the dangers of the current obsession with isolationism.

Ben is the Policy and Analysis Correspondent at BBC Verify, and was previously the Economics Editor of BBC Newsnight, and Economics Editor at The Independent

SEX AND GEORGIAN SENSIBILITIES

Monday 14 July 3pm – 4.15pm

Meet outside the Buxton Crescent Hotel £15

Join Anne Lister, aka Gentleman Jack, brought vividly to life by one of Discover Buxton’s actor guides to take a health giving constitutional in the summer of 1825 as she muses on friendships, the Ladies of Llangollen and those, like herself, who defied social conventions.

The route is not easily wheelchair accessible but can be adapted. It features some dropped kerbs and a steep hill.

SACCONI QUARTET STRING QUARTET

Monday 14 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

R Panufnik Heartfelt

M Ravel String Quartet in F

L van Beethoven String Quartet in A minor, Op.132

Formed in 2001, the Sacconi Quartet have been captivating audiences with their unanimous and compelling ensemble, consistently communicating with their fresh and imaginative approach, infectiously reaching out to audiences with their energy and enthusiasm. They begin with a piece they commissioned from Roxanna Panufnik in 2020, continue by marking the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, and end with one of Beethoven’s remarkable group of late string quartets, notable for its extraordinarily poignant slow movement.

OPERA IN THE CAVERN

Monday 14 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Poole’s Cavern

£45

‘Extraordinary performances in a breathtaking space.’

Join us for an unforgettable, intimate tour beneath the earth, where you’ll marvel at beautifully illuminated, rock-sculpted galleries while enjoying stunning highlights from iconic operas. The experience begins with a glass of fizz just outside the Roman Chamber of Poole’s Cavern. From there, you’ll be guided through the breathtaking underground passages, rich in stalactites, stalagmites, and fascinating history.

Please wear sturdy footwear and bring warm clothing. The first half of the tour is wheelchair accessible, but unfortunately, the final section is not suitable for those with mobility challenges.

PUMP ROOM TALK: DR RUTH LARSEN Mistresses: Women in the Georgian Country House

Monday 14 July 6pm – 7pm

The Pump Room

£14

The eighteenth-century country house had many different functions. It was a centre for politics, entertaining, and displaying art; a major employer and the heart of the local economies; and a home, a place where the family came together. This was therefore a complex organisation, and this talk will examine what it was like to be the female head of one of these properties. It will highlight the joys, challenges, and anguishes of being the mistress of a stately home.

BENDOR GROSVENOR

Tuesday 15 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

The Invention of British Art

Art historian Bendor Grosvenor (best know for the BBC series Britain’s Lost Masterpieces and Fake or Fortune?) has discovered a number of important paintings by prominent artists including Van Dyck, Rubens, Titian and Gainsborough. The Invention of British Art is a provocative and captivating survey of British art from c. 10,000 BCE to the 19th century. Looking at key moments, objects, and individuals from each era, Bendor explores how they were shaped by the world in which the artists lived, and why – above all – it took so long for the art from these isles to actually become ‘British’. From folk art to the role of female artists, from the influences of invaders to the territories of the British Empire, the story of British art is just as much a story of Britain’s place in the world, and its impact upon it, as the art and artists themselves.

‘Inventive, profound, fabulously quirky, Bendor Grosvenor’s journey to the heart of British art takes him in directions that have never previously been trodden … A triumph.’ Waldemar Januszczak

GREGORY FELDMANN AND NATHANIEL LANASA BARITONE AND PIANO

Tuesday 15 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

The Way Home

F Schubert Der Wanderer

G Fauré L’Horizon Chimérique

P Haas Four Songs on Chinese Poetry

F Schubert Auf der Bruck

I E Rodríguez Mother of Exiles, from American Icons

G Kahane 8980, from Book of Travelers

S Chang from Something There for the Future, from American Icons

M Ricketts Everything is New, from American Icons arr. B Britten Dear Harp of my Country, from Moore’s Irish Melodies

Gregory Feldmann describes The Way Home as ‘a snapshot of the brief odyssey I’ve gone on in my artistic and personal life. It was collected as I tugged on the thread that connects me back to a place and people I love and explores where and to whom we venture toward.’ The programme includes songs by Schubert, Fauré, Pavel Haas, Britten – an arrangement of an Irish song by Thomas Moore – and four contemporary American and Canadian composers.

Ths event is sponsored by

JAMES REBANKS

Tuesday 15 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House

The Place of Tides

£17

One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on. Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come quickly: her health was failing. And so, he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island. Bestselling author and BIF favourite, James Rebanks tells us the story of that season.

BLESSIN ADAMS

Tuesday 15 July 3pm – 4pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

Thou Savage Woman: Female Killers in Early Modern Britain

Blessin Adams traded police work investigating today’s crime in the Norfolk Constabulary for academia tracing the lives and deaths of people in Early Modern England. Awash with pamphlets, ballads and woodcuts broadcasting bloodthirsty tales of traitorous wives, greedy mistresses, cunning female poisoners; of child killers and spiteful witches, stories of women wholly and unnaturally wicked. These were printed or sung, tacked to the walls of alehouses, sold in the streets for pennies and read voraciously to thrill all. But why? When the vast majority of murders then (and now) are committed by men. Blessin tells stories of women whose violent crimes shattered the narrow confines of their gender – and whose notoriety revealed a society that was at once repulsed by and attracted to murderous female rebellion. Thou Savage Woman reminds us that women in the past had voices, that they sought to control their bodies and their environments and that they also had the capacity for committing acts of unspeakable violence.

TUESDAY

Ths event is sponsored by

THREE TALES TO RETAIL

Tuesday 15 July 3pm – 4.30pm

Meet outside the Pump Room

£15

The history of retail in Buxton charts the changing world of shopping and the High Street. This short walk with a Discover Buxton guide visits three iconic shops still trading today and learns more of their fascinating history from Victorian times to the present day.

WIGMORE SOLOISTS CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Tuesday 15 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church

£32, Balcony £27

Formed in 2020, Wigmore Soloists comprise a roster of outstanding musicians, led by clarinettist Michael Collins. The group gives regular concerts at Wigmore Hall, and in other major venues around the world. The ensemble has recorded five discs with BIS Records which have received high critical acclaim from Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and The Strad. Following works by two leading Scandinavian composers, they play Beethoven’s entertaining Septet.

‘The crème de la crème of chamber players’ BBC Music Magazine.

F Berwald Grand Septet in B flat major

C Nielsen Serenata in Vano

L van Beethoven Septet in E Flat, Op. 20

This performance is made possible thanks to The Musicians’ Company Young Artists’ Programme

THE THREE DUKES - WEDNESDAY 16

Wednesday 16 July 11am – 1pm

Meet at Buxton Opera House

£15

Learn about the development of Buxton under the Cavendish family. Hear how the different characters of the 5th, 6th and 7th Dukes – the aristocrat, the collector and the academic – shaped the town we know today. A thrice-circular walk around Lower Buxton with a Discover Buxton tour guide. This route is not wheelchair accessible and features uneven pavements, inclines and small hills.

Wednesday 16 July 11am – 3pm

Assembly Rooms at the Crescent Hotel Free

Join the Friends of BIF for teas and coffees and a chat, and a host of free musical recitals throughout the day. DAY

CLAIRE HUBBARD-HALL

Wednesday 16 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence

From encoding orders and decrypting messages to penning propaganda and infiltrating organisations, women in British intelligence played a pivotal role in both World Wars. Prepare to meet the true custodians of Britain’s military secrets, from Kathleen Pettigrew, MI6 Chief Stewart Menzies’ assistant who declared, ‘I was Miss Moneypenny, but with more power,’ to Jane Archer, MI5’s first female officer who suspected Soviet spy Kim Philby long before his unmasking. Claire, a leading authority on secret intelligence, rescues these silenced voices - and those of many other fascinating women - from obscurity to provide a definitive account of women’s contributions to the history of the intelligence services.

RODERICK WILLIAMS AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON BARITONE

AND PIANO

Wednesday 16 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

The Elements – Earth

Pianist Joseph Middleton curates a series of recitals by four leading song singers exploring the theme of The Four Elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These concerts offer an unmissable opportunity to go on a journey into the rich and fascinating realm of art song. In the first of the series, Roderick and Joseph perform English songs by Finzi, Ireland, Butterworth, Boyle, Britten, Gurney, Clarke and Maconchy.

‘Roderick Williams ... consolidates his reputation as our greatest living baritone’ Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph.

‘Joseph Middleton, the perfect accompanist … played with panache’ Geoff Brown, The Times.

ERLING KAGGE

Wednesday 16 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House

£17

The North Pole: The History of an Obsession

Coming especially to BIF from Oslo, Erling Kagge is a Norwegian explorer who was the first in history to reach the ‘three poles’ – North, South and the summit of Everest. Throughout recorded human time, few places on Earth have inspired as much fascination as the North Pole. This is an otherworldly place with no latitude and no longitude, a place where the sun rises and stays aloft for six months before setting, plunging the expanse of ice and water into darkness for half a year. Blending memoir from his intrepid journey to the North Pole in 1990 (without dogs, depots or motorised aids) along with history, philosophy and a stark warning about melting ice, comes a profound meditation about nature and our place within it. The North Pole is for anyone who’s gazed out at the horizon – and wondered what happens if you keep walking.

THE KING’S SINGERS

Wednesday 16 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church

£37, Balcony

The King’s Singers have set the gold standard in a cappella singing on the world’s greatest stages for over 55 years. Their extensive discography has led to numerous awards, including a place in Gramophone magazine’s inaugural Hall of Fame. The first half of their programme –‘Angels, Demons, Mother, Son’ - is structured around Geoffrey Poole’s Wymondham Chants, written for them in 1970, interspersed with music by Byrd, Palestrina, Pärt, Duruflé and others. The second half brings ‘Songs of harmony and hope’, to be introduced by the singers.

