Buxton Festival

A Summer ‘Bonbon’ - Buxton Festival

The Buxton Opera and Literary Festival, one of Britain’s largest opera-based festivals, takes place each summer in the historic spa town of Buxton, set at an airy 1,000 ft and surrounded by the limestone hills of the Peak District National Park.

A classic Victorian 4 star hotel, with extensive gardens and conveniently located only a few minutes from the opera house, is an ideal base for exploring the architecture of Georgian Buxton and enjoying a beguiling mix of opera, concerts and literary events.

TRIP ITINERARY

DAY 1

Tea and D included

After checking into the Palace hotel around 2 pm, (Buxton is accessible by car and by train/taxi) we meet the tour leader over an English cream tea and then attend the first concert by the acclaimed Dante String Quartet (performing in the hotel ballroom). There is time to settle into our rooms and meet for a pre-opera glass of wine before strolling across the square to Buxton Opera House, fully restored to its Edwardian opulence in 2001, for the performance of Verdi's opera ‘Luisa Miller’.

DAY 2

B, L, D included

After a leisurely breakfast we have a guided walking tour of Georgian Buxton, seeing the Crescent, built in 1780 on the orders of the fifth Duke of Devonshire as a fashionable rival to Bath, and learning of the origins of the spa in a Celtic votive spring and a Roman baths complex. This afternoon we have a choice of Festival events - a talk on Lenin in Exile by Helen Rappaport; a saxophone and piano recital by the outstanding soloist Hannah Marcinowicz; or a recital on the 4 manual organ of St John’s church by Ben Giddens (Magdalen College, Oxford) and Peter Stevens (King’s College Cambridge). We have an early dinner prior to the second opera performance, The Barber of Baghad by Peter Cornelius (1824 -74), a comic opera adapted from stories in ‘The Arabian Nights’.

DAY 3

B, L, D included

This morning we can choose between a talk by the writer Philip Pullman, a radical retake on the life of Jesus and the church, or a guided walk through Grin Low woods (an SSSI for botany and geology) and up to a hilltop with splendid views of the High Peak area. After lunch we can opt for a talk by author Lynn Shepherd entitled "The making of Murder at Mansfield Park" or listen to a septet from Opera North transformed into "The Café Band Tangos into the Movies"! This evening The Classical Opera Company present the world premiere of their new completion of Zaide, an opera Mozart left unfinished in Vienna.

DAY 8

B, L included

In the opera house this morning we hear the architectural historian and television presenter Dan Cruickshank talk on The Secret History of Georgian London before a light lunch in our hotel. At 1pm the soprano Mary Plazas, tenor Paul Nilon and pianist Andrew Greenwood perform songs and duets by Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Donizetti et al, a fine farewell to our Buxton Festival visit.

Price includes:

All accommodation for Days 1 through 4, on a twin shared basis

All meals (with wine at lunches and dinners) as listed in the daily notation

All entrance and sightseeing fees except during free periods

Tickets for 3 opera performances, 2 concerts, 1 talk and 3 further optional Festival events as chosen from those listed in the itinerary

Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff

Visa and Health Requirements

Visitors from the EU and USA currently require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to Britain. If you are a national of any other country, please check visa regulations with your nearest British Embassy.

At present there are no specific and compulsory health requirements for entry to Britain. Residents of countries in the EU can claim free (emergency) medical treatment in Britain by presenting their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Insurance

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If you are already insured or a non-UK resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of booking.