Overture April 2017

Overture Directors’ insights to this year’s operas

The newsletter for Friends & Supporters of Buxton Festival Issue Three April 2017

Special events for Festival Friends

Los Nacimientos – a unique music and dance collaboration

Overture

02

Welcome Randall Shannon Executive Director

We are now Buxton International Festival. The new name most emphatically does not presage any changes to the Festival structure or content. We continue to present a programme of opera, music and books which makes the Festival such an engaging, entertaining and invigorating event – producing opera and presenting artists at the quality expected of an international festival.

The need to raise the necessary resources in ongoing and we are grateful to those who continually show their support through membership of the Friends of

Opera 2017

As Festival 2017 approaches, I hope you are looking forward to experiencing the delights ahead as we look forward to welcoming you.

Current reading

An introduction to this year’s Operas from their directors. pages 03–06

Books at the Festival, page 07

Friends at the Centre Join us for a range of cultural get-togethers, page 09–10

Buxton Festival and donations of any size. A body of welcome support for the Festival comes from our recently established Festival Circle, comprising a group of local and regional businesses, and our Directors Circle of major donors.

We are, of course, always seeking to expand these much appreciated groups and would be pleased to describe the membership benefits to anyone interested in getting closer to us and our work.

Friends Grand Prize Draw Back cover

Issue Three – April 2017

03

1847

The

Macbeth

Director Elijah Moshinsky on the propulsive vitality and rough originality of Verdi’s first Macbeth

The early operas of Verdi are a unique genre. Often derided for their naivety or crude directness, they are neglected in relation to his more expansive and complex works which have found a permanent place in the repertoire of every opera house.

I aim to explore these neglected works. Macbeth is a particularly interesting example of an early opera composed in1847 which was then revised by Verdi in 1865. The first performances were written for the Teatro Pergola in Florence, a small theatre – about the same size as Buxton Opera House – and the later Macbeth was commissioned for the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris which was a large House boasting a chorus of over a hundred and a large orchestra. Much of the opera was rewritten to accommodate this larger scale and an extended ballet sequence was added. There is no doubt that the later version has many improved developments in style, sweep and colour. The new numbers show the progression of Verdi’s ability to express more sophisticated emotional range but the first one shows us Verdi’s direct attempt to write a Shakespearean opera. It is the earlier version that has propulsive vitality and rough originality. This is Verdi’s anti-bel canto opera, the one that he wants to be sung at times almost as speech: ‘The plot is taken from one of the greatest tragedies the theatre boasts, and I have tried to have it well verified, and to give it a

new texture, and to compose music tied as far as possible to the text and to the situations’.

Verdi had a close friend in Guilin Carcano who was translating Shakespeare into Italian, and in 1846 he read to Verdi the play of Macbeth. This clearly gripped the composer’s mind and he immediately recommended it as a subject for his commission in Florence and in 1847 Verdi actually saw a performance of Macready’s production in London.

But what we see in the opera is Shakespeare as performed through the traditions of nineteenth century theatre. One particular part of that tradition survives in this early version in the final death aria of Macbeth which is derived from David Garrick’s idea to write himself a stirring climactic death speech, because he believed Shakespeare did not provide Macbeth with a good ending. The librettist, Francesco Mario Piave, simply followed current performance practice. By the time Verdi rewrote it for Paris the taste had changed and Verdi was asked for a heroic chorus of one hundred bards to hail Malcolm’s victory.

So what is remarkable about this first version?

• It captures in operatic form much of the essence of Shakespeare’s drama.

• It has the dramatic compression of Verdi’s early works.Constant contrasts used to create drama.

• A use of music and text which seems to us unsophisticated but cumulatively building to a complex piece of theatre.

• Directness in presenting the drama.

Verdi laid great emphasis on simplicity: the characters should stand out clearly; the changes in their fortunes or situations should be readily grasped. With this subject he attempted to dramatise the horror and darkness of regicide.

But this play had a supernatural element in the witches which connected the action. Verdi wrote to Piave: ‘The subject is neither political or religious; it is fantastical’.

The opera is not about the rise of a modern fascist nor is it about political tyranny. It is a study in character, about ambition for power, a toxic marriage which leads to the inner destruction of the protagonists and the descent of the world into chaos.