£32

Ths event is sponsored by

DUNCAN WELDON

Wednesday 16 July 4pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

Blood and Treasure: The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to Ukraine

Wars are expensive, both in human terms and monetary ones. Since at least the 1640s, in the aftermath of the British Civil Wars, the phrase ‘blood and treasure’ has sought to encapsulate these costs. Blood and Treasure examines why Genghis Khan should be regarded as the father of globalisation, how New World gold and silver kept Spain poor, why some economists think of witch trials as a form of ‘non-price competition’, how pirate captains were pioneers of effective HR techniques, how handing out medals hurt the Luftwaffe in the Second World War and why economic theories helped to create a tragedy in Vietnam. It also analyses the changing economic costs of war and ask whether war is always bad for the economy. Duncan Weldon was formally Economics Correspondent at The Economist and for BBC Newsnight and broadcasts frequently across the BBC.

‘A Brilliant Book’ Martin Wolf, Financial Times

SWINGTIME BIG BAND WITH EMMA HOLCROFT AND MATT FORD

Wednesday 16 July 8pm – 10.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£25

Since its inception in 2013, Swingtime Big Band has forged its reputation as the finest of its type in the North of England. Packed with the North West’s finest players, the band swings its way through the libraries of well-known band leaders such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and Ted Heath.

The band features two superb vocalists, Emma Holcroft, a BIF favourite who appeared in 2022 with Ian Shaw and Guy Barker, and very special guest Matt Ford, one of the UK’s most experienced and in-demand Swing Era vocalists. Matt has sung with The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, BBC Big Band, and the John Wilson Orchestra.

COME AND SING WITH THE KING’S SINGERS

Thursday 17 July Registration at 9.30am for a 10am – 6.45pm workshop and performance

The Palace Hotel

£60

The King’s Singers invite keen singers to join them for a day learning and performing a selection of hand-picked King’s Singers repertoire, from some of their favourite renaissance works through to signature close-harmony arrangements. Sheet music and digital learning resources will be accessible in advance for preparation. The day will include full and sectional rehearsals with the six King’s Singers, hearing tips and techniques from their decades of worldwide touring, then a short evening showcase performance which will include sharing the stage with the group for joint works.

JONATHAN SUMPTION

Thursday 17 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

The Challenges of Democracy and The Rule of Law

Across the globe, democracy is in crisis – in the UK alone, it has been rocked by Brexit, the pandemic and successive attempts by governments to bypass legal norms. But how did this happen, and where might we go from here?

Jonathan Sumption cuts through the political noise with acute analysis of the state of democracy today - from the vulnerabilities of international law to the deepening suppression of democracy activism in Hong Kong, and from the complexities of human rights legislation to the defence of freedom of speech. Lord Sumption KC is a British judge and historian, who served as a Supreme Court Justice for six years.

ANNA SEWARD, A WOMAN OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Thursday 17 July 3pm – 4.30pm

Meet outside the Pump Room £15

For more information see p33

NIAMH O’SULLIVAN AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON

MEZZO-SOPRANO AND PIANO

Thursday 17 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

The Elements – Fire

For the second recital in this Elements series, Joseph Middleton is joined by Irish mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, praised for her ‘bewitchingly beautiful, dark vibrant voice’ – SüddeutscheZeitung

A 2023 – 2025 BBC New Generation Artist, and a former studio member of the Bavarian State Opera, O’Sullivan has quickly established herself as one of the most exciting mezzos today. Their programme celebrates fire both literal and figurative.

F Schubert Auflösung; An die Sonne; Lied des Orpheus, als er in die Holle ging; Im Abendrot

F Liszt Die drei Zigeuner

H Duparc Phidylé; La vie anterieure

G Bizet Adieux de l’hotesse arabe

E Chabrier Les cigales

J Brahms Salome; Liebesglut; Spanisches Lied

X Montsalvatge Cinco Canciones Negras

SOLEM QUARTET

STRING QUARTET

Thursday 17 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

STRINGSONGS

L Boulanger Two Pieces for violin and piano, arr. William Newell

N Boulanger Three Pieces for Cello and Piano, arr. Stephanie Tress

M Monk Stringsongs

C Debussy String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10

Praised for their ‘immaculate precision and spirit’ (The Strad) and ‘cultured tone’ (The Arts Desk), the Solem Quartet has established itself as one of the most innovative and adventurous quartets of its generation. A 2020 awardee of the Jerwood Arts Live Work Fund, one of 33 artists selected from more than 1200 applicants, the Solem Quartet takes its place amongst some of the UK’s brightest artistic voices. Following pieces by the remarkable Boulanger sisters, they play a work by the American composer, singer and choreographer Meredith Monk, and Debussy’s exploratory early string quartet.

THURSDAY 17 JULY

IAIN MACGREGOR

Thursday 17 July 4pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

The Hiroshima Men: The Quest to Build the Atomic Bomb and the Fateful Decision to Use It

At 8.15am on 6 August 1945, the Japanese port city of Hiroshima was struck by the world’s first atomic bomb. Built in the US by the topsecret Manhattan Project and delivered by a B-29 Superfortress, a revolutionary long-range bomber, the weapon destroyed large swaths of the city instantly killing tens of thousands. The Hiroshima Men’s unique narrative recounts the decade-long journey towards this first atomic attack seen through the experiences of several key characters: General Leslie Groves, leader of the Manhattan Project alongside Robert Oppenheimer; pioneering Army Air Force bomber pilot Colonel Paul Tibbetts II; the mayor of Hiroshima, Senkichi Awaya; and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Hersey, who travelled to post-war Japan to expose the devastation the bomb had inflicted upon the city.

THE KING’S SINGERS & FRIENDS

Thursday 17th July 6pm – 6.45pm St. Johns Church £25, Balcony £20

This short showcase performance is the culmination of The King’s Singers’ Come and Sing day. Keen singers who met for the first time in the morning will be taking the stage with The King’s Singers, after a day of musical bonding and tuition, to perform a selection of beautiful choral works from across the last 500 years. There may also be a few numbers from The King’s Singers in there too …

MUSICALS IN THE CAVERN

Thursday 17 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Poole’s Cavern £45

‘Extraordinary performances in a breathtaking space.’

Join us for an unforgettable, intimate tour beneath the earth, where you’ll marvel at beautifully illuminated, rock-sculpted galleries while enjoying stunning highlights from iconic musicals. The experience begins with a glass of fizz just outside the Roman Chamber of Poole’s Cavern. From there, you’ll be guided through the breathtaking underground passages, rich in stalactites, stalagmites, and fascinating history.

Please wear sturdy footwear and bring warm clothing. The first half of the tour is wheelchair accessible, but unfortunately, the final section is not suitable for those with mobility challenges.

JAMIE MACDOUGALL AS LAUDER

Thursday 17 July 9.15pm – 10.15pm

Pavillion Arts Centre £32, Balcony £27

Lauder

Lauder is a gem of a show about a legendary Scottish entertainer, known for songs including ‘I Love a Lassie’, ‘Roamin’ in the Gloamin’ and ‘The End of the Road’. By 1911 Harry Lauder had become the highest-paid performer in the world, and an international star of music hall, vaudeville and recordings. Adapted by director Kally Lloyd-Jones, with songs curated by Derek Clark.

‘An unmissable, five-star tribute to one of Scotland’s greats by a production and performing team of the highest quality’ ✩✩✩✩✩ Glasgow Theatre Blog

THE BIRTH OF BUXTON’S ‘BELLE EPOQUE’ AND ITS LEGACY

Friday 18 July 11am-12.30pm

Meet at St. John’s Church £15

JOE TUCKER

Friday 18 July

For more information see p37

10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

The Secret Painter

Joe Tucker’s Uncle Eric was a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life. A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost eighty years, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie – and yet had also amassed over five hundred of his own remarkable paintings without anyone ever realising his achievements. Towards the end of his life, Eric requested an exhibition of his work. Why had this fanatically sociable man never left his mother’s home? Had Eric ever experienced love when he painted it so beautifully? And what had driven him to create so much, yet share it so rarely? Joe Tucker is a television scriptwriter, who, with his scriptwriting partner, Lloyd Woolf, has created and written the BBC shows Witless, Click & Collect and Black Ops

‘A timely reminder that art did not originate as an investment opportunity or a get-rich-quick scheme but as a way for human beings to make sense of their lives (plus make them bearable into the bargain). Miracles happen in the most unlikely places’ Jarvis Cocker

TOBY SPENCE AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON TENOR AND PIANO

Friday 18 July

11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

The Elements – Air

Joseph Middleton is joined by Toby Spence for the third recital in this mini-series. Toby Spence has sung at the Royal Opera House, and leading opera houses in New York, Vienna, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Barcelona, San Francisco and Hamburg, as well as at the Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence and Edinburgh festivals. Beginning with Beethoven’s touching song-cycle An Die Ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved) their programme also includes songs by Schubert, Wolf, Fauré, Hahn, Finzi and Britten.

L van Beethoven An Die Ferne Geliebte

F Schubert Ganymed; Pause

H Wolf An eine Äolsharfe; Ganymed

G Fauré Fleur jetée

R Hahn Si mes vers avaient des ailes

G Finzi Earth and Air and Rain

B Britten The Birds

F Schubert Nacht und Träume

JEREMY HUNT

Friday 18 July

Buxton Opera House

12.30pm – 1.30pm

£17

Can We Be Great Again: Why it’s now or never for Britain

Jeremy Hunt was first appointed Secretary of State for Health in September 2012, then served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from July 2018 to July 2019, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from October 2022 to July 2024. Looking back at his time as this country’s global ambassador, Jeremy asks: is Britain a minor player, marginalized by our departure from the EU and dwarfed by the rise of new economies? Or is there a major role for us to play in a rapidly changing international order? With the election of President Trump, the answer to that question matters. A world that was already becoming more dangerous has also become more unpredictable. Is the UK really a busted flush, or, is now more than ever a moment to try and defend the huge progress in freedom and democracy we have seen over the last century? FRIDAY

THE ENGLISH CONCERT AND PAULA MURRIHY

ORCHESTRA AND MEZZO-SOPRANO

Friday 18 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church

£37, Balcony £32

The English Concert is an outstanding orchestra: exceptional, in the worldrenowned quality, ambition and variety of its live and recorded output; unique, in the zeal of its players for working and performing together; unwavering, in its desire to connect with its audience throughout the world. Irish mezzosoprano Paula Murrihy enjoys a busy career working at the highest level in both Europe and the US. The programme features some of Handel’s greatest opera arias and two of his concertos plus Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso .

