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Overture We welcome our new CEO, Michael Williams A look foward to this year’s Operas Stephen Barlow discusses the Music in 2018
The newsletter for Friends & Supporters of Buxton International Festival Issue Five  May 2018
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Felicity Goodey CBE DL Chairman
The Friends of the Buxton International Festival are admired by Arts organisations around the country, envious of your numbers and enthusiasm. You remain our most important source of support and inspiration and everyone at the Festival team would like to say a huge ‘thank you’. 2018 will see another feast of Opera, Music and Books. We hope there is something for everyone and already there is huge excitement about Alzira, a true rarity yet full of Verdi’s dramatic music. By now, you will have received the brochure detailing the book programme, celebrity evenings and debates. We have delayed publication of the Books Festival programme to take advantage of the spring publications which come out after we have already opened booking for the music series. We admit it is an experiment which we hope will give you an even more exciting selection of events than in the past. But as ever we want your views and we will review the policy at the end of this Festival year.
A message from the Chairman of Buxton International Festival New for 2018 is an exciting partnership with the British Academy. Academy Fellow, historian and broadcaster Lord Peter Hennessy, is curating six Georgian coffee house-style debates with leading figures on the big topics of the day. We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive. He is Michael Williams, currently the Managing Director of Cape Town Opera. Michael has built Cape Town Opera into an internationally acclaimed opera company and we are very much looking forward to him joining us at the beginning of May. We are also pleased to announce that the Arts Council has renewed our much coveted National Portfolio status for another four years. The Festival opens on 6 July with a special gala performance in association with Buxton Opera House and Opera North and hosted by our Patron Lesley Garrett. Please do bring family and friends. Look out this year for a variety of special offers; some are already in the back of the brochures but check the website for more as the Festival approaches. I look forward to seeing you all in July.
Opera 2018
Music highlights
An introduction to this year’s Operas from their directors. Pages 04–06.
Stephen Barlow discusses a treasure trove of music. Page 07.
The best of Friends
“ Sea monster music”
New Friends Patron, Wyn Davies. Page 11.
Outreach programme. Pages 16.
Issue Five – May 2018
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Out of Africa Buxton Festival is set to benefit from the global view and wealth of experience which its new CEO Michael Williams has built up as Managing Director of Cape Town Opera (CTO).
Michael, who takes up his role in Buxton this April, has been with CTO since 1990. He developed the company and its appetite for innovation, staging Fidelio in the prison yard of Robin Island where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned. He has toured numerous productions across the world and initiated a Choral Training Programme, which resulted in Cape Town winning the inaugural International Opera Awards Best Chorus prize. He built extensive outreach programmes to engage some of South Africa’s most disadvantaged communities; he is a noted librettist, writing operas which include the Mandela trilogy, and has published a number of novels for young adults. ‘I am very much looking forward to working on a Festival well known for its commitment to producing rarely performed operatic gems and showcasing the best of young British talent,’ said Michael. ‘I am particularly eager to create new projects throughout the year, expand the cultural learning
programme and develop both new audiences and young talent. What impressed me enormously was the passion and ambition that everyone associated with the Festival has for the town of Buxton. I am excited to become part of the team that makes Buxton such an exciting place to visit every summer.’ Felicity Goodey, Chairperson of the Board of Buxton International Festival said: ‘Michael impressed us with his global view, extensive contacts and wealth of experience at the helm of a major opera company. With our 40th anniversary year on the horizon in 2019, we have confidence that Michael will build on the quality of the Festival, ensuring that it continues to inspire audiences and attract international artists through its innovative programme of opera, music and book events.’ Buxton International Festival’s team has been strengthened by the addition of Sian Gilroy, who has been appointed part-time artistic administrator.
Sian divides her working week between the Buxton office and Leeds, where she works for Opera North as planning administrator. Sian, who studied stage management at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, brings a wealth of experience in the world of theatre and music. Clare Barlow has moved on from the Festival, where she organised book series events, highly successful outreach programmes and the annual poetry competition, to work for the Peak District National Park Authority. Jackie Doyle is returning to work in films after arranging a stunning line-up of authors for this year’s Book Series as well as creating the ground-breaking partnership between the Festival and The British Academy which will bring leading politicians and thinkers to Buxton for a series of debates.
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Primal passions
Bernard Shaw wrote that Italian Romantic operas are about a tenor and a soprano who want to make love and a baritone who won’t let them.
Costume designs by Russell Craig
Most of Verdi’s operas adapt this basic structure. The most sophisticated was his operatic version of Otello. To trace the origins of this form we must look to his neglected opera Alzira. It is based on a play by Voltaire which dramatised the shocking assassination of the Spanish governor of Peru by an Inca. It is a philosophical piece about the conflict of the noble savage and deals with discussions about Catholic colonialism. Verdi’s opera removes almost all the philosophy and in its stead
creates a short and driven plot in which conflicting passions are fought over the possession of the Inca princess Alzira.
Noble, simple, with a degree of unbroken vitality and vast natural power of creation, Verdi’s Alzira is always theatrical.