Elijah Moshinsky Director

04

Overture

Liberation Day Albert Herring is based – very loosely – on a short story by Guy de Maupassant, Le rosier de Madame Husson. It is a portrait of provincial French life. An absurdly patriotic local doctor tells his friend the story of Isidore – a timid youth – who is crowned May King in the absence of any girl virtuous enough to be crowned May Queen, but who then disgraces himself by getting obscenely drunk on his 500 franc prize money. In Britten’s opera, the town of Gisors becomes the Suffolk village of Loxford, the myopic self-regard of the Norman middle class translates into the smallminded snobbery of a rural East Anglian community, and Isidore – passive, non-speaking cipher – becomes Albert Herring – much nagged and inhibited, but who finally and spectacularly discovers his voice. Britten and his librettist Eric Crozier are more involved with the character and fate of Albert than Maupassant is with Isidore.

Isidore becomes a useless alcoholic and dies – ‘dans une crise de delirium tremens, naturellement’.

But Albert is strengthened by his post-coronation experiences, speaks up for himself, at last defies his oppressive mother and stands up to the angry condemnation of Lady Billows, Loxford’s local moral guardian.

Albert Herring was composed in the late 1940s, during Clement Atlee’s reformist Labour administration.

As Paul Kildea observes in his biography of the composer ‘Labour was promising a lot… the successful demobilisation of servicemen and women; jobs for all; world peace; education and welfare reform; a tax-funded national health system; town planning; nuclear defence; the nationalisation of major industries…’

Albert knows very little about any of this, but it is tempting to see his emancipation in the context of a national impatience with the status quo. There was a fear that under a Conservative government, change and progress would be resisted, and the freedoms and opportunities suggested by wartime endeavour, by the sense that the country was ‘all in it together’ – would be lost.

Director Francis Matthews on Albert Herring, alive with a sense of possibility

Albert Herring is not in any overt way a political piece, but it is alive to the sense of possibility. A comic collision between an inflexible authority and the irrepressibly Dionysian appetites of the people of Loxford reminds us of Malvolio’s clash with Sir Toby and ‘the lighter people’ in Twelfth Night.

Britten’s opera is very much on the side of the lighter people. Albert has had to put up with too much and needs a break. The village boys and girls have been having their fun, but now it’s Albert’s turn. We never quite find out what he got up to after the coronation, but whatever it was, he comes back a stronger, more confident, curiously liberated man. The war is over! As the children sing at the end of the opera ‘Albert’s come back to stay, Better for his holiday’.

Francis Matthews Director

Issue Three – April 2017

05

Director Harry Silverstein on the youthful flowering of Mozart’s genius

Sweet Sixteen I cannot remember exactly what I was doing at age 16, but I am quite certain it was not writing brilliant Italian opera. In thinking about Lucio Silla we must keep in mind the fact that Mozart was just a teenager when he penned this opera. His genius is evident; his ability to craft stunning musical figures and capture detailed characters shines already. Lacking the experience that comes with age, has not quite achieved the stunning depth of characterisation and human understanding he does in his maturity, the operas with Da Ponte for example. Yet he shows a wonderful ability to find the truth and humanity of these charterers in his storytelling. It is the discovery of the humanity of Silla that is the core of this story, his transformation from unenlightened despot to the generous leader and gentle man that interests Mozart and captivates us.

Mozart continues to be interested in redemption and enlightenment throughout his career. Although he is not yet a member of the Freemasons, you may feel the sensibilities that ultimately bring him to their brotherhood. Lucio Silla, much like La clemenza di Tito, Die ZauberflĂśte, and Idomeneo investigate the actions and relationships between powerful people that ultimately lead to selflessness, generosity, and humility. In the case of Silla, a leader has waged a brutal civil war, and is using repression to control his people, all the while engaging his power to pursue his personal lust.

He accepts bad advice and flattery, employs deception of individuals as well as the public to solidify his position and ensure his wishes are followed. (Oh, how nothing is new under the sun.) Here, however, our protagonist experiences enlightenment. Not only does Silla have this journey, each of the

principal characters has an equivalent one and a revelation experience at the end of the opera.

