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Buxton Festival

The Buxton International Festival (8-25 July 2021) announces its headline events

 

Buxton International Festival (BIF) is delighted to announce that its renowned summer festival, celebrating the very best of opera, music and literature in the heart of the UK's Peak District, will go ahead between 8 and 25 July 2021. Headline events include four operas - Errollyn Wallen's Dido's Ghost, Malcolm Arnold's The Dancing Master, Handel's Acis and Galatea and Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon. The festival features a musical for the first time, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, and a stellar music series with solo recitals as well as orchestral and chamber music concerts. This year's book series, which doesn't shy away from controversy, includes events on land reform, the leadership style of our British Prime Ministers, slave trade reparations, and the future of Brexit Britain.

The 2021 Buxton International Festival is delighted to be co-commissioning, with the Barbican Centre, Mahogany Opera, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale and the Dunedin Consort, Errollyn Wallen's new opera, Dido's Ghost, which will have three performances in Buxton. In addition, the festival features Malcolm Arnold's The Dancing Master with conductor John Andrews, a co-production with the Early Opera Company of Handel's Acis and Galatea, conducted by Christian Curnyn; and a brand-new BIF production of Pauline Viardot's Opéra comique, Cendrillon. The festival is also offering a musical for the first time, a co-production with Buxton Opera House of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, starring Olivier Award-winning Janie Dee, directed by Paul Kerryson and conducted by Wyn Davies. In addition, the programme features Jonathan Dove's chamber opera The Enchanted Pig, a Buxton International Festival Platform 3 Production, designed to provide a platform for all ages to create, perform and engage with the arts.

The festival's exceptional music series features some of the UK's finest artists, including violinist Jennifer Pike, who will be 2021's artist-in-residence. Further highlights include concerts from Sarah Connolly, John Tomlinson, The English Concert, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and Natalie Clein.

The festival's books programme boasts some of the most exciting new publications of 2021.  Highlights include events on land reform, the leadership style of our British prime ministers, slave trade reparations, and the future of Brexit Britain. Guests include broadcasters Andrew Marr, Iain Dale, Giles Fraser and Matthew Parris, bestselling authors James Rebanks, Ben MacIntyre and Max Hastings, historians including Margaret MacMillan and Neil Oliver, journalists Polly Toynbee and David Walker, scientists including palaeontologist Richard Fortey, archaeologist Rebecca Wragg Sykes, law makers and protectors including policewoman Parm Sandhu and chief prosecutor, Nazir Afzal, and bookseller Martin Latham.

Commenting CEO Michael Williams said: 'This is a festival worthy of Buxton at its best. We have been overwhelmed by the eagerness of our best-known singers, musicians, authors and commentators who have been determined to help us bring back the live performances we know our loyal audiences are craving. Diverse, cutting-edge programming is at the heart of this year's festival with the safety of everyone, artists and public, embedded throughout. The festival's quality is undimmed, and with our new ability to film and release selected events after the festival, we will ensure that everyone can enjoy BIF 2021 wherever they are.'

The full programme and festival brochure will be issued at the end of March 2021 and the festival will be open for public booking on 4 May 2021.

Posted 10 March 2021 by Kate Gedge

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THE BUXTON FESTIVAL

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