G F Handel Overture to Serse

G F Handel Ombra mai fu from Xerxes

G F Handel Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 6

G F Handel ‘Scherza Infida’ from Ariodante

G F Handel ‘Where Shall I Fly’ from Hercules

G F Handel Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 1

G F Handel ‘There in Myrtle Shade Reclined’ from Hercules

F Geminiani Concerto Grosso, Op. 5, No. 12, ‘Follia’

G F Handel ‘Dopo Notte’ from Ariodante

MASUD HUSAIN

Friday 18 July 3pm – 4pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain

What makes us who we are? Is it our background that creates our identities? Or our families, where we lived, how we were brought up and educated, the jobs we’ve held? Yes, all of the above, but more fundamental than any of these is our brain. This is never more evident than if we lose even a single one of our cognitive abilities. People who develop a brain disorder can find that their identity, their sense of self, can undergo dramatic changes. Through the stories of seven of his patients, Oxford University neurologist Masud Husain shows us how our brains create our identity, how that identity can be changed, and sometimes even be restored.

PUMP ROOM TALK: DR PETER COLLINGE

Friday 18 July 6pm – 7pm

The Pump Room

£14

Madam Geneva: Gin and the Georgians

Join Dr Pete Collinge as he dives into the world of Georgian gin – the demon drink of the eighteenth century. Gin was keenly promoted by governments and by landowners. As it flooded towns and cities, in its wake came illicit gatherings, poisonings, crime, scandal, death and murder. Aghast at its intoxicating and debilitating effects, especially among the poor, moral crusaders took to the streets and to the printing press, so too did its promoters. The results were both riotous and turbulent.

CLARE TEAL, DENNY ILETT AND THE ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH WITH SPECIAL GUEST LIZZIE BALL

Friday 18 July

Buxton Opera House

8pm – 10.30pm

£30 - £50

Latin for Lovers The Bossa Nova songs of Doris Day and Frank Sinatra

It’s the mid-1960s and the musical world is under the spell of the Bossa Nova. Antonio Carlos Jobim has been crowned the King of the Bossa, having composed many iconic melodies such as The Girl From Ipanema, Meditation, Corcovado and Desafinado. Record companies have all the major stars recording albums featuring these beautiful tales of love and loss – none bigger than Doris Day and Frank Sinatra.

23 musicians from the Orchestra of Opera North are joining us to accompany Teal and Ilett on Jobim classics such as Girl From Ipanema, How Insensitive, and Corcovado. These sit seamlessly with Bossa renditions of such Great American Songbook staples as Fly Me To The Moon, I Concentrate on You, and Change Partners.

Clare Teal Vocals

Denny Ilett Vocals

Lizzie Ball Vocals and violin

Jim Watson Piano

Simon Little Bass

Dave Archer Guitar

Will Cleasby Drums / Percussion

Gui Tavares Guitar

Richard Pite Drums / Percussion

Anthony Kerr Vibraphone / Marimba / Glockenspiel

LOLA YOUNG

Saturday 19 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

Eight Weeks: Looking Backwards, Moving Forwards, Defying the Odds

Baroness Lola Young has been an actress, an academic, an activist and campaigner for social justice, and a crossbench peer. But from the age of eight weeks to eighteen years, she was moved between foster care placements and children’s homes in North London. It would take many decades before she was able to begin the search for answers to the long-standing questions that would help her make sense of her childhood. In Eight Weeks, through her care records, fragments of memory, and her imagination where parts of her story are missing, Lola assembles the pieces of her past into a portrait of a childhood in a system that often made her feel invisible and unwanted whilst telling a powerful story of her determination to defy the odds.

SEX AND GEORGIAN SENSIBILITIES

Saturday 19 July 3pm – 4.15pm

Meet at Buxton Crescent Hotel £15

For more information see p40

MARY BEVAN AND JOSEPH MIDDLETON

SOPRANO AND PIANO

Saturday 19 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £22

The Elements – Water

The sea, rivers, harbours and canals, not to mention fish, mermaids and other waterspirits, are all celebrated in this last recital in the ‘Elements’ series. This season, Mary Bevan sings Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro for ENO, Morgana in Alcina for Opera di Roma, and Michal in Saul in Dresden. She recently debuted with the Bavarian State Opera and Zurich Opera House, and made a return to the Royal Opera House. She was awarded an MBE in 2019.

C Debussy La mer est plus belle

H Duparc L’invitation au voyage

C Gounod Venice

R Hahn La barcheta

G Bizet La Sirène

A Honegger Chanson des sirènes; Berceuse de la sirène

R Schumann Die Meerfee

R Clarke The Seal Man

J Haydn The Mermaid’s song

C Schumann Lorelei

R Schumann Loreley

F Schubert Die Forelle; Auf dem wasser zu singen; Des Fischers Liebesgluck

H Berlioz L’ile inconnue

G Fauré Les berceaux; A Clymène

E Chabrier L’île heureuse

POLLY TOYNBEE AND DAVID WALKER

Saturday 19 July

12.30pm – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House £17

The Only Way is Up: How to Take Britain from Austerity to Prosperity

Political change has come. But the new Westminster government’s inheritance looks grim. We’re all in it together, the Tories used to say. In The Only Way is Up, husband and wife team, Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee and former director of The Audit Commission David Walker give us a ready reckoner on how to repair the damage of sharp social divisions, vastly increased inequality, a stagnant economy and unfulfilled commitments on climate change - and all at a time of unprecedented international tension. Combining the latest data with expert analysis across health, children’s services, the economy, environment, policing and defence, Festival favourites Polly and David tell the story of what went wrong during the Tories’ wild ride and what must now be remedied.

BRAIMAH KANNEH-MASON AND JÂMS COLEMAN

Saturday 19 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £37, Balcony £22

Braimah Kanneh-Mason is a dynamic and versatile young violinist who has performed throughout the UK, Europe, USA and Australia. He has appeared as a soloist with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bath Philharmonia and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Also an avid chamber musician, Braimah is a member of the Kanneh-Mason Piano Trio, Festival Academy Budapest Ensemble and Kaleidoscope Collective.

E Elgar Sospiri; Chanson de Nuit

S Rachmaninov Vocalise

E Elgar Violin Sonata in E Minor, Op 82

L Boulanger Nocturne; D’un Matin de Printemps

C Franck Violin Sonata in A major

LADY NADE

Saturday 19 July 3pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£20

Lady Nade brings a real treat to Buxton with her full band to celebrate our Folk Saturday.

With nominations for Artist of the Year at the AMAUK Awards, 2023, and a Song of the Year win at the UK Americana Awards, 2022, she is one of the UK’s most distinctive voices. Recognised as one of Bristol’s Most Influential Women in 2022 by Bristol Live, she’s an award-winning songstress of extraordinary calibre. Her music defies easy categorisation, blending Folk, Americana, Soul, Jazz, Blues, and Roots into a captivating tapestry.

‘A rising star of the Americana scene’ Ralph McLean, BBC Radio Ulster

BARB JUNGR SINGS DYLAN AND COHEN

Saturday 19 July 8pm – 10.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£22

Award-winning singer and writer Barb Jungr, returns with a collection of Dylan and Cohen’s most iconic songs mixing her best and award-winning interpretations with a selection of challenging new arrangements of these classic songbooks. Fresh from curating the first ever UK festival of Bob Dylan for Farnham Maltings, Visions of Dylan, Barb embarks on a series of shows celebrating two of the greatest contemporary songwriters of the western world.

‘Barb Jungr interprets [Dylan and Cohen’s] work with a ferocity and truthfulness that demolishes every cover version you’ve ever heard’ - The New York Times

Barb Jungr Vocals

Simon Wallace Piano

Davide Mantovani Bass

ANNA SEWARD, A WOMAN OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Sunday 20 July 11am – 12.30pm

Meet outside the Pump Room £15

For more information see p33

A NIGHT WITH JOSEPHINE

CASSIOPEIA BERKELEY-AGYEPONG WITH COUNTERPOISE ENSEMBLE

Sunday 20 July

2pm – 4pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

A Night with Josephine tells the story, with text, visuals and movement, of the American-French dancer, singer and actress Josephine Baker, notorious for her banana dance, but also a civil rights activist, champion of women’s rights, intrepid French Resistance fighter and ‘the most sensational woman anyone ever saw’ (Hemingway).

The colourful scene of 1920s Paris is set with three classic silent shorts from the period: Ghosts Before Breakfast (Hans Richter 1928) score by Jean Hasse, The Fall of the House of Usher (Watson & Webber 1928) score by Jean Hasse and Entr’acte (René Clair 1924) score by Luke Styles. Their soundtracks are played live by the acclaimed Counterpoise Ensemble.

Josephine Baker Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong

Musical director Yshani Perinpanayagam

Videographer Andrea Marcovecchio

CHLOË HANSLIP WITH DANNY DRIVER VIOLIN AND PIANO

Sunday 20 July

3pm – 4pm

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

‘Violinist Chloë Hanslip and pianist Danny Driver are the perfect pair’ The Times

Alongside busy solo careers, Chloë Hanslip and Danny Driver have enjoyed a flourishing partnership since 2011. They perform together extensively across the UK and internationally, with frequent live BBC broadcasts from Wigmore Hall and LSO St Luke’s. Their programme pairs two of JS Bach’s violin and keyboard sonatas with Shostakovich – a selection of his Op. 34 Preludes, and his haunted, and haunting, Violin Sonata.

J S Bach Sonata in E major for violin and keyboard, BWV 1016

D Shostakovich Preludes, Op. 34 (selection, transcribed for violin and piano)

J S Bach Sonata for violin and keyboard in A major BWV 1015

D Shostakovich Violin Sonata, Op. 134

RUMER WITH SUPPORT FROM HANNAH BRINE

Sunday 20 July 8pm – 10.30pm

Buxton Opera House £25 – £40

Rumer presents Seasons of My Soul - the 3 X platinum debut album.