Every good story offers us the opportunity to share experiences with characters that we recognise, characters that we can accept, and characters that have thoughts and perform actions that could be our own. They on the stage, we in the audience, take this journey together; it is how storytelling does its work. As artists of interpretation the challenge is to create Silla and the story around him in a way that explains his original actions, allows the possibility for change and then follows his journey to redemption and understanding. Much more than we could have done at 16; we can, however, aspire to achieve it now at a certain age.

Harry Silverstein Director

06

Overture

Climbling the Tower RC: How did this project come about?

MM: We’d known composer Guto Puw for some time, especially in connection with his work as Resident Composer for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Having won a Creative Wales Award to allow him to explore the idea of writing an opera, Guto approached us to find out how to go about it.

We were very interested in him, and suggested the best way forward was for him to come up with an idea and we would take it from there, one step at a time. In fact, Guto already had the play Y Tŵr (The Tower) in mind – he’d seen it as a youngster (the play, by Gwenlyn Parry was written in 1978 for the National Eisteddfod) and it had made a great impact on him, thanks to its powerful linguistic sense of location and the sincerity of its story. The next stage was to put him together with a writer, so we suggested Gwyneth Glyn, an accomplished playwright and screenwriter but also singersongwriter, who had previously worked with MTW on a Welshlanguage version of Stravinsky’s

A Soldier’s Tale, and they found an overlap of interest that would combine to create this piece. We suggested that Guto and Gwyneth should come up with a first act, which we then workshopped.

Realising that Y Tŵr had enormous potential, we invited Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (the Welsh language National Theatre of Wales) to attend the conclusion of the workshop and on the basis of their feedback asked them to team up with us on the commission and creation of this production.

RC: What are the themes of the opera?

MM: Y Tŵr is Parry’s most straightforward and lyrical work, which moves away from the more absurdist themes that are a feature of his other plays. ‘The Tower’ of the title is a symbolic idea, encapsulating a couple’s journey through life together, going up by floors representing the different stages of their lives. That makes it a good vehicle for looking at how people behave, both individually and as a couple, with a core emotional content that is completely timeless.

Michael McCarthy Robbie Carnegie

Music Theatre Wales’ Artistic Director Michael McCarthy talks to Robbie Carnegie about Y Tŵr RC: How is Y Tŵr going to be staged?

MM: It has a simple, but symbolic staging – a platform with a ladder running through it representing the upward journey through life. As a starting-point for the design of the show, we looked to the Dutch ‘vanitas’ paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries, where a single still life encapsulates an individual’s life.

The challenge was how to portray two people aging 60 years on stage.

We’ve decided to have two dressing tables where the singers can be seen aging in front of our eyes, thus bringing the audience into the inner world of the characters as they age by encouraging them to accept the theatrical device that demonstrates it.

RC: I believe Buxton’s the only place Y Tŵr can be seen outside Wales?

MM: It is really important to us to show a non-Welsh-speaking audience how Welsh is a dynamic, living language which lends itself brilliantly to a musical setting, and we’re thrilled to be bringing Y Tŵr to Buxton where we’ve shared such successes as The Golden Dragon, The Killing Flower and Greek. And it’s opera, which audiences are used to hearing in all sorts of languages, so why not Welsh? As Gwyneth Glyn says, the drama is both personal and universal, just like the language which is both highly specific in location and yet carries a message for us all – about how to live and how to love.

Y Tŵr will be performed at Buxton Festival on Monday 17 July at 7.15pm

Issue Three – April 2017

Books

07

Literary Advisor Ariane Bankes looks forward to this year’s Book Festival

Books Books The Literary Series this year is right up-to-the-minute, with an impressive number of speakers invited to tackle the great talking-points of our time.

Jeremy Paxman discusses the high points of his journalistic career with Peter Hennessy, Sarah Churchwell debates the many quandaries posed

by Trump’s administration in the US, and Tim Shipman of the Sunday Times offers a ringside seat on the machinations that led to the referendum vote for Brexit. Sir Jeremy Greenstock revisits, postChilcot, the invasion of Iraq, one of the most controversial wars in recent history, while General Lord Dannatt considers that conflict, and much more, from the perspective of putting ‘boots on the ground’.