It is full of energy and breathtaking drive as it propels the characters to their doom. The music is in many ways naive, but full of charm and energy. The characters are presented with an urgent directness. We are called upon to identify with primal passions, with the hero’s desperate struggles, with the heroine whose dream of love is unjustly shattered and with the cruel tyrant who is imposing his will.
This production brings the action forward to the near present day revolutions in South America, finding its imagery in the bright colours of the score. This will be the first fully staged production of the opera in the United Kingdom. Elijah Moshinsky Director
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The monster within
First performed in Vienna in 1892 and composed when Mozart was 25 years old, Idomeneo is widely regarded as Mozart’s first mature work for the stage.
Idomeneo is the first in a long line of incomparable masterpieces which ends with The Magic Flute and Mozart’s untimely death. The story is based on legend: according to Homer King Idomeneus of Crete is returning from the Trojan war when his ship is caught up in a ferocious storm. He vows to Neptune, god of the sea, that if he is saved he will sacrifice the first human being he meets on dry land, which turns out to be his own son. The libretto turns this story into a powerful enlightenment drama which celebrates the triumph of human reason and compassion over the absolutist will of the gods. It also explores ideas of leadership and responsibility and examines how human beings behave when they experience the stress of an endless and bloody conflict. In this respect the themes of the opera are familiar to today’s audience, dealing as they do with the inevitable consequences of a long war: suffering on a huge scale and the mass displacement of peoples. In many respects Idomeneo is like any returning veteran, trying desperately to adjust to peace time while war still rages within him. Mozart’s music is extraordinary; no other word will suffice. He takes the traditional form of the old opera seria as perfected by Handel but gives it a good shake up and in so doing advances it towards the through composed music drama
of the nineteenth century. First of all he introduces the chorus as a major protagonist (under the influence of Gluck) and composes for them some of the most dramatically potent and sublimely beautiful choruses ever written. He does away with the traditional stop-start character of the opera seria by composing bridging passages and incidental music which give the opera great fluidity and a sense of forward momentum. He brilliantly exploits the form of the accompagnato (orchestral recitative) to give an active quality to reflection and a reflective quality to action; thus the plot moves forward on a crest of an emotional wave. Most important of all his music creates truthful characters of psychological complexity, which of course are to become the hallmark of his late, great Da Ponte trilogy. There is, of course, plenty of traditional operatic spectacle implied in the stage directions, but what fascinates myself and the designer, Isabella Bywater about Idomeneo, and arguably what most interested Mozart is not so much the boiling seas, shipwrecks, gods and sea monsters but what they represent. In a moment of musico-dramatic genius the jealous rage of Electra’s first aria Tutto nel cor vi sento mutates into the tempest that destroys the Cretan fleet. Later, in probably the most famous aria of all: Fuor del Mar, Idomeneo likens
his suffering to a raging sea within his breast. Then when the sea monster appears at the climax of Act 2 it seems to be the personification of Idomeneo’s guilt, tormenting him as his subjects gaze on amazed. At this critical moment Idomeneo cries out: ‘Eccoti in me, barbaro Nume! Il reo!’: which can be translated as ‘Here he is, cruel god! The guilty one’. At a literal level he means guilty in the sense that he has failed to carry out the sacrifice of the innocent victim that he promised in exchange for his own life and is therefore the one responsible for provoking Neptune’s anger. But at another level it refers to the crippling sense of guilt he suffers as a result of making the vow in the first place. The first part of the sentence has the literal meaning ‘Here you are in me, cruel god’ and which tantalisingly hints at the idea that Idomeneo feels himself possessed by the spirit of the vengeful Neptune. It may be that what terrifies the populace is not the monster in the waves but the prospect of their all-powerful leader disintegrating before their eyes, destroyed by a monster within.
Stephen Medcalf Director
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Opera... but with Hell’s Angels Opera della Luna Artistic Director Jeff Clarke talks about bringing The Daughter of the Regiment into the present day, and turning comic opera soldiers into Hell’s Angels. My core thought on this is that the theatre is not a museum. Rewriting shows is a liberty that I feel one is justified in taking only when the problems of staging and performance demand it. In the case of La Fille du Regiment, I said no at first because I couldn’t see how you could have a regiment in a space like the cloister with a company of less than 10. Secondly,
it seems to me that in some ways the opera is past its sell-by date. (Few really know what a vivandiere is, for example.) I don’t think those comic-opera soldiers bore much resemblance to military life in Donizetti’s time, and certainly they don’t ring true in any modern context. Viva la guerre is not a sentiment I naturally warm to. When the piece came up for consideration a third time I tried to think outside the box a bit, and asked myself ‘Could a regiment be anything else, other than a large collection of soldiers?’ It could be the name of an old buffers club who meet every Tuesday night in the Red Lion for a pint… And then I thought, it could be the name of a
Hell’s Angels-type biker gang in California. A baby in a biker camp is no more implausible than being left with a group of soldiers. It’s a far more plausible explanation that The Regiment consists of only six men; and it’s a far more interesting world to explore than the French army in some minor skirmish in the Tyrol. My primary concern is to make the music work in the most effective way, and to find the most successful way of engaging the audience for the two hours you have them at your disposal.