Since Seasons Of My Soul landed in the Top 3 of the UK Albums Charts in 2010, achieved Platinum sales status and garnered her a MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act and two BRIT Award nominations, British singer-songwriter Rumer has forged an acclaimed career as both a highlyregarded songwriter, penning global hits such as ‘Slow’ and ‘Aretha’, and a peerless interpreter of the work of others on her follow-up album Boys Don’t Cry – an album of classic covers from the 1970 – plus Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas and This Girl’s in Love: A Bacharach and David Songbook.

Rumer is supported by singer songwriter Hannah Brine. She brings the gorgeous songs from her new album Blue Sky Now to Buxton, inspired by the Great American Songbook, with a voice & song writing style likened to Carole King and Norah Jones.

ROMAN KRZNARIC

Monday 21 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

History for Tomorrow: How the Past Can Inspire Our Future

How might understanding the origins of capitalism spark ideas for bringing AI under control? What could we learn from eighteenth century Japan for creating regenerative economies today?… or from the coffee houses of Georgian London for taming social media? Roman unearths fascinating insights and inspiration from the last 1000 years of world history that could help us confront the most pressing concerns of the twenty-first century. From bridging the inequality gap and reducing the risks of genetic engineering, to reviving our faith in democracy and avoiding ecological collapse, social philosopher Roman Krznaric suggests that history is not simply a means of understanding the past but a dynamic way to reimagine our relationship with the future. Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Roman’s TED talk ‘How to be a good ancestor’ has been viewed over 1.5 million times.

FIBONACCI QUARTET STRING QUARTET

Monday 21 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

L Janáček String Quartet No. 2, ‘Intimate Letters’

B Smetana String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, ‘From my Life’

One of Europe’s leading young string quartets, the Fibonacci Quartet have already made a name for themselves in the UK, and abroad, as prolific competition winners. They are a Resident Ensemble at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid. They play two Czech string quartets with intensely personal significance for their composers. Janáček’s outpouring of love for a younger woman is set against Smetana looking back over his life and career, and confronting the reality of hearing loss.

PIATTI QUARTET STRING

QUARTET

Monday 21 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

THIS SCEPTRED ISLE

B Britten String Quartet No. 1, Op. 25

J Phibbs String Quartet No. 4

C Harding Iorsa

E Elgar String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83

Resident Quartet at Kings Place, London, the distinguished Piatti Quartet are widely renowned for their ‘profound music making’ (The Strad) and their ‘lyrical warmth’ (BBC Music Magazine). Since their prizewinning performances at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, they have performed all over the world and made broadcasts from many countries. Their programme of English string quartets balances two 20th-century classics with two recent works by Joseph Phibbs and Charlotte Harding, which they co-commissioned.

THREE TALES TO RETAIL

Monday 21 July 3pm – 4.30pm Meet outside the Pump Room £15

PUMP ROOM TALK: DR RICHARD GAUNT

Monday 21 July 6pm – 7pm The Pump Room £14

Sex and Scandal in an 18th Century Election

Dr Richard Gaunt examines the scandalous caricature war which erupted when Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, canvassed for votes in the Westminster election of 1784 and what this tells us about the nature of Georgian England.

HELEN LEWIS

Tuesday 22 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

The Genius Myth

You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate. Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Floridian rocket launches of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Helen unravels a word that we all use, without really questioning what it means. Along the way, she uncovers the secret of the Beatles’ success, asks how biographers should solve the Austen Problem, and reveals why Stephen Hawking thought IQ tests were for losers (before taking one herself). Helen has written for the Guardian, Sunday Times, New York Times and Vogue. She is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4 and regularly appears on Have I Got News for You.

SEX AND GEORGIAN SENSIBILITIES

Tuesday 22 July 11pm – 12.15pm

Meet at Buxton Crescent Hotel £15

DANIEL SHAO AND GEORGE TODICĂ FLUTE AND PIANO

Tuesday 22 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

British-Chinese flautist Daniel Shao regularly performs with ensembles including the Philharmonia, London Symphony and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras. Award-winning Romanian pianist George Todică has performed in venues and festivals across the UK and Europe, and has garnered awards at many international competitions.

After Debussy’s haunting work for solo flute, Daniel and George play two emotionally probing sonatas originally written for violin and piano.

C Debussy Syrinx

W A Mozart Sonata in B flat, K. 454

C Franck Sonata in A major

For more information see p40

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

Tuesday 22 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House £17

The Golden Road: How India Transformed the World

For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific. William draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India’s oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today (including zero), India transformed the culture and technology of its ancient world, and our world today as we know it.

CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF JANE AUSTEN SOPRANO AND PIANO

Tuesday 22 July 3pm – 4pm

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

Love, Life and Sisterhood

‘She was the sun of my life … the soother of every sorrow’ Cassandra Austen

Jane Austen’s perceptive storytelling makes us feel we know her. She was Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, and Elinor Dashwood. Sisterhood was central to her life and novels. This recital brings Jane’s letters to her sister Cassandra to life, underscored by Jonathan Dove’s The Beautiful Cassandra, alongside the music she loved by Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert.

Claire Booth Soprano

Andrew Matthews-Owen Piano

Alex Kingston Actor

Ths event is sponsored by

LAURENCE REES

Tuesday 22 July 4pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings from History

How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly, often enthusiastically, oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews? Former Head of BBC History programmes, Laurence Rees combines history and the latest research in psychology to help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust. Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crime in the history of the world. Rees traces the rise and eventual fall of the Nazis through the lens of ‘twelve warnings’, from talk about ‘them’ and ‘us’ to the escalation of racism, whilst also highlighting signs to look out for in present day leaders.

SONG AT SIX

Tuesday 22 July 6pm

Pavillion Garden’s Bandstand FREE

For more information see p16

LIZA PULMAN SINGS STREISAND

Tuesday 22 July 8pm – 10.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£25

Acclaimed singer and comedienne, and one third of the satirical comedy group Fascinating Aida, Liza Pulman celebrates the legend of Barbra Streisand in the five-star triumph, Liza Pulman Sings Streisand. Alongside Musical Director Joseph Atkins, and backed by her fabulous sixpiece band, Liza presents an intimate evening of iconic songs and fascinating anecdotes, bringing to the stage not only her exceptional voice but also her own personal slant on Streisand’s life and music.

‘Bewitches us with sheer vocal virtuosity and emotional expression.’ ✩✩✩✩✩ British Theatre.com

Wednesday 23 July 10am – 3pm

Assembly Rooms at the Crescent Hotel Free

You are warmly invited to the Assembly Rooms at the Buxton Crescent Hotel, where the Friends of BIF are hosting free events throughout the day, alongside tea and coffee. It’s the perfect chance to find out more about this thriving organisation.

ROGER

CLOUGH

Wednesday 23 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

Oldenland: A Journey in Search of the Good Last Years

Old age is a country, and we need to learn to walk through it. And that’s just what Roger Clough, former Professor of Social Care, lifelong hill walker, and current resident of ‘Oldenland’ spends his time doing. Where he used to study the terrain of ageing like a scientist, now he understands it as a farmer might, walking its contours every day from his retirement village in the Peak District, while still walking the physical peaks and troughs of the area. Whilst there are a lot of books that cover the ‘how to have a good death’, there is little that instructs us on the time period that comes before that. How do we learn to actually be old? How do we spend our later years in a meaningful way that makes sense of who we’ve been and who we are now?

ON THE MEDICINAL USE OF BUXTON WATER

Wednesday 23 July 11am

Meet at Buxton Opera House £15

Are you a sceptic or a believer? Join Discover Buxton on a gentle stroll around Lower Buxton and find out more about the town’s thermal mineral waters, once known as a cure for anything that may ail you. We look at the properties of the water, hear tales of their impact and track their medicinal use through the centuries.

This route is wheelchair accessible but features uneven pavements, inclines and a small hill.

HOPE CRAMSIE GUITAR

Wednesday 23 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St. Johns £27, Balcony £22

Hope Cramsie has featured regularly in the International Guitar Foundation’s Young Artist Platform concert series, including a performance at Kings Place during the London Guitar Festival, 2021. She writes ‘I have chosen to centre this programme around the music of Catalan composer Federico Mompou, whose work is more nostalgic and subtle than the Spanish guitar we are so familiar with. This music lends itself so well to the guitar, showcasing it as instrument of immense lyricism and sensitivity.’

J Dowland Preludium; The Frog Galliard; Fantasia No. 7

A Mudarra Fantasía que contraze la harpa en la manera de Ludovico

M Llobet 3 Catalan Folk Songs

F Poulenc Sarabande

G Tailleferre Guitare

F Mompou Suite Compostelana

L Snowden This Changing Sky

G Khayam Thousand Mirrors

F Chopin Nocturne in B flat, Op. 9 No. 2

A Barrios Mangoré Un Sueño en la Floresta

WILLIAMS-HOWARD PRIZE CONCERT

Wednesday 23 July 2.30pm – 3.30pm

St John’s Church Free

COLOUR MY SONG

Join us for the 4th Annual Williams-Howard Prize Concert at the Buxton International Festival. Established in 2022 by Michael Harper, Vocal Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music, this prestigious competition celebrates art songs by composers of African heritage.

The concert features the 2025 winners of the competition, showcasing the next generation of talent. Previous winners have gone on to perform at iconic venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall, as well as with BBC Philharmonic, English Touring Opera, and Kantos Chamber Choir amongst others.

JOHN CRACE

Wednesday 23 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House £17

Taking the Lead: A Dog at Number Ten

From the ingeniously quickwitted John Crace comes a satirical memoir from the eyes of his beloved dog, Herbie. It started when a chance encounter with Sadiq Khan’s Labrador landed Herbie a job working as a special advisor to Ed Miliband in 2014. Then he was summoned by David Cameron to work on the Remain campaign in the EU referendum. He experienced the pain of working with Theresa May; was sacked and then rehired by Boris Johnson to advise on Covid; was at Balmoral when the Queen died; had a ringside seat for Liz Truss; was fired by Rishi Sunak and then latterly taken on by Keir Starmer. This is the story the politicians didn’t want you to know. John has been the Guardian’s political sketch writer for the last ten years and is one of the paper’s most loved columnists.