Closer to government, Nick Clegg takes us into the corridors of Westminster and Chris Patten, whose career has taken him all over the world, will discuss the conclusions he has drawn from it.

And in the centenary of the Russian Revolution, Peter Conradi looks at

Russia today and the new Cold War, asking if we can relations back on track before it is too late.

Arts, books and music are richly served too: in this bicentenary year, who better than Lucy Worsley to reconsider Jane Austen? Christopher de Hamel’s Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts proved a surprise bestseller and he brings its glorious revelations to Buxton, while Philip Hook relates the amusing but less edifying history of famous and infamous dealers in art. Jonathan Keates brings an added thrill to our enjoyment of Handel’s Messiah, and Judith Mackrell opens up a world of

scandal and glamour in one of the Venice’s greatest palazzos.

Speaking of history, festival favourite John Julius Norwich returns with his dazzling account of four princes who shaped the Renaissance world, and Paddy Ashdown with a riveting spy-story set in occupied France. Nicholas Crane abandons his focus on the coast to look at the making of the English landscape, and Julian Glover tells the story of engineer Thomas Telford, one of the architects of Britain today. All this, and much more will be on offer, so do secure your tickets before they sell out!

Buxton Festival Book Weekend 2017 We’re pleased to announce that our popular Book Weekend will be returning from 24–26 November, with events as always centred around the Pavilion Arts Centre. We have started to put this year’s programme and can confirm that our Friday night speaker will be actor, campaigner and historical presenter, Tony Robinson. Keep an eye on the Festival website and social media for further announcements as we get them.

08

Overture

Friends at the Centre From the Chairman Barely three months to go! March saw Friends, determined to take full advantage of priority booking, poring over this year’s tantalising choices and constructing crowded schedules to fit in as many operas, performances and talks as possible. Special thanks to all of you who enclosed an additional donation with your booking.

A full list of this year’s Committee members appears below. We say farewell to Heike Huschauer, who has stepped down after seven years as a Trustee, including four years as Membership Secretary. We all wish Heike well as she moves on to exciting new ventures. Our much-loved Patron, Donald Maxell, also announced at the AGM that he intends to step down in a year’s time; that will be a sad day but by no means have we heard the last of Donald yet!

February saw the first of our Holidays with our new partner, John Whibley, with 22 Friends travelling to Trieste and Venice. Esther Allbutt writes separately about the delights of this trip.

We are looking forward to our first major event of this year, the RNCM Songsters and lunch at Mottram Hall on 21 April; we are close to our target audience of 100 so any last minute bookings need to be made now!

Full details of all our planned events are enclosed.

The trustees have been working ever more closely with both the Festival Company and the Festival Foundation over the fundraising that is needed to secure the Festival as a world class event. Meanwhile, we have our own very exciting fund raising initiative – a Grand Prize Draw. I’m confident that this will appeal enormously to Friends, and to the friends of Friends, with one very lucky winner and huge fund raising potential.

Full details are enclosed.

I look forward to seeing you all in Buxton in July for another great Festival.

David Brindley Chairman friendschairman@buxtonfestival.co.uk

Issue Three – April 2017

09

Friends agm 51 Friends attended this year’s agm on 10 February at the Old Hall Hotel in Buxton; and another 50 Friends had sent in apologies and messages: a pretty good response rate for an event of this sort!

David Brindley was able to give an upbeat report on his first year as Chairman, the highlight being the £200,000 that the Friends had raised for the Festival’s coffers though subscriptions, donations and attendance at events and on holidays.

The actual number of members tends to decline slightly each year – we face a constant challenge in replacing those who drop out (mainly for reasons of advancing years) with new recruits – but we still have some 2,300 members.

Remarkably, thanks largely to membership upgrades, the income from subscriptions continues to rise despite the lower membership numbers – a resounding endorsement of the generosity of so many of our members and, indeed, of the value for money that the Festival represents.

Over the past year some 300 Friends had attended our special events, with another 130 attending dedicated social events such as our Festival Dinner. 224 Friends had attended at least one of 12 opera holidays offered by Grosvenor Travel.