Jeff Clarke Director
Buxton première for Tisbe Buxton will see the UK première of an opera in concert performance which even the composer might not have ever seen… Tisbe is the only opera by Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello (c.1650–1758), and it is thought that it might not have been performed in the musician’s lifetime. La Serenissima will bring it to life and demonstrate their founder Adrian Chandler’s belief that Brescianello’s music deserves to be seen as comparable to that of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. The story is based on the doomed lovers Pyramus and Thisbe, best known today through Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Issue Five – May 2018
A treasure trove of music In essence, the annual summer Festival in Buxton is a celebration of the lyric arts and chamber music, with, in addition, authors and speakers from the world of literature, history, philosophy and politics. Rather than being focused, or themed, along limited lines, each festival day is a snapshot of highlights, offering something of special interest in every event, opera, concert or talk. Above all, the Festival audience is curious, about artists, music and drama, with a healthy dose of interest in current affairs and TV historians and celebrities. The Concert Series offers a treasure trove of music spanning the centuries, for both vocal and instrumental soloists, ensembles of various shapes and differences, choirs and orchestras. Early music features as always from the excellent La Serenissima and English Concert, but it is the Fitzwilliam Quartet who feature the earliest composer in this summer’s Festival, an arrangement of an arrangement; Brahms’ Chorale Prelude based on Michael Praetorius’ classic hymn melody, Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, from the late 16th Century. The most important factor of all for us at Buxton is to be hospitable to our visiting artists, many of whom return often as a result of enjoying the deep concentration our audiences offer during performances. No artist is even alive in performance without a high-quality audience, and my own
basis for programming is to encourage within the lightest parameters their own spirit of programming which means they come to the Festival to speak much more personally. Only if an artist is genuinely happy and cared about can great art happen in performance. This openness to an artist’s own directions breeds a multiplicity of outlooks and perspectives. You’ll see Christian Blackshaw who is one of our greatest thinkers amongst world famous pianists thoughtfully brings Schubert and Schumann, contrasting with the exciting Joanna MacGregor’s offering of her own specific contemporary commissions, framed so intelligently by two of Beethoven’s most massive works, and it’s important not to forget that in his time Beethoven was flagrantly his own man and often regarded as far too much a modernist. In her programme too as if these contrasts were not enough are Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas. Alberto Ginastera (1916-83) is to Argentina as Dvořák was to Czechoslovakia. Perhaps the backbone of the seemingly kaleidoscopic overall programme, is the very heart of chamber music, the string quartet, in tandem with vocal recitals. There is no composer numbered
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amongst the greatest who did not write for the quintessentially collegiate String Quartet. Presented by very fine quartets, there are works by Schubert (arguably one of his greatest masterpieces Death and the Maiden and his Rosamunde Quartet), Haydn, Mendelssohn (including the rarely performed earliest version of his evergreen Octet), Mozart, Elgar, Debussy and Dvořák. Rarely does the opportunity arise to experience all these masterpieces in such close proximity. Reflecting Buxton’s original urtext, the voice, the aim is to present many perspectives, and the opportunity to hear those younger artists such as Jennifer Davis who is surely a star of tomorrow, alongside Roderick Williams in the 2nd of his trilogy of the greatest song cycles. His Winterreise sold out almost immediately, such would be the recognition of this concert as a highlight anywhere in the world. I’ve been very happy to promote variety throughout the Festival, which is so appropriate for a celebration such as ours. This includes the powerful new genre of music around specifically written narrative. This genre can be mishandled and appear light, but in the hands of such innovative experts as Clare Norburn with her piece titled Vision about Hildegard de Bingen, and Ceruleo’s new work around the great fire seen through the eyes of Henry Purcell it will captivate beautifully. Our hope is that the choice will seem very difficult to make, but when that choice is made, you will find all of these concerts intriguing, of the highest quality and perhaps including at least one work that you didn’t know. Stephen Barlow, Artistic Director
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Books for Buxton By now, you’ll have received the brochure giving details of all the Book and spoken word events at this year’s Festival, in a packed programme of ideas, debate and personality.
In three special evening events we welcome iconic film actor Terence Stamp in conversation with Nickolas Grace; the wartime letters of Brief Encounter star Celia Johnson are brought to life by her daughter Lucy Fleming and her husband Simon Williams (Upstairs Downstairs, The Archers); while Tony Robinson reunites with some of his Time Team colleagues to dig up the past. This year’s Festival sees the arrival of Perspectives, a series of debates in association with the British Academy, on history, politics, art and literature, from leading thinkers and eminent figures.
To coincide with our production of Alzira, Classic FM’s John Suchet looks at the life of Verdi, Simon Jenkins unveils Britain’s most spectacular railway stations, Sir Roy Strong presents a personal history of Britain, broadcaster John Tusa looks back on his life and Earl Spencer talks about the daring escape of Charles II. In the centenary of women getting the vote, Helen Pankhurst assesses how far society has come in the last 100 years, Jenni Murray introduces some of the most important women in British history and Fiona Sampson celebrates 200 years of Frankenstein and the tempestuous life of Mary Shelley. Popular Buxton-born author Mark Cocker discusses Britain’s ecological history, naturalist Tim Birkhead introduces the first ornithologist and Mary Colwell talks about her journey to highlight the plight of the curlew.
