Adventures in Music
Glyndebourne on Tour October 2015
Thrilling and thought-provoking production of Handel’s Saul – the highlight of an excellent three days.
Oxford Lieder October 2015
Another triumph for Director Sholto Kynoch and a succession of brilliant singers.
Buxton Opera Festival July 2015
The scene in front of the Buxton Opera House before the performance of Lucia di Lammermoor, the last of this year’s festival.
The operas at this jewel of a festival in 2015 are Gustave Charpentier’s Louise, a slice of late-19th-century Parisian life that became something of a cause célèbre even before its 1900 première; a powerful early Verdi rarity, Giovanna d’Arco, to a libretto based on Schiller’s Joan of Arc drama Die Jungfrau von Orleans: and Donizetti’s ever-popular Walter Scott tragedy Lucia di Lammermoor, complete with opera’s most famous mad scene.
THURSDAY 23 JULY
1.30-2.00 Arrival at the Lee Wood Hotel, The Park, Buxton SK17 6TQ
Tel: 01298 23002
2.30-4.30 Study session in one of the hotel meeting rooms, including
coffee break. There will be time for questions/discussion.
5.15 Dinner in the hotel’s AA rosette-winning restaurant (choice of 4 starters, mains and sweets, including coffee but excluding wine)
6.50 Walk to Opera House
7.15 Louise (concert performance in French, with surtitles). Cast includes Madeleine Pierard (Louise), Susan Bickley and Michael Druiett. Conductor Stephen Barlow
FRIDAY 24 JULY
10.30-12.30 Study session in hotel, with break
(The hotel offers a good lunch menu, plus bar snacks)
Free afternoon to explore Buxton. Attractions include the
Thermal Baths and the Georgian Crescent and Great Stables.
(Dinner is independent, though some may again like to eat in the hotel)
7.15 Giovanna d’Arco (in Italian, with surtitles) Cast includes Kate Ladner (Giovanna), Ben Johnson (Carlo), Eric Greene and Graeme Danby. Producer Elijah Moshinsky, conductor Stephen Barlow Ends 10.15
SATURDAY 25 JULY
10.30-12.30 Study session, with break
5.15 Dinner in the hotel
7.15 Lucia di Lammermoor (in Italian, with surtitles). Cast includes Elin Pritchard (Lucia), Adriano Graziani (Edgardo) and Stephen Gadd (Enrico). Producer Stephen Unwin; conductor Stuart Stratford.
Aldeburgh Festival June 2015
This year’s typically adventurous programme ranges from songs by Dowland and Purcell, courtesy of star countertenor Andreas Scholl, via Haydn, Mozart and Schubert to Ravel. True to form, the festival also features new commissions, including the première of a one-act opera by Birtwhistle.
Saturday 13 June
12.15 onwards Arrival at the White Lion Hotel, Market Cross Place, Aldeburgh
IP15 5BJ (01728 452720)
1.30-2.15 (Brief ) study session at the White Lion
2.20 Exodus to Blythburgh (20 mins by car)
3.00 Concert in Blythburgh Church: Andreas Scholl (countertenor), Tamar Halperin Songs by Dowland, P Purcell, Campion etc; keyboard works by Purcell and Byrd
(some may like to eat in the hotel restaurant before the Snape concert)
6.50 Exodus to Snape (7-8 mins by car)
7.30 Concert in Snape Maltings: Mahler Chamber Orch/George Benjamin; Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano, Claire Booth soprano
Wagner Siegfried Idyll
Boulez Mémoriale
Tom Coult Mini-song cycle (commissioned for this year’s festival)
Benjamin A Mind of Winter
Ravel Piano Concerto in G major
Soup and sandwiches will be available in the hotel after the
concert
Sunday 14 June
10.30-12.30 Study session in hotel, with coffee break
2.30 (optional) Britten Studio, Snape. Two one-act operas by Birtwistle
The Corridor; The Cure (world premiere) Cast includes
Elizabeth Atherton and Mark Padmore (ends 4.40)
5.30 Dinner in the hotel (3 courses with coffee)
6.50 Exodus to Snape
7.30 Concert in Snape Maltings: Mahler Chamber Orch/
François-Xavier Roth
Mozart Marriage of Figaro overture
Luke Bedford