A lively discussion threw up some excellent new ideas for improving the way the Friends operate and an Amendment to the notified Resolution asked the Committee to reduce the impact of proposed subscription rises on basic levels of membership. Brisk presentations followed from Randall Shannon, Executive Director, about the delights awaiting us at this year’s Festival; from Claire Barlow about the highly impressive Outreach Programme that the Festival now provides; and from John Whibley, our new Music Holiday partner – all rounded off by convivial conversation over lunch.

The Chairman’s Report to the AGM and the Audited Accounts have now been posted on the website.

Following AGM and Committee elections, this year’s Committee Members / Trustees are: Chairman David Brindley Vice-Chairman Esther Allbutt Treasurer Philip Cartledge Secretary Harriet Grubb Membership Secretary Judy Barker Events Secretary Joan Matthews Trustees Lee Barnes Jane Barrett Morwenna Brooke Pat Holland David Nevell Barbara Stringer Jane Wallwork

Please make sure that we have your email address We are making increasing use of occasional communications by e-mail to make sure that Friends have the very latest information, for example providing advance notice of all the main Festival events.

If you would like to be added to our emailing list (and help reduce valuable funds being spent on postage), please email us your address to friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk.

Overture

10

Forthcoming Friends Events 2017 RNCM Songsters

Coffee Morning Talk

Opera Study Day

Friday 21 April at 11.30am Mottram Hall Hotel, Mottram

Wednesday 3 May at 10.30am 6 The Square, Buxton

Thursday, 4 May, 10am–3.15pm Old Hall Hotel, Buxton

Only a few places remain now for our inaugural event at Mottram Hall with the RNCM Songsters.

Simon Webb joins us to give a talk on the challenges and rewards of running one of the country’s most respected orchestras – the BBC Philharmonic. The title of the talk is: Music, people, money – the challenges and rewards of running an orchestra. Come and find out more about how this wonderful orchestra is run from the person in charge. Places £8 each.

The Opera Study Day has become an established and popular part of our calendar of events and has now only a few places remaining.

Places including lunch £40 and without lunch £25. If you are interested in this event please telephone the Friends office to check availability.

On arrival you will be welcomed with a glass of Bucks Fizz.

Following the concert a lunch will be provided in the St Andrew’s Suite. For members wishing to stay at Mottram Hall you can book a room directly with the hotel by calling 01625 828 135. The hotel offers first-class spa treatments and for those who like to play a round of golf Mottram Hall has its very own championship course.

Surrounded by 270 acres of parkland in the glorious Cheshire countryside, Mottram Hall is an ideal place to stay when visiting the area. Places cost £55 each including Bucks Fizz Reception, Concert and Lunch.

English Touring Opera Recital Friday 5 May at 11.30am Moorcroft House, Buxton

SOLD OUT

Those who attended our last ETO recital at Moorcroft House will still have fond memories of the lovely recital given by the talented singers from the ETO productions. We have linked up again with English Touring Opera to offer members an opportunity to join us for what is sure to be another memorable occasion. Come and join us for coffee, cake and music at Moorcroft House just across the Gardens from the Opera House. Places cost £15 including coffee/tea and cake.

Issue Three – April 2017

11

Music and Supper at David Mellor Design Museum

Music and Lunch at Upper House, Hayfield

Recital and Lunch Cressbrook Hall, Cressbrook

Wednesday 17 May, 6.30pm

Wednesday 21 June, 12 noon

Sunday 10 September, 11.30am

We are delighted to have been invited to hold our first event at the David Mellor Design Museum.

The museum showcases a full historic collection of the work of David Mellor, one of the best known 20th century British designers, and that of his son, Corin Mellor – extending from marvellous examples of handmade silver cutlery to the traffic lights we stop at every day. As a special privilege to our members the museum shop will stay open prior to the start of the event, with a 20% discount offered on all David Mellor designs. The evening includes a welcome drink, entertainment by Trio Volant, an excellent wind trio from the Royal Northern College of Music, and supper. Places cost £50 each.

In its stunning setting at the foothills of Kinder and with spectacular views across the picturesque High Peak landscape, Upper House has to be one of the most tranquil of houses we visit, seemingly miles away from civilisation yet only a few miles out of the village of Hayfield. We will start with a drinks reception in the Courtyard before we move across to the Great Hall which has been sympathetically renovated and now boasts new banqueting chairs for added comfort. By kind permission of the Royal Northern College of Music, The Septentrion Duo will give us a harp recital, to be followed by a buffet lunch.