Mountaineer Bonita Norris reveals how climbing helped her to conquer her fears and cycling correspondent William Fotheringham talks about the harrowing making of cycling’s most famous film. Adam Kay lifts the lid on the life of a junior doctor in the NHS, actor Michael Pennington relives Chekhov’s epic journey to Siberia, and MP Jesse Norman looks back at the life of Adam Smith. All this, and The Oldie’s Literary Lunch, featuring Leana de Lisle on Charles I, Miles Goslett on the death of David Kelly and Dan Cruickshank on Chicago’s most iconic skyscraper. As always, there’s plenty to stimulate the mind in Buxton International Festival’s Book series.
Issue Five – May 2018
Friends at the Centre Supporting Idomeneo at this year’s Festival
Expectation is in the air! Together with John Whibley, we would like to know what we can do to increase the take-up of Friends opera and music holidays. It appears that John’s holidays are selling significantly better to other Friends organisations so the challenge can’t simply be a question of price. Again, please tell us what you would like to see on offer and how we could better market the holidays.
Dear Friends, Bookings for this year’s operas and recitals are now open to the general public and already going very well; bookings for the books and talks will be underway by the time this newsletter goes out. We are awaiting with great anticipation the arrival of Michael Williams, our new Chief Executive, at the end of this month. Work on the Crescent is proceeding apace; the marquee has gone and a Spiegeltent is coming; the Octagon should be re-opened by July; and there will be a Friends event in the refurbished Pump Room. And now it has just been announced that this will be the last Festival of Stephen Barlow, our Artistic Director; in recent years Stephen has directed some outstanding festivals and we are sure that he will go out this year on a real high. We are indebted to Stephen and he leaves with our thanks and very best wishes.
We have had discussions about how best to survey the opinions of our members but we are reluctant to inflict a tedious questionnaire on you all. So we have decided that in each Newsletter we should invite responses to just one ‘big’ question – and what better to kick this off with than an invitation to you all to share with Michael, our new Chief Exec, your one top tip – see below. We are delighted that Michael has accepted this challenge.
The AGM also marked the retirement of our outgoing Patron, Donald Maxwell, and the adoption of our new Patron, Wyn Davies. We are astonishingly fortunate to have two such Festival icons as our patrons. You can see Wyn in cabaret at Hassop Hall on 12 September and you can see them performing together at ‘Donald’s Final Fling’ in the Pavilion Arts Centre on 19 October – neither event to be missed!! In this edition Donald reflects on his time with the Friends, and Wyn talks to Festival Press Officer, John Philips.
Meanwhile, as you know, your feedback and comments on any issue are always welcome. Unsurprisingly, reactions to this year’s arrangements for booking Book events have dominated my postbag. I have sought to reply personally to every Friend who has contacted me and I shall obviously convey your messages to the Festival Board. Some market research did inform this year’s experiment but its impact will be reviewed in light of both your feedback and any effect on overall bookings.
We have a truly diverse and diverting programme of Friends events for the coming year, with full details in the following pages. Joan Matthews, our Events Coordinator, and her team do a fantastic job and they are always open to suggestions for new types of event and new venues. The generous sponsorship of Investec Wealth and Management is already enabling us to develop a more adventurous programme of events.
It simply remains for me to thank you all for your amazing, generous and inspiring support, to look forward to meeting and talking with many of you during the Festival, and to anticipate together the next exciting stage in the Festival’s development. David Brindley, Chairman friendschairman@buxtonfestival.co.uk
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Friends round-up Backdrops to Friends events included the country house where Agatha Christie wrote her murder mysteries and a museum dedicated to the man who created the setting of our daily lives.
Friends AGM Our February AGM (followed by an exhilarating piano recital by George Todica and a convivial lunch) was again remarkably well supported, with 65 in attendance and 33 more apologies. The Trustees’ Report highlighted another outstanding year with £207,000 raised for the Festival from membership subscriptions, donations and events, alongside the continuing challenges of raising significantly more funds through initiatives like our Prize Draw and the Appeal. There were
no resolutions to discuss this time but there was plenty of time for an open discussion about ways to take our organisation forward, including plans to introduce a new tier of membership (Gold Patron) between existing Patron and Benefactor levels; and to introduce Go Cordless Direct Debits in time for the next round of membership renewals. The Trustees’ Annual Report and the Accounts can be viewed on the Festival web site.
Following elections at the AGM and the next committee meeting and a subsequent co-option, we are now at full strength. Your committee members for the following year are: Esther Allbutt, Judy Barker (Membership Secretary), Lee Barnes, David Brindley (Chairman), Morwenna Brooke, Philip Cartledge (Treasurer), John Gaunt, Harriet Grubb (Secretary), Pat Holland, Joan Matthews (Events Secretary), Tony Parsons, Louise Potter, Pete Spriggs (Vice Chairman), Barbara Stringer and Jane Wallwork.