THE BIRTH OF BUXTON’S ‘BELLE EPOQUE’ AND ITS LEGACY

Wednesday July 23

3pm – 4.30pm

Meet at St. John’s Church £15

For more information see p37

THE TALLIS SCHOLARS

Wednesday 23 July 4pm – 6pm (including an interval)

The Octagon £37, Balcony £32

G Pierluigi da Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli

T Luis de Victoria Dum complerentur; Dum ergo essent

G Pierluigi da Palestrina Dum complerentur

T Luis de Victoria Versa est in luctum

T Luis de Victoria O sacrum convivium

G Pierluigi da Palestrina Magnificat primi toni a 8

T Luis de Victoria Magnificat primi toni a 8

‘The rock stars of Renaissance vocal music’ The New York Times

The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music throughout the world. Their programme comprises one of Palestrina’s greatest mass-settings, and a selection of motets by Palestrina and his great Spanish contemporary, Victoria.

LUCY HUGHES-HALLET

Wednesday 23 July 4pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham

A New Statesman, Prospect, Times and Spectator Book of the Year, Lucy Hughes-Hallett transports us into a courtly world of masques and dancing, exquisite clothes, the art of Rubens and Van Dyck, gender-fluidity, same-sex desire and appallingly rudimentary medicine. As King James I’s favourite, Buckingham was also his confidant, gatekeeper, right-hand man and lover. When Charles I succeeded his father, he was similarly enthralled and made Buckingham his best friend and mentor. A dazzling figure on horseback and a skilful player of the political game, Buckingham rapidly transformed the influence his beauty gave him into immense wealth and power. He became one of the most flamboyant and enigmatic Englishmen at the heart of seventeenth-century royal and political life.

THE NIGHTCREATURES DUO FAREWELL TO STORYVILLE

Wednesday 23 July 8pm – 10.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£20

‘Farewell to Storyville’ – Songs and Stories from New Orleans

From 1897 to 1917, Storyville was a legalised prostitution district associated with the early development of New Orleans-style jazz. Botham and Davies take us on a musical tour of old New Orleans, singing the songs and telling the tales that built the city’s huge legacy of jazz and blues, from the early days of Jelly Roll Morton and Buddy Bolden to the historic recordings of Dr John and Professor Longhair.

It’s Dixieland, Barrelhouse, Rhythm and Blues and stride piano, all Rock ‘n’ Rolled into one. There are even a few modern songs reinterpreted in the traditional style for good measure.

Henry Botham Piano

Tom Davies Guitar and Vocals

HELEN CASTOR

Thursday 24 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

The Eagle and The Hart: The Tragedy and Richard II and Henry IV Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king. Yet Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Henry had all the qualities Richard lacked, all the qualities a sovereign needed, bar one: birth right. Increasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, in a time of constant conflict, rebellions and reprisals. He banished Henry into exile and the stage was set for a final confrontation, as the hart became the tyrant and the eagle his usurper.

THE THREE DUKES

Thursday 24 July 11am – 1pm

Meet at Buxton Opera House £15

For more information see p44

ALISSA FIRSOVA WITH JANE BURNELL AND DAN D’SOUZA PIANO, SOPRANO AND BARITONE

Thursday 24 July 11.15am – 12.15pm St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

British-Russian pianist, composer and conductor Alissa Firsova won the BBC Proms Inspire Competition in 2001, and made her Wigmore Hall and Proms debuts in 2009.

She is joined by Jane Burnell and Dan D’Souza in settings of poems by Donne, Shakespeare and Blake. Jane sang the lead role in Haydn’s opera La Canterina at BIF last year. Anglo-Irish baritone Dan is an English National Opera Harewood Artist for 2024 – 25.

E Langer Stay O Sweet

B Britten Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, Op. 74

D Smirnov Ophelia Songs, Op. 197a; To Be or Not To Be, Op. 195a bis A Firsova To the Evening Star Op. 51b

IMOGEN COOPER PIANO

Thursday 24 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £37, Balcony £32

L van Beethoven

Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major Op. 109

Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major Op. 110

Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111

Imogen Cooper has a widespread international career and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Budapest Festival and NHK Symphony orchestras. She has played at the BBC Proms and with all the major British orchestras, including particularly close relationships with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Britten Sinfonia.

IAN COLLINS WITH MARK COCKER

Thursday 24 July 4pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

Blythe Spirit: The Remarkable Life of Ronald Blythe

Ronald Blythe, one of Britain’s foremost rural writers, passed away in January 2023 at 100. The Blythe gift was to marvel in the everyday. His intimate, meditative and often wryly humorous writing, invited readers to share his enchanting perspective. Leaving school at 14, he educated himself in libraries, churches, and East Anglian walks. He never spoke of early poverty, wartime trauma, or his private sexuality. Drawing on letters, notebooks, drafts, and conversations from decades of friendship, Ian Collins tells Blythe’s full story and, at Buxton, speaks with Blythe’s friend, naturalist Mark Cocker.

OPERA IN THE CAVERN

Thursday 24 July 4.45pm – 5.45pm

Poole’s Cavern £45

See p41 for more information on this event.

MUSICALS IN THE CAVERN

Thursday 24 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Poole’s Cavern £45

See p51 for more information on this event.

JOAN SMITH

Friday 25 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

Unfortunately, She was a Nymphomaniac: A New History of Rome’s Imperial Women

Writer and activist Joan Smith has worked for years to raise awareness of violence against women and girls. Her new book reinterprets the bloody, violent story of imperial women at the hands of (in no particular order) Nero, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula – and others. These imperial mothers, daughters and wives – were the most privileged women of their time but their lives were overshadowed, dominated and controlled by these men. Raped, killed, ripped apart from their children, and mostly airbrushed from history, Joan Smith brings these women back into light and into focus, offering an account of their extraordinary and tragic lives.

MARK STONE AND STEPHEN BARLOW BARITONE AND PIANO

Friday 25 July 11am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

F Schubert Winterreise, D911

Baritone Mark Stone has been acclaimed for his Wagnerian roles: Alberich in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, at the Longborough Festival, Wotan in Die Walküre, with the Trondheim Symfoniorkester, and Gunther in Götterdämmerung, at the Grand Théâtre de Genève). He is also renowned for modern works such as John Adams’ Nixon in China, and the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly. He joins the former Artistic Director of the Buxton International Festival, Stephen Barlow, for Schubert’s great, emotionally devastating song-cycle.

GORDON CORERA

Friday 25 July 12.30am – 1.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre £14

The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB

Since 2004

Gordon Corera has been a Security Correspondent for BBC News where he covers terrorism, cyber security, the work of intelligence agencies and other national security issues. How do you steal a library? Not just any library but the most secret archive in the world. The answer is to be a librarian. To be so quiet, that no-one knows what you are up to as you toil undercover over decades and so low key, that even after your escape, aided by MI6, no-one even notices you are gone.

Gordon’s new book, The Spy in the Archive is the remarkable story of how Vasili Mitrokhin, an introverted KGB archivist, exposed to secrets that turned him into a dissident and then a spy, became a man determined to expose the truth about the dark forces that had subverted Russia, forces still at work in the country today.

THREE TALES TO RETAIL

Friday 25 July 3pm – 4.30pm

Meet outside the Pump Room

£15

For more information see p44

ALISSA FIRSOVA WITH THE BELINFANTE QUARTET AND

WILL DUERDEN (DOUBLE BASS)

Friday 25 July

3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £32, Balcony £27

For her second Buxton Festival appearance, Alissa Firsova is joined by bassist Will Duerden and the Belinfante Quartet for a programme of recent Russian music, ending with the expressively ambiguous Piano Quintet by Shostakovich, the fiftieth anniversary of whose death occurs in August this year. Will Duerden appeared with the Sitkovetsky Trio in Buxton last year; the Belinfante Quartet was formed in the Netherlands in 2016, and is recognised as one of the most exciting string quartets of its generation.

TRIBUTE TO DMITRI SMIRNOV

D Smirnov Piano Quintet Op. 72

S Gubaidulina Pantomime

E Firsova Hymn to Spring, Op. 64

P Karmanov Spring QuaREtet

D Smirnov Into the Light, Op. 193

D Shostakovich Piano Quintet Op. 57

SUMIT PAUL-CHOUDHURY

Friday 25 July

4pm – 5pm Pavilion Arts Centre £14

The Bright Side: Why Optimists have the Power to Change the World

The Bright Side makes a vital and transformative new argument: that optimism is not only the natural state of humanity, but an essential one. Without optimism we would never have survived the unpredictable and often hostile world we evolved into. Yet optimism is not reserved for times of extremity. Its benefits manifest throughout our everyday lives: our relationships, careers, bodies and minds. Astrophysicist-turned-journalist, and former Editor-in- Chief of the New Scientist, Sumit Paul-Choudhury offers practical suggestions on what it really takes to be an optimist today and, in doing so, provides a powerful manifesto for hope and a much-needed new perspective on our prospects. He shows how, by embracing action, imagination and possibility, we can find a path to the bright side, even, perhaps especially, when the future seems dark.

PETER PARKER

Saturday 26 July 10am – 11am

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

Some Men in London: Queer Lives 1945-1967

Peter Parker’s acclaimed two-volume anthology uncovers the rich reality of life for queer men in London, from the end of the Second World War to decriminalization in 1967. In the 1940s, it was believed that homosexuality had been becoming more widespread in the aftermath of war. A moral panic ensued, centred around London as the place to which gay men gravitated.

Peter explores what it was actually like for queer men in London in this period, whether they were wellknown figures such as Francis Bacon, Joe Orton and Kenneth Williams, or living lives of quiet anonymity in pubs, clubs, more public places of assignation, or at home. Peter’s research encompasses letters, diaries, psychological textbooks, novels, films, plays and police records, covering a wide range of viewpoints, from those who deplored homosexuality to those who campaigned for its decriminalisation, resulting in the landmark 1967 act decriminalising homosexuality.