For ease of our guests we will be providing free mini bus transfers from The Sportsman’s public house in Hayfield up to the house.

Places cost £35 each including welcome drink, recital and lunch.

It is 10 years since we last held an event at Cressbrook Hall and we are thrilled to be able to return in the autumn of 2017 for a recital with musicians from the Northern Chamber Orchestra, followed by lunch. Those familiar with Cressbrook Hall will know what a unique place it is: a much-loved home to its owners, and a special place in the memories of all those who visit. We hope you will be able to join us at this truly breath-taking location in the glorious Derbyshire Peak District, overlooking a magnificent gorge created by the River Wye. Cressbrook is a short drive from Buxton. Places cost £45 including welcome reception, recital by the NCO and lunch.

Opening Night Party Join us on Friday 7 July at 9.45pm for a party to celebrate the opening of this year’s Buxton International Festival. Held in the Pavilion Café, the party gives you a chance to mingle with fellow Festival friends, along with the casts of this year’s operas, with live music and a drink.

Tickets can be booked for £10 from the Festival website, or from the Opera House Box Office.

12

Friends Reception Wednesday 12 July at 6pm 6 The Square, Buxton A perfect way to start an evening at the opera. Come and share drinks and canapes with other Friends, with time, if you wish, to head off afterwards to Albert Herring, this year’s Friends-sponsored opera.

Places are limited so please book early if you would like to attend.

Tickets £20 each.

Friends Dinner Wednesday 19 July at 5.15pm Old Hall Hotel, Buxton An opportunity to take a break from a busy Festival schedule and relax with other Friends over a convivial three-course dinner and glass of wine. An extra highlight will be the draw of the Grand Prize winner. The dinner sits neatly between a matinee performance of Albert Herring and a choice of two evening events. Tickets £35 each.

Coffee Morning Talk Wednesday 11 October at 10.30am 6 The Square, Buxton We are delighted to announce a new event as part of our series of Coffee Morning Talks. We welcome Professor Anthony Ogus, a retired academic lawyer, who will share with us his love of music. Anthony, a Friend himself, is Emeritus Professor at the Universities of Manchester and Rotterdam. He was awarded the CBE in 2002 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2008. In 2013 he published a book on opera-going –

Overture

Travels with my Opera Glasses – and he writes a monthly article in the Opera Now magazine.

Obituary

The title of the talk is George Bernard Shaw as opera critic. In the late 19th century, Bernard Shaw was a prominent music critic, knowledgeable and perceptive about music and the late Victorian operatic scene. His sometimes devastating reviews were invariably witty, often outrageously so.

Anthony Ogus will introduce a selection of them.

Further details of all our Friends events are available on the Buxton Festival website. You can also book today online via the website.

English Touring Opera in Buxton English Touring Opera returns to Buxton Opera House this spring with 3 nights of thrilling opera.

Discover Puccini’s Tosca, a visceral depiction of love and power in the midst of political terror, directed by award-winning Blanche McIntyre, new to opera but fresh from some revelatory work in the theatre.

From the Olivier Award-winning director and choreographer Liam Steel, Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience will take you on a madcap journey through Victorian London, in an exhilarating satire of the manners and conventions of high society, romantic love and military bluster.

Tosca Thu 4 & Fri 5 May, 7.30pm Patience Sat 6 May, 7.30pm Buxton Opera House Box Office 01298 72190 www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk

It is sad news that we report that our much loved Board member Paul Findlay passed away on 21 November aged 73. Paul was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1943. Paul studied Greats at Balliol College, Oxford, before embarking on a career in opera. In 1968 Paul joined the Royal Opera House as a press officer and remained with the company for 25 years, becoming assistant to the General Director Sir John Tooley in 1972 and Director of Opera in 1987, a post he held until 1993. Paul was committed to making the ROH’s performances of opera and ballet accessible to as wide a public as possible pioneering disabled access, initiating schools’ matinee performances, big screen relays in Covent Garden Piazza. Paul was also responsible for introducing surtitles at the Royal Opera House. Paul became a Board member of the Buxton Festival in 2010 after responding to an advert appealing for new Board members in this newsletter.