It is all about the friendship Tempus certainly does seem to fugit as one gets older. I can hardly believe that it is 39 years since I performed at the very first Buxton Festival. It was a late-night cabaret in The Palace Hotel and I would like to say that it was a staggering triumph. Staggering it certainly was, as we got the first line of our first number completely wrong. I suppose it can’t have been so bad as I have been back since then in a variety of roles … opera singer, artistic director, programme seller, and for the last 15 years Patron of the Friends.
for granted, never left untended’. If you already are a Friend, my personal thanks for your continuing support.
Buxton Festival for me is all about friendship. I have made lifelong friends through the Festival and the Festival itself has succeeded (and at times survived) thanks to the efforts of the Friends and its devoted committee members. Yes, the Friends’ financial support since 1980 has been essential, but it isn’t just about money. As a performer it makes all the difference to feel that one is part of an artistic family... that is what the Friends mean to me.
What if you are new to the delights of the Festival? I have been lucky enough to be part of the unique Buxton story for nearly 40 years. It has been a stimulating and entertaining journey so follow me, join the Friends and keep that story going!
As Michael Kennedy said ‘artistic enterprises must never be taken
Donald Maxwell
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Buxton has the best of Friends, says new Friends Patron
Buxton International Festival has one of the best Friends organisations in the music world, their new Patron Wyn Davies believes. Wyn is an internationally renowned conductor who first appeared at the Buxton Festival in 1983 when he conducted the children’s opera James and the Giant Peach. His work has taken him from New York to New Zealand, and although there are friends groups supporting music events across the globe, nobody does it like they do in Buxton. ‘Very few friends organisations have contributed what Buxton Friends have to their main organisation,’ said Wyn, who is Director of Music at New Zealand Opera. ‘Maybe we have started to take that for granted a little and I think that we ought to trumpet that a bit more.’
‘ Buxton is regarded as the leading ‘un-posh’ festival.’ Some friends elsewhere see membership just as a ticket to the dress rehearsals: ‘There are people around the world who use it for that. They pay their subscriptions so it means that they can get in early and see the show before anyone else. ‘In the case of Buxton, that is a very small part of it. There is generally speaking one entire production which is underwritten by the Friends, which is a massive contribution, so they are very important to the Festival.’ Wyn is impressed by the range and quality of fund-raising events the Buxton Friends create, bringing exciting music to fascinating places including stately homes, museums and an Art Deco cinema.
‘I think it is important think to keep up the social element of the Friends group – it is a club after all,’ he said. ‘It’s regarded as the leading ‘un-posh’ festival,’ said Wyn. ‘You don’t have to be a millionaire to get to see a performance at Buxton, but that is no reflection on the quality of what you will see here.’ And it’s not only audiences who head for Buxton: the Festival is putting the next generation of artists on the map, too. ‘It has become increasingly important to have on people’s CVs,’ said Wyn, ‘Maybe in the past it was thought of ‘that festival up North’ and there was a time when it was difficult to get the Press to Buxton, but that’s changed because of the quality of recent years.’ Artists starting out on their careers are willing to spend time in Buxton’s chorus because they can have lunchtime recital slots: ‘It will probably be the most prestigious solo platform they’ve had, so that is particularly important for young singers.’
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Forthcoming Friends Events Haddon Hall Concert
Friends Drinks Reception
Music at Mansfield Street
Friends Festival Dinner
Garden Party at Bishops Grange
Music & Dinner at Hassop Hall
Buxton Crescent Talk
Donald Maxwell’s Final Fling
Haddon Hall Spring Recital Wednesday, 16 May at 6.30pm Haddon Hall, near Bakewell
The Hall has been used as a setting for many films, including The Princess Bride, but was once a real ‘sleeping beauty’ when from the 1700s to the 1920s it lay dormant until the 9th Duke and Duchess of Rutland restored the house and gardens. Places are £50 each including Drinks Reception and canapés plus interval drink.
Buxton goes to London, Music at Mansfield Street Lord and Lady Manners extend a personal invitation to Haddon Hall, one of the most romantic buildings in Derbyshire, which ‘slept’ for 200 years. The Hall, possibly the finest example of a fortified medieval manor house anywhere, is the setting for a recital by a string quartet from the Northern Chamber Orchestra. On arrival, there will be a drinks reception and canapés in the Banqueting Hall before heading to the Long Gallery for the music. During the interval guests will be able to go into the Rose Garden and explore the grounds with a glass of bubbly.
Thursday, 14 June, 7pm 22 Mansfield Street, London Artistic Director of Buxton International Festival, Stephen Barlow will be joined by two of the leading stars of the Festival this year. Kate Ladner will be singing the role of Alzira, her third of the early Verdi Trilogy directed by Elijah Moshinsky and making his debut this year James Cleverton singing the role of Gusmano in Giuseppe Verdi’s Alzira. The programme devised by Stephen Barlow will bring Buxton to London with excepts from the opera with a variety of exhilarating solos and duets.
Sponsored by
This event has now sold out but we have been allowed to put in a few extra chairs for the concert so if you would like to book a place for the Welcome Reception and concert only the cost is £35 each. Please note this does not include dinner.