REV RICHARD COLES

Saturday 26 July 12.30 – 1.30pm

Buxton Opera House

Death on Location

‘Quite simply, this book is a work of genius’ Matthew Parris

£17

The Reverend Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas MasterChef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (2017) and a third place finalist on I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! (2024). He writes regularly for The Sunday Times, and is the author of a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, written after the death of his partner, David Coles. Rev Coles will talk about his latest Canon Clement novel, all of which have been Sunday Times Bestsellers.

LEO POPPLEWELL CELLO

Saturday 26 July 11.15am – 12.15pm

St John’s Church £27, Balcony £22

Leo Popplewell studied at Clare College, Cambridge, and later at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2017 he formed the multiple award-winning Mithras Trio, selected as Kirckman Concert Society Artists in 2019, and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists for the 2021-23 seasons. In 2022 he joined the London Mozart Players as co-principal cellist. His programme brings together two of JS Bach’s Suites for solo cello with works by two leading 20th-century composers, Elliot Carter and Detlev Glanert.

E Carter Figment for cello

J S Bach Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011

D Glanert Fünf Wüstenlieder

J S Bach Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009

BENJAMIN GROSVENOR PIANO

Saturday 26 July 3pm – 5pm (including an interval)

St John’s Church £37, Balcony £32

R Schumann Blumenstück Op. 19

R Schumann Fantasy in C, Op. 17

M Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

Recognised for his sonorous lyricism and understated brilliance, Benjamin Grosvenor is acknowledged by Gramophone as one of the top fifty pianists ever on record. A celebrated recitalist, this season he performs in Asia, Europe, USA, and Canada.

‘Everything Grosvenor touches turns to gold’ — Classical Source, 2022.

He opens with Robert Schumann’s ‘Flower-piece’ and Fantasy, a salute to Beethoven – both also veiled loveletters to his future wife, Clara – before guiding us round Mussorgsky’s vivid art-gallery in sound.

SIMON JENKINS

Saturday 26 July 4pm – 5pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£14

A Short History of British Architecture: From Stonehenge to The Shard

British architecture has always been a battle of styles. For a thousand years it has been Romanesque versus gothic, gothic versus renaissance, classical versus gothic revival. The greatest battle came in the 1960s, when modernists took control of British planning and plotted the demolition of large swathes of the centres of Britain’s cities. Yet by 1974 almost all these plans had been abandoned. How did it happen? Sir Simon Jenkins tells the turbulent history of Britain’s built environment. He shows how the battles of the past live on today, in arguments over what should be preserved and what form new buildings should take. He feels that such debates are undemocratic when people cannot ‘speak the language of architecture.’ Simon’s new book is history told with a purpose.

THE ENTERTAINERS

Saturday 26 July 8pm – 10.30pm

Pavilion Arts Centre

£30

The ultimate jazz supergroup – a meeting of some of the shining lights of the UK music scene. Singer-pianist and songwriter Joe Stilgoe, American virtuoso clarinettist Giacomo Smith, rising superstar Emma Smith, Pete Horsfall, Joe Webb – the list goes on. This band has everything, and everyone wants this band. With a brand-new album to be released later this year, catch this new band and dive into their fantasy jazz club, where everyone is welcome.

Joe Stilgoe Piano and Vocals

Giacomo Smith Clarinet

Emma Smith Vocals

Pete Horsfall Trumpet and Vocals

Joe Webb Keys

Billy Adamson Guitar

Will Cleasby Drums

Tom Farmer Bass

Ths event is sponsored by

Join the of Buxton International Festival Today Friends

Welcome

You know that winter is almost behind us, and spring is around the corner when the Festival brochure drops through your letterbox inviting you to two weeks of summer packed full of exciting events. You turn the pages saying, ‘Ooh’, ‘Ah’ and ‘Wow’. And then, as the day of priority booking draws close, you have to decide which of all the wonderful events you can go to. What fits in with what? When am I going to find time to eat? Can I get from this event in St John’s to that event in the PAC? The BIF team should have made sure that you can, but even they can never wholly overcome the enthusiasm of some of the performers! I can promise you that this year the decisions will be no less difficult than last year.

The two Friends’ Days are on Wednesday 16 and 23 July. Do all come along to the Crescent’s beautiful Assembly Rooms between 11 am and 3 pm to hear short recitals from members

of our Young Artists’ and Young Musicians’ programmes, see the display of Festival-related material, and have a chat over a tea or coffee. The events are free, and all are welcome. The two days round off with our ‘Meet the Artists’ receptions in the Blue Room of the Crescent Hotel at 6 pm.

For our Next Generation Friends, don’t forget you can attend any book event for just £5 and other events for £10. Next Gen booking opens on 15 April 2025.

The support of the Friends makes the Buxton International Festival special. Thank you, as ever.

Tony

Parsons Chair, Friends of Buxton International Festival

JOINING OUR COMMUNITY UNLOCKS A WHOLE HOST OF BENEFITS:

• Priority booking for all Festival events

• Six tiers of membership starting from just £36

• Regular newsletters during the year - via email and post

• Be the first to hear exclusive festival news & announcements

• Invites to special events throughout the year, including meals, dinners, recitals and more

NEXT GENERATION FRIENDS’

Under 35’s can get tickets from £5 with our Next Generation membership –which is free to join. To join, go to buxtonfestival. co.uk/friends.

FRIENDS’ DAYS DURING THE FESTIVAL

Wednesday 16 and Wednesday 23 July 11am – 3pm

The Assembly Rooms at the Buxton Crescent Hotel FREE

You are warmly invited to the majestic Assembly Rooms at the Buxton Crescent Hotel each Wednesday of the Festival. Members of The Friends of BIF will be hosting free events throughout the day, alongside tea and coffee. Do drop by to enjoy live music, the Festival displays, and the chance to find out more about this thriving organisation.

UPCOMING EVENTS all welcome

HAMLET 45 YEARS ON WITH DONALD MAXWELL

Wednesday 26 March

10.30am – 12pm

Thorneycroft, Buxton

£12

Come and join other members of BIF Friends for a coffee morning where our speaker will be the acclaimed opera singer Donald Maxwell, an original cast member of the 1980 Festival production of Hamlet. Join us as Donald gives us a talk on that famed Festival production, which launched the careers of singers like Sir Thomas Allen and put Buxton firmly on the calendar as a place to come and hear opera.

A CONCERT AND AFTERNOON TEA AT LYDGATE HOUSE

Friday 25 April

2.30pm – 4.30pm

Lydgate House

£45

We are delighted to welcome you back to the beautiful venue of Lydgate House in Chapel-en-leFrith on Friday 25 April 2025 for COUNTRY MATTERS – A RUSTIC AND PASTORAL ENTERTAINMENT

The entertainment features the landscape and people of the English Countryside. With words by, and spoken by, the Derbyshire poet Philip Holland and music by Quilter, Warlock, Fauré and Debussy played by Wyn Davies and sung by soprano Jane Burnell.

Assembly Rooms buxtonfestival.co.uk/fr

d s Friends’ Days are sponsored by

JAZZ AT THE ROOKERY

Wednesday 4 June

6.30pm – 8.30pm

Ashford in the Water

£45

Enjoy an evening of jazz performed by The Nightcreatures Trio, with canapes and wine in the stunning surrounds of the Rookery in Ashford in the Water.

Visit

for more information on our events and how to join.

WHERE TO STAY

BIGGIN HALL

Biggin Hall has 21 en-suite bedrooms. Situated in the Peak District National Park just a 15-minute drive from the heart of the Festival. 13 dog-friendly rooms in converted outbuildings and 8 rooms in the main hall. Biggin Hall also features an award-winning restaurant. Book direct for our best available rate.

HAWTHORN FARM

B&B & Lavender Cottage (Self Catering)

A 16th Century Grade II listed Farmhouse full of character. One of the oldest buildings in Buxton, originally owned by the Duke of Devonshire, now with its fifth owners. We have 4 B&B rooms, 2 in the farmhouse and 2 in the barn conversion. Lavender Cottage for 6 people and Walnut Cottage for 4. There is free on-site parking and we are within walking distance of the town centre.

QUEEN’S HEAD HOTEL & PUBLIC HOUSE

The Queen’s Head Hotel offers bed and breakfast in our newly built accommodation rooms and in a converted stable block, both at the rear of our premises. All 13 of our rooms have central heating, en-suite bathrooms, tea/coffee making facilities and Sky’s ‘in-room’ TV service. Larger groups requiring accommodation are welcome but it’s best to call with your requirements.

01298 84451

Biggin-by-Hartington

Buxton SK17 ODH enquiries@bigginhall.co.uk bigginhall.co.uk

At the heart of Historic Buxton in Derbyshire, this ground floor

Apartment is within walking distance of the Opera House & Pavilion Garden. Sleeping 4 this accommodation comprises of a spacious living room with sofa bed, one double bedroom, fitted kitchen, bathroom & onsite private parking.

07301 074344

Apartment 1, George Mansions St John’s Road, Buxton SK17 6XY enquiries@roseleighhotel.co.uk NumberOne.Buxton@gmail.com

01298 23230

Fairfield Road

Buxton SK17 7ED hawthornfarmbuxton.co.uk

ROSELEIGH

HOUSE

Only a 5-minute scenic walk from Buxton Opera House, located on Broadwalk, this Victorian 13-bedroom, family run guesthouse built in 1871 overlooks the Pavilion Gardens and ornamental lake of which the superb landscaping was developed between 1861 and the early 1870s. Free residents’ parking for up to 9 cars. Please visit our website for comprehensive virtual room tours.

01298 24904

19 Broad Walk

Buxton SK17 6JR enquiries@roseleighhotel.co.uk roseleighhotel.co.uk

01298 23841

High Street

Buxton SK17 6EU queensbuxton.co.uk

GEORGIAN

SUITE –APARTMENT 14

A newly converted one-bedroom apartment situated in the historic Grade 2 listed building, George Mansions. Luxury & stylish interiors, king-size bed, inviting lounge with views of the Devonshire Dome. Selfcontained kitchen. 2 min walk to Opera House & Pavilion Gardens. The apartment also has a Parking permit.