Paul became a valued and much respected member of the Board and always a family face at the festival along with his wife Francoise.

Issue Three – April 2017

13

Friends Opera Holiday Trieste & Venice 13–17 February 2017

Twenty-two Festival Friends enjoyed a wonderful five-day holiday in Italy (Trieste and Venice) which included two opera performances.

We flew to Marco Polo Airport, where we were met by Richard Whibley and his wife Lisa Morgan for the two hour coach journey to Trieste, arriving at the splendid Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel in the midst of a glorious sunset. The evening’s entertainment at a local music school was an informal and witty recital of opera and operetta arias by pianist Christina Santin and a soprano colleague – who then charmingly joined us for dinner back at our hotel.

Tuesday morning brought another glorious day for our guided tour of Trieste – a flourishing trading port with a complex history, mirrored in its architecture, reflecting its rule by Austrian Emperors and its close links with the Slavic countries.

We passed the impressive statue of Verdi and saw where James Joyce hung out. The city is famous for its Illy coffee and we took our coffee break at the historic Café St Marco, surrounded by books and mirrors.

After an excellent lunch and a free afternoon, we assembled at 8pm for the short walk to the Teatro Verdi (a gem of an opera house) for a sparkling performance of Rossini’s Barber of Seville with an all-Italian cast and conductor.

On Wednesday morning we boarded the coach for Venice.

After an hour’s drive we stopped for what we thought was to be a comfort break only to find ourselves ushered into a delightful little trattoria for a magnificent “taster” lunch, with copious local meats and delicious home-cooked pastas. Then back to the coach for the vaporetto crossing past the Lido to the tranquil Hotel Sant’ Elena and a free evening.

On Thursday morning it was wonderful to approach St Mark’s Square by vaporetto, seeing all the famous buildings gilded by the sun. Our tour through narrow streets and over numerous bridges took us not just past the main sights but also into more hidden quarters where Jews, Armenians and Greeks had left their mark. A free afternoon followed lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Rialto bridge. At 7pm we then made our way by vaporetto and through brightly lit alleys to La Fenice for the First Night performance of Puccini’s La bohème. Most of us

agreed afterwards that it was the finest performance of Boheme we had ever experienced – a superb performance at every level with top-class Italian singers, players and another impressive Italian conductor. And again we had excellent front stalls seats.

On Friday morning our vaporetto took us to the Airport where we said goodbye to those of our group who were flying to Heathrow.

When we arrived at Manchester Airport it was dark and grey with no sign of the Italian sunshine.

This was the first holiday for the Friends organised by our new tour operator John Whibley – “Holidays with Music” – and very good it was.

Attention to detail was first class – everything was laid on for us and all we had to do was enjoy ourselves – and we did! We look forward to many more holidays with John and his family.

Esther Allbutt Trustee of the Festival Friends

14

Overture

Los Nacimientos Composer Tom Randle about his exciting new project for Buxton Festival Los Nacimientos is a new, interdisciplinary dance/ theatre piece created in collaboration with dotdotdot dance. The piece itself began life as a song cycle – a setting of texts by the Nobel prize-winning Chilean revolutionary poet Pablo Neruda. The original cycle consisted of five settings of some of his most beautiful and sensuous texts, and has been performed on numerous occasions both in the UK and abroad by the excellent Canadian-British soprano Gillian Keith and superb pianist John Reid.

When I first encountered the poems of Neruda, I was struck not only by the sheer beauty of the words, but also by their immense strength and vitality. While it is clear that Neruda’s more politicised verses were capable of uniting a nation, his more intimate, romantic poems are every bit as powerful.

Another aspect of his poetry is the fact that they are, in themselves, so very musical. The lightness and lyricism of his words made it a joy to set to music.

Although the song cycle in its original form had been received very successfully, it was after seeing a performance by dotdotdot dance at in the Buxton Fringe festival that the idea was hatched to work with them and put these two elements – 21st century Art Song and flamenco infused choreography – together. The ensuing result is the piece entitled Los Nacimientos (The Births).