Garden Party at Bishop’s Grange Sunday, 24 June at 12.30pm Bishops Grange, Bishops Lane, Buxton Former Chairman of the Friends Louise Potter opens her house at Bishops Grange for afternoon tea and brass music from Burbage Band. Places cost £30 each.
Friends Reception Sunday, 8 July at 6pm 6 The Square, Buxton Come and share drinks and canapés with other Friends after the first performance of Idomeneo, this year’s Friends-sponsored opera. Places cost £20 each
Issue Five – May 2018
Buxton Crescent Talk and Drinks Reception
Friends Dinner
Wednesday 11 July at 4pm The Pump Room, 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. The Dinner follows the concert by English Concert. Places cost £35 Please note new time to that printed in the opera & music brochure.
The Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust look forward to welcoming Friends of Buxton Festival to the newly refurbished Victorian Pump Room for a drinks reception and update on this fascinating heritage project. The event will include a short presentation about the Crescent, its restoration, the Pump Room events programme and plans for an innovative new Visitor Experience. The Trust team and Crescent volunteers will also be available to answer your questions. For further details on the Crescent, Pump Room Events programme and the Trust please visit www.buxtoncrescenttrust.org.uk. Places cost £5
Thursday 19 July at 7.45pm Old Hall Hotel, Buxton
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Wyn is the director of music at New Zealand Opera, but his cabaret career, which began in 1985 in New York, has seen him perform at the Royal Albert Hall and in festivals from Buxton to Edinburgh and at the Theatre Museum at Covent Garden. He has built up a devoted following for his interpretations of classics including the works of Noel Coward and Cole Porter. Places cost £55.
Music and Dinner at Hassop Hall
Donald Maxwell’s Final Fling
Wednesday 12 September at 6.30pm Hassop Hall Hotel, near Bakewell
Pavilion Gardens, Buxton Friday 19 October 2018 at 6.30pm
Wyn Davies brings New York to Derbyshire. The Friends of Buxton Festival are bringing New York-style cabaret to the luxurious setting of the Hassop Hall ballroom. Friends Patron Wyn Davies presents an evening of piano and song with a sumptuous meal to follow.
THIS EDITION’S
ONE BIG QUESTION: What is your one top tip or suggestion for Michael Williams, our new Chief Executive? Email your suggestions to friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk With two free tickets to a Friends event for Michael’s choice of best tip! If you wish to be entered in to the competition please give you contact details
Donald Maxwell will mark his retirement after 15 years as Friends Patron in a special concert and dinner at the Pavilion Arts Centre reflecting his association with the Festival which goes back right to its very beginning. Buxton has seen Donald in roles including artist, Artistic Director and Artist in Residence, and the concert will feature highlights from across the years. He will be accompanied by new Friends Patron Wyn Davies at the piano and special guests from Buxton’s past and present to be announced nearer the date. Places cost £45. Please check the Friends page on the Festival website for the latest news on events.
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Friends Spring & Summer Holidays 2018 Opera in Riga 12–16 June
Aix-en-Provence 10–14 July
Music and Wine in Italy 21–27 June
Buxton International Festival 13–15 July
San Francisco Ring 25 June – 2 July
Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro 19–24 August La Fenice Venice 18–22 October
Glyndebourne Touring Opera in Canterbury 5–8 November Janacek Festival in Brno 28 November – 3 December Christmas Oratorio in Leipzig 13–17 December
Buxton International Festival Friday 13 – Sunday 15 July Friends of Buxton Festival’s own tour operator specialising in opera holidays have organised a splendid calendar of trips for 2018. If you would like a brochure for the holidays mentioned above please call John Whibley Holidays on 01663 746678 and mention the Friends of Buxton Festival and they will be happy to send you further details. We would of course like to highlight the holiday to the Buxton International Festival taking place on 13-15 July.
Exclusive Holiday for Friends of Buxton International Festival and Welsh National Opera
We will be staying in the 4* Lee Wood Hotel a ten-minute walk to the Opera House.
This beautiful old Peak District spa town, with its gem of an Opera House, has hosted an opera festival for over three decades. It is now recognised as one of our most important festivals and includes a lively programme of concerts, talks and other events.
Cost per person: £545 (based on 2 people sharing) Single supplement in double room: £40
We will be attending two operas: Verdi: Alzira Mozart: Idomeneo
New General Data Protection Regulation
As many of you may be aware, regulations about data protection are changing. You may have received requests from other organisations asking you to confirm that you still wish to be included on their mailing lists. For existing Friends of the Buxton Festival, we will be able to continue to contact you as we have in the past because all of our
Cost includes: – 2 nights dinner, bed and breakfast in hotel – Admission to 2 performances – Services of tour escort, John Whibley For further information, telephone: 01663 746578 communications fall within what is termed “legitimate interest” rule. However, should you wish at any time to modify the manner in which we contact you, or cease to receive some or all of our communications, please let us know. You may do this by telephoning 01298 70395 or email friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk
Issue Five – May 2018
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Investec Wealth & Investment generates interest for Festival Friends Sponsorship of the Friends of Buxton Festival’s 2018 programme of events by Investec Wealth & Investment will bring a double return for the money. The award-winning company’s support has enabled the Friends to create a series of events in 2018 which ranges from a piano recital by a star of the future to music in one of the nation’s most historic stately homes, Haddon Hall.