07980 416843

George Mansions St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6AY Holidaycottages.co.uk or Booking.com Instagram: Georgiansuitebuxton

WHERE TO STAY

LEE WOOD HOTEL

Set in its own mature grounds, this elegant Georgian hotel is situated only a few moments’ walk from the centre of the spa town and its famous opera house.

Family owned for 56 years, our 4-star hotel offers high quality accommodation and award-winning dining.

COMPTON GUEST HOUSE

Beautiful Victorian Guest house with all its original features. We are a family business that is trying to create a warm homely feeling on a warmly low price. We are selfcatering and in the heart of Buxton within close walking distance to the Opera House and other attractions.

THE PALACE HOTEL BUXTON & SPA

Set in 5 acres of stunning, landscaped gardens, centrally located, with just a 5-minute walk from the Opera House. Offering 186 en-suite bedrooms, refurbished bars, Lounge & Library areas, with a beautiful conservatory to enjoy an afternoon tea. Spa & Leisure Facilities including a 14-metre indoor pool, and brand-new hair salon. Pre-theatre dinners are available in our new refurbished Dovedale Restaurant from 6pm.

01298 22001

01298 23002

The Park

Buxton SK17 6TQ leewoodhotel.co.uk

BANYAN TREE

07484 200254

4 Compton Road Buxton SK17 9DN comptonguesthouse.co.uk

Banyan Tree luxury en-suite rooms are available in the heart of Buxton, situated on a quiet residential street, off the market place. They are a 5-mins walk away from Buxton Opera House, and central to the bars, restaurants, and beautiful countryside. Each room is suitable for 2 or more guests. A TV, WIFI, towels, tea and coffee are provided.

07870 479997

9 Market Street Buxton SK17 6JY wardy656@gmail.com https://uk.hotels.com/ho2847601280/banyan-tree-buxton-united-kingdom/

Palace Road Buxton SK17 6AG britanniahotels.com/hotels/palace-hotel-buxton

WHERE TO VISIT

ISLA FINE ART CARDS AND GIFTS

Aimed at the discerning customer, Isla Fine Art Cards & Gifts stocks a carefully curated range of beautiful and stylish gifts and cards alongside a selection of art by local artists and artisans. If you are looking for something a bit different in Buxton then this is the shop for you.

DAVID MELLOR

Modern design in the Peak District National Park. Visit the famous David Mellor Cutlery Factory, Design Museum, Café and Shop for the best in modern tableware and kitchenware. The free museum shows Mellor’s historic designs, from teaspoons to traffic lights.

BUXTON CRESCENT EXPERIENCE

Book your tickets today for the Buxton Crescent Experience. Located in Buxton’s stunning Crescent building, the tour will immerse visitors, both young and old, in Buxton’s unique history. The interactive exhibits celebrate the enduring appeal of the town’s Georgian past, its spa & mineral springs, famous visitors, and how they’ve shaped Buxton today

01298 938492

4b & 5 The Colonnade Buxton SK17 6AL isla@isladirect.co.uk isladirect.co.uk

JANTAR

Jantar jewellery, located within the Cavendish Arcade, specialising in sterling silver, Baltic Amber, local Derbyshire Blue John and unique gemstones for over 20 years. With timeless classics and incredible statement pieces, it’s a treasure trove not to be missed.

01433 650220

The Round Building HathersageS32 1BA davidmellordesign.co.uk

JOHN WHIBLEY ‘HOLIDAYS WITH MUSIC’

Since 1999 John Whibley ‘Holidays with Music’ have taken thousands of music and opera lovers on musical holidays across Europe, America and the UK. Our 2025 season offers a wide range of opera, orchestral, chamber music and festival holidays. Please contact us for a brochure or visit our website:

01298 214 577

The Crescent Buxton SK17 6BH buxtoncrescentexperience.com

THE GALLERY

The Gallery is an Independent Artist Cooperative, run entirely by its’ members. Showing Fine Art paintings and prints, designer jewelery, innovative textile and glass work, photography, sculpture, ceramics, wood and metalwork, as well as handmade soaps, and a wide range of affordable gifts and cards. Browsers and visitors always welcome!

01298 73116

Unit 3, Cavendish Arcade BuxtonSK17 6BQ Jantar.co.uk

01663 746 578

john@whibley.co.uk whibley.co.uk

12 High Street New Mills SK22 4AL facebook.com/newmillsgallery

WHERE TO VISIT

POOLE’S CAVERN & BUXTON COUNTRY PARK

For centuries, curious visitors have marvelled at the natural subterranean world of Poole’s Cavern. Experience this underground journey with our expert guides, who lead you through beautifully illuminated chambers showcasing the Peak District’s magnificent underground scenery. Above the cavern, Buxton Country Park offers an escape into nature, with woodland sculpture trails leading up to Solomon’s Temple.

01298 26978

Green Lane Buxton SK17 9DH info@poolescavern.co.uk poolescavern.co.uk

CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE

Crich Tramway Village is home to the National Tramway Museum, situated in the heart of Derbyshire. Vintage trams transport you along the traditional village street into open countryside. Your admission includes unlimited tram rides, entry to exhibitions, the woodland walk and sculpture trail. Watch our expert craftsmen restoring the vintage trams from the viewing gallery.

01773 854321 enquiry@tramway.co.uk tramway.co.uk

Gallery in the Gardens

SMH BULLOCK WOODBURN

SMH BullockWoodburn, based in Buxton, offers comprehensive accountancy and financial services to individuals and businesses. We have been providing trusted accountancy and financial services since 1882, delivering expert, tailored advice to help clients meet their financial goals.

01298 22108 rjordan@smh.group www.smh.group/bullock-woodburn

The largest selection of locally made art & craft in the High Peak.

Located in the Pavilion Gardens - 23 acres of beautiful parkland.

Visit 'Art in the Octagon' 14th, 15th & 16th July, 10am-5pm

Our annual art extravaganza. 30 exhibitors all demonstrating their work. Venue: The Octagon, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton. Free entry!

Gallery open daily, check website for details.

HighPeakArtists

@HighPeakArtists galleryinthegardens

High Peak Artists @ Gallery in the Gardens Pavilion Gardens, St John’s Rd, Buxton, SK17 6BE Tel: 07849 673058 galleryinthegardens.co.uk

THE UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, ONE VOICE MATTERS MORE THAN MOST –

We have earned some outstanding awards but the ones we hold closest to our heart are those voted for by students. To us, there is no better testament to the experience we offer:

Study

Not only will you graduate with a degree from the University of Derby, you will leave us with essential skills and knowledge aligned to the future needs of industry.

ART AT THE CRESCENT

19th–20th JULY

The Assembly Rooms

10.00–17.00

Showcasing

FESTIVAL HUB

“A brilliant idea to have this hub!”

THE BUXTON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL HUB

Are you ready for an amazing visit to BIF? Whether this is your first or 45th time visiting the Festival, be sure to visit the popular Festival Hub in the Old Hall Hotel just steps away from the Buxton Opera House.

It is the perfect place to find out more about everything that’s happening over the Festival period.

• Information Point: We will help you with questions about performances, show-times and what to do in Buxton.

• Reviews: Read the latest reviews of this year’s operas and other performances.

• Meeting Point: The hub is a great central meeting point for visitors to the Festival.

• Refreshments: Stop by for a cup of tea or coffee between Festival performances and chat with Festival volunteers and staff.

The Festival Hub is located in the old Theatre Bar in the Old Hall Hotel and will be open every day from 10am to 4pm (apart from Sundays when it’s open from noon to 4pm). Look out for the ‘BIF Hub’ sign above the door!

We look forward to seeing you there!

WHERE TO EAT

Arcade Deli offers delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch options, in the heart of Buxton. Choose from sandwiches and seasonal soups to homemade cakes. Enjoy quality coffees, organic smoothies, and milkshake. Eat-in or takeaway.

LUBENS

A small independent bar & kitchen located a few minutes walk from Buxton Opera House. Open daily from 11.30am until late, serving local cask ales, a full range of wines & spirits alongside a varied & seasonal food menu. Relaxing, friendly atmosphere. Reservations welcomed.

01298 750298

Unit 10 Cavendish Arcade

Buxton Sk17 6BQ KHOMKHAI

EVERYTHINGS ROSY

Make your home cosy with Everything’s Rosy …

A range of gorgeous gifts, fashion & home accessories available from our Interiors shop, with ranges such as Thomas Kent Clocks, Wrendale & Powell Craft.From our Vintage Tearooms, a variety of sandwiches, toasties, Derbyshire oatcakes & locally baked cakes & warmed scones served with clotted cream and jam.

01298 78778

4-8 Hardwick Street Buxton SK17 6DH

01298 384394

8a Hall Bank Buxton SK17 6EW facebook.com/lubensbuxton lubensbuxton.co.uk

LA GABY PIZZERIA

We nurture our dough for over 48H to create an airy, light, easy digestible crust. The result is a traditional Neapolitan style pizza prepared in front of you and fired in an authentic Italian brick oven. We are proud to propose a real pizza, with a real atmosphere.

Authentic pizza, made by hand and with heart, passion and time.

Our aim is to serve you the best possible Thai cuisine from the freshest possible Thai herbs and spices imported direct from Thailand, and also locally sourced ingredients, such as meat, vegetables, fish etc. Each dish is individually created to most suit the individual who ordered it. We are open Tuesday to Sunday for evening meals, 5pm – 9.30 pm or 10pm. Lunchtime hours from 12pm to 2.30pm, days vary, please call to confirm.

01298 299688

9 Market Street

Buxton SK17 6JY khomkhai.com

CAFÉ AT THE CAVERN

Our Café offers a range of delicious hot food, snacks, and beverages, all served indoors or outdoors in our beautiful picnic area. If you’ve worked up a thirst or a hunger exploring Buxton, then this is the place to replenish. We’re also dog-friendly, so feel free to bring along your furry friend to relax with you!

Our menu features locally sourced ingredients, with vegan and gluten-free options. We also serve a selection of local beers and spirits to make your visit even more enjoyable!