The title is taken from another of Neruda’s poems.

Since meeting with dotdotdot dance, the work has been expanded.

Two new songs were added to the original set of five, and four piano interludes, called ‘Capitulos’ (‘Chapters’) were written to be interspersed among the sung poems. As Nerudas poems are so full of fantastic imagery, many of which focus on the elemental, we can expect to see choreography of immense strength and power to compliment an equally dynamic musical performance.

The goal of Los Nacimientos is to a forge a new type of theatre combining music, dance, sound and vision into a cohesive whole and bring to life the incredible verses of Pablo Neruda in a way never before seen. We hope that those already familiar with Neruda will welcome the chance to revisit his work in a brand new way, and for those encountering his poems for the first time, I can promise an extraordinary and unforgettable evening.

Los Nacimientos will be performed at the Pavilion Arts Centre on Saturday 15 and Saturday 22 July at 7.30pm.

Manchester Theatre Awards We were pleased to once again be recognised by the Manchester Theatre Awards, with our 2016 production of Handel’s Tamerlano nominated in the Best Opera category. In the end the award went to Opera North for their production of Andrea Chénier, but it was good to be among the shortlist.

Issue Three – April 2017

There are lots of exciting things happening in our Outreach department at the moment

We’re busy working with two Buxton Primary Schools to help their Year 4 pupils achieve their Arts Award. The kids from Burbage Primary School and Harpur Hill Primary School have enjoyed a tour of Buxton Opera House with a drama workshop on stage, a singing workshop with singing teacher Carol Bowns, meeting local artist Rob Wilson and poet Rob Stephens. We look forward to sharing all their hard work with parents and family in the next couple of weeks.

Kaleidoscope Community Choir goes from strength to strength, we’ve even had to move our weekly rehearsals to a larger venue! At the moment the choir are working with choral master Robert Webb on a six-week masterclass which will culminate in a Spring Showcase on

15

Outreach Update 4 April. It would be lovely to see lots of Festival supporters there, it’s at 1pm in the Pavilion Arts Centre, tickets are £3.50 available on the door.

We’re looking forward to our annual Live Music Now concert for children with special educational needs in early May. The concert, held in the Gardens Marquee, will feature the musicians of the Solem Quartet, who will engage and entertain this special audience of children in a relaxed, informal classical concert.

Watch this space for the details of the 2017 Buxton Poetry Competition.

The competition theme will be announced in the next month and we look forward to receiving entries from across the country and the world as usual. We’re pleased to

once again be working with judges Matt Black, Rob Stephens, Philip Holland and Maria Carnegie. The competition winners will be announced at the Buxton Festival Book Weekend in November.

Applications are now closed for our Festival Young Artist and Internship programme. Every year we create opportunities for young people at the start of their careers in the arts to learn from practical work experience at the Festival. From singing in our operas, to operating our surtitle system, from running sound at our book events, to answering the phones in the Festival office, the young people get an inspiring insight into the work of a busy arts Festival, and in-turn the Festival benefits from the hard-work, enthusiasm and creativity of a team of young people – win-win!

Claire Barlow Literary & Outreach Manager

Friends of Buxton Festival

Grand Prize Draw Win a luxury four night break for two at the 5* Belmond Reid’s Palace, Madeira A world renowned hotel set in subtropical gardens overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Belmond Reid’s Palace has, for more than a century, been the ultimate place to relax.

Tickets

£10 each

• Dates chosen by the winner • Return flights from Manchester, Birmingham or London • Madeira airport transfers by chauffeur-driven Mercedes limo • VIP welcome on arrival at Reid’s and a tour of the hotel • A deluxe en-suite room overlooking either the gardens or the sea • Buffet breakfast each morning • One traditional Afternoon Tea on the Terrace • Dinner at one of the hotel’s exclusive restaurants on one evening • A tour of the hotel’s famous gardens • 500 EUR spending money

Draw will take place at the Friends Dinner on 19 July at The Old Hall Hotel, Buxton. Prize does not include travel insurance or airport transfers in the UK. Prize must be taken before 20 July 2018 and excludes Easter, Christmas and New Year Holidays. Full terms and conditions available on the Friends page on the Festival website.