The Friends’ Events Organiser charities, trusts and clients of Joan Matthews welcomed the deal: professional advisers on a bespoke ‘Investec Wealth & Investment’s basis, seeking optimal returns on sponsorship has not only allowed their capital. us to draw up a wonderful programme guaranteed to interest Investec was founded in 1974 in our members, but it will also mean South Africa, but its zebra logo that the Friends can in turn use only partly reflects the company’s those events to generate vital African roots. It was also chosen financial support for the Festival because each zebra is unique itself – which is a marvellous – which is how the company sees return on their investment.’ its customers – and because Investec stands out from the rest, Investec has a long track record of just like the zebra which inspired backing the arts, and its Wealth & the idea after being spotted Investment section specialises in standing on its own in a field in investing for individual clients, Wiltshire!
We’re proud to partner Buxton International Festival To discuss our services, please call James Lanchbery 0114 275 5100, email james.lanchbery@investecwin.co.uk or visit our website investecwin.co.uk
Member firm of the London Stock Exchange. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investec Wealth & Investment Limited is registered in England. Registered No. 2122340. Registered Office: 2 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QP. Offices at Bath Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Cheltenham Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow Guildford Leeds Liverpool London Manchester Reigate Sheffield
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Overture
Opera is a monster hit with children Buxton Festival’s Outreach programme is a monster hit with the children of the town. Youngsters at Buxton Infant and Burbage Primary Schools were enthralled by tales of a giant serpent and the Trojan War, featured in Mozart’s Idomeneo which is part of this year’s Festival. ‘I liked the sea monster music,’ said one pupil after the class where they learned to recognise the different musical motifs in the opera’s overture so that they could join. About 90 youngsters took part in the introduction to the arts in general and opera in particular, using what they learnt to inspire their own music, writing and painting. ’We listened to some of Mozart’s music and we were inspired and painted a picture that our mind said,’ another pupil commented. The children also visited Buxton Opera House to look at the stage and the architecture; had a visit from a musician and saw a collection of instruments from all over the world, from a digeridoo to ancient wooden pipes. Childhood experiences with the Festival also helped to inspire award-winning folk musician Bella Hardy, who gave a masterclass in singing to the outreach Kaleidoscope Community Choir.
Bella, who grew up in Edale, starting singing at the age of 13 in the Cambridge and Sidmouth folk festivals before gaining a Masters degree in Music. But it was during one of her trips to Buxton Opera House while at school that the drama of musical theatre inspired her to think about a career in the industry, she said in a break from teaching the Choir. Bella, who established her reputation when her first original composition earned a BBC Folk Award nomination 10 years ago, has written and recorded with everyone from Beautiful South founder David Rotheray to folk luminary Eliza Carthy, and performed with the great Mary Chapin Carpenter on her 2016 UK tour. The Kaleidoscope Choir has about 40 members from Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire who meet just for the joy of singing. Some sessions are in lunch hours so members can fit it in with work.
‘This is the first time I’ve joined a choir,’ said one of members of the Choir, which has grown from 30 to 50 since the start of the year. ‘It’s so friendly and I’m really enjoying singing.’ ‘Community singing is very important,’ said Bella. ‘Singing in general is just fantastically good for the soul. It helps us express ourselves and connect with people. It’s an amazing way of knitting people together. You are literally in harmony with the people you are standing with.’
Issue Issue Four April – October – May 2018 2017
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New Board members welcomed Visitors can help build Buxton’s future
‘I was born in Buxton and did my schooling here, and I used to go to Festival events when I was younger, which I enjoyed’ he said. ‘I’m not an opera expert by any means, so part of this is an education too.’ He is also looking forward to seeing the Festival widen its audience: ‘We are talking more and more about diversifying the Festival to give more opportunities to all.’
One of the latest recruits to the Board of Buxton International Festival became a director to help the annual event regenerate the town through its visitor economy. Chris Fry, who grew up in the town and went to the former Buxton College, sees the Festival as an important factor in developing its future as a tourist destination. ‘What I’m interested in is how the Festival can be used hand-in-hand with the renovation of Buxton to attract more and more visitors to the economy and generally regenerate the town,’ said Chris, a senior partner with global professional service provider KPMG. He started his career in London with Price Waterhouse before moving to KPMG, for whom he worked in Manchester and then as office senior partner in Liverpool.
Chris’s family has a history of improving the town: his grandfather founded the highly-respected building firm of W J Fry and Son, which his father successfully expanded and ran until his retirement.
Mark brings top Government Project skills to bear on Buxton Festival Board Buxton International Festival is set to benefit from skills which help guide the UK’s Government Project Delivery Community thanks to the appointment of Mark Sutherland to its board of directors. Mark has been a Festival supporter since 2012, becoming an active member of its Friends organisation which raises vital funds for the annual event by
holding exciting concerts in fascinating places, ranging from stately homes to converted monasteries. A career Civil Servant, Mark currently works in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office leading on the implementation of a Capability Framework to help 11,000 Government project professionals assess their skills and identify ways of improving future performance. In his career Mark has worked with Government ministers and currently works with many senior Whitehall officials, but lives in Sheffield, where he is active in the city’s Classical Sheffield organisation which brings together the many professional and amateur classical music groups in the city. Now he hopes to build on Buxton Festival’s individual style by helping to bring new audiences to its unique mixture of opera, music and books. ‘It’s that unusual balance and sheer variety of things you can do in a day at Buxton – exciting book talks with great authors, world-class chamber music, rare operas and winding down with jazz late at night,’ said Mark. ‘That’s what makes Buxton unique.’