01298 72577

3 Spring Gardens Buxton SK17 6BJ lagabypizza.com

01298 26978

Pooles Cavern and Buxton Country Park, Buxton SK17 9DH poolescavern.co.uk

MOZART & THE GOLDEN AGE OF MUSIC

Explore the wonderful music & opera of the Danube with London Festival Opera aboard the MS River Crown – June & October 2026

Join us aboard the wonderfully comfortable 100-passenger MS River Crown for a unique musical journey along the Danube. With our friends at London Festival Opera and our elegant river vessel, we can promise you a marvellous experience.

Our eight night journey between Regensburg and Budapest will be a celebration of Mozart’s life, and of the many great composers from this golden age of music. We will visit charming small towns and villages as well as the cities of Salzburg, Bratislava and Budapest, enjoying some of the finest works of music from the concertos of Mozart and the waltzes of Johann Strauss to opera and folk tunes in idyllic settings. We will also visit the city most celebrated for its musical heritage and Austria’s capital, Vienna where Mozart lived for the last decade of his life and exerted great influence on the musical life of the capital.

The life and times of Mozart as well as the music of this golden age will be brought vividly to life by our Guest Speaker who will accompany the trip. We are delighted that David Pickard will be joining us for our June departure and Jamie Hayes will be the Guest Speaker for our October departure. In addition to the series of talks, included guided excursions and musical highlights ashore, we will enjoy exclusive gala performances by London Festival Opera on board the MS River Crown in the intimate atmosphere of the lounge. For full details, please contact us on 020 7752 0000 or visit our website www.noble-caledonia.co.uk

At Buxton International Festival, we work year-round to share our love of opera, music and books. We work closely within our local communities to provide people of all ages with opportunities to get involved in music and the arts and to help ensure they have access to creative outlets. This work is made possible through our funding as a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England, as well as through the generous support of trusts, foundations, and private donors. To all who support us

TAKE PART Learning and Participation Thank you.

ENGAGE CREATE PERFORM

Platform 3 is the Learning and Engagement programme shared by Buxton International Festival and Buxton Opera House. It offers a range of exciting activities for all ages. Make new friends, discover new art forms and become part of the Platform 3 family!

Kaleidoscope Community Choir

Tuesdays 1pm – 2pm

£5 in advance / £6 on the door

Buxton Methodist Church

If you love to sing, then come and join our friendly Kaleidoscope Choir. From choral classics and favourite hymns to pop and folk, you don’t have to audition to be part of the choir. Just come along for an hour of singing led by Bella Hardy in the Buxton Methodist Church each Tuesday from 1pm.

School Arts Award

We believe that all young people should have access to an education in music and so we work within schools to offer the Arts Award. This is a national qualification, run by Trinity College London, which aims to boost children’s creativity, curiosity, confidence and communication skills.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Space Day

Tuesday 17 June 2025

We are working closely with local primary schools to produce an exciting new song cycle with the theme Out of Space. This collaboration invites young students to explore and create music inspired by the wonders of space, working closely with professional composers and musicians.

Strings Day

Thursday 19 June 2025

St John’s Church

We’re joining forces with Chetham’s School of Music’s Serenata String Ensemble and Buxton’s Wider Opportunities violin programme to provide a unique, interactive workshop for young people.

Keep an eye on our website for updates on both of these events - buxtonfestival.co.uk

Buxton International Festival and artists are grateful for the support of the following:

FUNDERS

CORPORATE PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS

SPECIAL THANKS TO

LG Harris

Charitable Trust

VENUE INFORMATION

BUXTON OPERA HOUSE

Events from 12pm – late See website for opera end times OPERA HOUSE EVENING

Access Information

Buxton Opera House is a beautiful Edwardian building, which is only partially accessible to wheelchair users and does not have a lift. Unfortunately, it cannot be accessed by motorised scooters. There are 3 wheelchair spaces available in the stalls, and there is an accessible toilet at ground floor level.

Hearing Loops

There are a limited number of passive infra-red (PIR) systems in both Buxton Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre. Please reserve one when booking your ticket over the phone – a £10 cash deposit is required on collection. There is also an induction loop system available at the counter of both Box Offices.

01298 72190

Water Street, Buxton, SK17 6XN customerservice@boh.org.uk

Please reserve wheelchair spaces and PIR systems with the Box Office.

ACCESSINFORMAT

Dress Circle centre

Stalls O-Q

Upper Circle

Dress Circle Sides

Stalls D-N

Upper Circle sides

Dress Circle boxes

Stalls A-C Stage

Events from 10am – 10.30pm

Access Information

Two wheelchair spaces available in the bleachers. Passive infra-red (PIR) system available for performances with £10 cash deposit.

22 St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6XN

THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS

THE PUMP ROOM

Events from 11am – 10pm

Access Information

Fully accessible by wheelchair, apart from the Balcony.

6 St John’s Road Buxton SK17 6XN

Events from 10am – 5.30pm

Access Information

Accessible entrance through main doors of Buxton Crescent Hotel. Lift available to upper floors.

01298 808999

Buxton Crescent Hotel

Buxton SK17 6BQ

Events from 6pm – 7pm

Access Information

Fully accessible to all 01298 214577

The Crescent Buxton SK17 5BQ

BOOKING TRAVEL VENUE

Events from 2.30pm – 10pm

Access Information

Fully accessible.

St John’s Road

Buxton SK17 6BE

THE PALACE HOTEL

POOLE’S CAVERN

Events from 12.30pm – late

Access Information Fully accessible via rear entrance.

01298 22001

Palace Road

Buxton SK16 6AG

Events from 5pm – 6.45pm

Access Information

Wheelchair users can access the main chamber of the cave, but the remaining path is not accessible for those with mobility issues. There are dedicated parking bays for blue badge holders. Toilet facilities are fully accessible.

01298 26978

Green Lane SK17 9DH

BOOKING INFORMATION

PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS AT 10AM TUESDAY 15 APRIL 2025.

Priority booking for the Friends of Buxton International Festival opens on a staggered basis from 10am on Tuesday 18 March 2025.

HOW TO BOOK:

Our booking service is run by Buxton Opera House. You can book online, by telephone, or in person at the Box Office.

Online: buxtonfestival.co.uk

By telephone: 01298 72190

In Person: at the Box Office at Buxton Opera House, Water Street, Buxton, SK17 6XN

For more information email: customerservice@boh.org.uk

BOX OFFICE OPENING TIMES

Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm, or 10am to 8pm when there is a performance.

Saturday 12pm to 6pm, or 12pm to 8pm when there is a performance.

Sunday:

Closed, or 4pm to 8pm when there is a performance.

BOOK 3 OPERAS FOR 10% OFF

Book tickets for Hamlet p18, The Impresario p20 and Trouble in Tahiti/La voix humaine p22, and get 10% off.

*Only one offer applies. Does not include Under 35’s tickets

TICKET TYPES

Adult Full price

Under 35s £5 tickets for book events and £10 tickets to all other events are available to Next Generation Friends. Join the scheme for free at buxtonfestival.co.uk/friends. Proof of age required for each ticket at the Box Office.

Carer tickets

Free tickets are available for registered carers reserved alongside a full price ticket. Please reserve with the Box Office by email or phone.

Ticket

availability at venues

Tickets for venues other than the Opera House can be bought on the door half an hour before each event, unless sold out.

Changes to Programme

We publish any cancellations, or changes to the music programme or to the cast of the operas or musical on buxtonfestival.co.uk and on social media. Refunds will not be given if there is a change to either the musical works performed or if a cast member is replaced. All information in this brochure is correct at the time of going to press.

Refunds

Tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged, unless an event is cancelled. We strongly advise you take out insurance when you purchase tickets to any of our events. Postage charges are nonrefundable.

Gift Vouchers

BIF Gift Vouchers make the perfect gift for a Festival-lover. Order them now from our website or by phoning 01298 70395.

JAZZ WEEKENDER TICKETS

Jazz Weekender tickets include entry to all jazz gigs from Thurs 10 July to Sunday 14 July. Tickets cost £175, a saving of over £60

Jazz Day Tickets include entry to all jazz events on Thursday 10 for £30, Friday 11 July for £55, Saturday 12 July for £55 and Sunday 13 July for £55, with savings of up to 21%

Visit buxtonfestival.co.uk for more information.

VENUE

BOOKING TRAVEL

BY CAR

Buxton is approximately one hour’s drive from the M1, M6, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby. If you are using Sat Nav, please use the postcode SK17 6XN for Buxton Opera House and SK17 6BE for the Pavilion Arts Centre.

Please allow extra time for travel on Carnival Day, Saturday 12 July 2025, as some road closures will be in place.

PARKING AND ACCESSIBLE PARKING

There is pay and display parking outside Buxton Opera House with two disabled parking spaces on The Square (Water Street) and it is possible to offload adjacent to the forecourt. Pay and Display parking is also available at Pavilion Gardens car park, off Burlington Road, with 8 disabled car parking bays. The car park is approximately 320 metres from the Opera House and 160 metres from the Pavilion Arts Centre.

A little further away from our venues are the car parks behind the Spring Gardens Shopping Centre, with 26 disabled parking spaces, and Sylvan Car Park with 4 disabled car parking bays.

For events at Poole’s Cavern, there is Pay and Display parking for 80 vehicles, with dedicated parking bays for blue badge holders.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING

There are electric car charging points at Morrisons Supermarket, SK17 6BY and Sylvan Car Park at the end of Spring Gardens, SK17 6BY.

BY RAIL

Avanti West Coast runs direct trains from Euston to Macclesfield in less than 2 hours, plus a 20-minute taxi ride, or change at Stockport for trains to Buxton.

There are direct services from Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport by Northern Rail.

BY BUS

Direct services from Ashbourne, Derby, Glossop, Leek, Macclesfield, Sheffield and Stockport. Derbybus.info / Traveline.info.

BY AIR

There are regular national and international flights to Manchester and East Midlands airports.

Manchester Airport is approximately 40 minutes away by taxi/ car. The Skyline 199 bus runs between Manchester Airport and Buxton and is a 40 to 90 minute journey depending on stops. Visit highpeakbuses.com for more information.

Please check gov.uk for travel advice.

Brochure designed by: Ginger Nut Creative Illustrations by: Patrick Boyer