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The Festival for a Fiver scheme, which offers anyone under the age of 30 the chance to see any performance, is one of the initiatives which Buxton is using to widen participation. ‘For me it’s a question of encouraging the next generation of people,’ said Mark, who will be using his project management skills to bear as the Festival plans for the future. ‘How do we bring in younger audiences? I’m keen to extend our reach to a wider age group.’ A history graduate, Mark has a keen interest in music, books and travel, and has represented Yorkshire on the BBC Trust Audience Council for England.
Buxton leads the way for arts in the north
Overture
‘I’m incredibly keen on opera and music as well as books and writing,’ said Julian, who has been a Buxton Festival-goer for more than two decades and has a house in the hills above Bakewell as well as a home in London. Britain has a huge range of arts and cultural events, but much of it is concentrated around the capital, ‘so it’s all the more important that we make sure we get the arts thriving outside the South East. ‘London is not the only place that people should have to go to see things that are absolutely world class. Buxton really stands way above anything outside the cities in the North and is really distinctive even compared to them. ‘That’s Buxton’s special, unique brilliance,’ he said. Julian, who studied history at Oxford, was a Guardian columnist for ten years, and wrote Man of Iron, a highly-acclaimed biography of industrial pioneer Thomas Telford.
Trustees needed to help build Festival’s bright future
Buxton International Festival’s ‘special, unique brilliance’ is leading the way for the arts in the north of England, the London Evening Standard’s new Associate Editor Julian Glover said on becoming a member of its board of directors. Julian, a former chief speech writer for David Cameron when he was Prime Minister, will bring his experience in the media and government to bear in planning the future of the Festival as it approaches its 40th anniversary.
Volunteers are being sought to help Buxton International Festival build on its reputation as one of Europe’s unmissable opera events. Every year, in July, Buxton hosts an internationally renowned Festival of Music, Opera and Books, which has been described as ‘one of the great unmissable European Opera Festivals ‘ and ‘Britain’s least pretentious’. The Buxton Festival Foundation is one of the key organisations which helps to support this annual event, and it is looking for new trustees to help build the future.
The Foundation was set up by the Friends of the Festival to create and administer an endowment fund to help safeguard the Festival for years to come. The Friends is a membership organisation which raises a significant amount of funds to support the Festival’s annual budget through subscriptions, other individual donations and year-round music and social events. The Foundation, also an independent charity, is separate from the Friends of Buxton Festival, and concentrates on raising funds for the longer term and special projects. ‘The Foundation is part of the Festival family,’ said Foundation Chairman, Jane Davies, who is looking for potential new trustees to come forward. ‘We work together to make sure this fantastic event happens. For example, this year we donated £60,000 to support performances by two visiting companies.’ Foundation trustees have no operational duties, and the Foundation plays no role in running the Festival itself. Meetings are held three times a year, usually in Buxton, and all its trustees are volunteers. The Foundation has reached the stage where it needs to be more active in attracting legacies to build the endowment fund instead of just relying on interest from its deposits. ‘This role would be interesting to someone who has some experience of building and managing a small endowment fund, or being a trustee of a small charity,’ said Jane. To find out more, contact Jane Davies at foundation@buxtonfestival.co.uk
Issue April – May 2018
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Increasing your involvement An opportunity to get more involved in an opera production this year
As part of a small group of committed and enthusiastic supporters, Syndicate members enjoy a fascinating insight into the work of the artistic and production team. By joining the group you will have the opportunity to see the development and performance of a piece of creative work, experiencing the production process close at hand.
You can join the syndicate at different levels supporting An Aria Costumes and wigs Design, scenery & lighting
£50 £100 £500
Member of the chorus
£1,000
A Soloist
£5,000
Benefits include your name in the Opera programme, invites to dress rehearsals and access behind the scenes. At the higher level there are opportunities to see scenes being worked on, performers developing their characters and the journey of the cast and orchestra from the start of rehearsals to opening night – for more details contact Joanne joanne.williams@ buxtonfestival.co.uk Help at the Festival this summer Volunteers are needed to help front-of-house for performances during the Festival. The 30 volunteers who took on the roles in last year saved the company over £7,200 while enjoying the chance to talk to a wide range of people and meet the staff and artists. If you would like to become a volunteer and have time to s pare between 6-22 July please get in touch with Lee Barnes lee@buxtonfestival.co.uk
BUXTON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Opera.Music.Books
6–22 JULY
Verdi – Alzira Mozart – Idomeneo Brescianello – Tisbe Donizetti – The Daughter of the Regiment Public booking opens 6 April Box Office: 01298 72190 www.buxtonfestival.co.uk