BUXTON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS STAND-OUT 2026 PROGRAMME

Six Operas (four of them brand new productions):

• Verdi’ La traviata
• Lehár’s The Merry Widow
• Viardot’s Le denier sorrier
• Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero
• Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula
• Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito

Classical Music 

• Peter Donohoe
• Roderick Williams
• Sarah Connolly
• Steven Isserlis
• The Hallé orchestra
• The English Concert
• Isata Kanneh-Mason
• Brodsky Quartet

Jazz

• Courtney Pine
• Darius Brubeck
• Tony Kofi and Denys Baptiste Quartet
• Laura Jurd

Books

• Lady Hale
• Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia)
• Sir Nick Clegg
• Andrew Graham-Dixon
• Martin Sixsmith
• Claudia Hammond
• Iain Dale

Further Information and Assets

• Priority Booking opens on 17 March.  Public Booking opens on 14 April.
• The full programme can be viewed on Issuu here.
• The festival website is here.
• Photographs are available here.
• The 2025 Video Hightlights reel can be viewed here.

• Six Operas – including four brand new productions;

• Books – with broadcasters, politicians, historians & commentators of the day;

• Classical Music – featuring world-class orchestras, ensembles and recitals;

• Jazz – including a special Jazz Weekender.

Buxton International Festival (9-26 July) announces its stand-out 2026 programme with more than 160 events planned across 17 days including six operas, four of them brand new productions; book events with leading opinion-formers of the day; world-class classical concerts; and a bigger than ever jazz programme.

Stand-out performers include Lady Hale, Jimmy Wales (Founder of Wikipedia), Sir Nick Clegg, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Courtney Pine, Martin Sixsmith, the Hallé and English Concert orchestras, Roderick Williams, Steven Isserlis, the Brodsky Quartet, Denys Baptiste and Daryus Brubeck. And this year’s operas include two of the best-loved works in the canon, Giuseppe Verdi’s iconic opera La traviata (a joint production with Norwich Theatre) and Franz Lehár’s operetta, The Merry Widow (a Scottish Opera, Opera Holland Park and D’Oyly Carte Opera co-production).

Commenting on the 2026 programme, Buxton’s CEO Michael Williams said:  “Our ambition at Buxton knows no bounds and we have not only pulled together a fantastic programme of events but also increased our partnerships with other acclaimed companies which brings a vital new aesthetic and energy to the festival.  We can’t wait to get started.”

OPERA

The festival’s 2026 operas encompass a range of centuries, styles, and stories.  Alongside La traviata and The Merry Widow in Buxton Opera House, BIF also presents lesser-known gems by women composers including Viardot’s Le dernier sorcier and Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero (performed by Vache Baroque) in the Pavilion Arts Centre. The English Concert orchestra returns to Buxton for Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula; and there’s a special concert performance of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito in Buxton Opera House.

Commenting, artistic director, Adrian Kelly said:  “We are thrilled to be completing our Verdi cycle with La traviata in Buxton Opera House and delighted to offer The Merry Widow which has had terrific reviews to date.  Our Pavilion Arts Centre operas embrace Buxton’s commitment to celebrating the less well-known works and we’re very proud of our collaborations this year with Opera Holland Park, D’Oyly Carte Opera, Vache Baroque, Scottish Opera, Norwich Theatre, The English Concert Orchestra and of course our own festival orchestra.”

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The festival offers a wealth of classical and romantic chamber music repertoire, ranging from Mozart and Haydn to Schumann, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Smetana performed by outstanding ensembles such as the Sacconi Quartet, the Sitkovetsky Trio, the Gould Piano Trio and the Brodsky Quartet.

2026 also brings a welcome return to Buxton for The Hallé orchestra after an absence of over 60 years. Their programme in the Octagon concludes with Brahms’ masterful Fourth Symphony.

Pianist Joseph Middleton returns to curate another series of vocal recitals with a stellar group of singers including Roderick Williams, Nicky Spence and Sarah Connolly. Other high-profile soloists include renowned cellist Steven Isserlis and pianists Peter Donohoe and Isata Kanneh-Mason.  Young artists this summer include pianist Junyan Chen, whose programme features Rachmaninov and Gershwin. And a familiar face, Alexander Armstrong joins the throng with Claire Booth and Andrew Matthews-Owen for The Roaring Twenties.

Adrian Kelly continues: “Last year’s concert series enjoyed unprecedented success and we have done our best to outdo last year’s offering with the return of some outstanding artists who have been regular visitors to the festival, plus some new faces.”

JAZZ

Buxton’s brand-new jazz director, Wesley Stephenson, kick-starts the festival with jazz royalty – Darius Brubeck and Courtney Pine both feature as part of the opening Jazz Weekender, alongside Laura Jurd, the Tony Kofi and Denys Baptiste Quintet and Josephine Davies with Satori and Alcyona Mick.

And for the first time this year, The Old Clubhouse opens for three relaxed, late-night jazz sessions with the Gaz Hughes piano trio, the Blind Monk Trio plus Hannah Brine with Bim Williams.  Other highlights include the Arun Gosh Quintet and the Andrew McCormack Trio.

Commenting, Wesley said: “We’re living in an incredible period of history for modern jazz with the art form fully embracing diversity in so many ways, fusing with wider world music.”

BOOKS

Buxton’s books programme continues to grow in breadth and popularity.  It is now recognised as one of the most notable non-fiction festivals in the north of England.  This year’s programme features serving politicians, broadcasters, art historians, the military, mental health supporters and environmental advocates. Lady Hale, Sir Antony Beevor, Jimmy Wales, Sir Nick Clegg, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Claudia Hammond and Iain Dale top the bill amongst many others.

Books director, Vicky Dawson comments: “I have observed that the word ‘humanity’ inadvertently features in many of our authors’ books this year. They define it as the ability to love, create and show compassion; in essence, the quality of being truly alive rather than acting like a robot. Yes, our book festival covers conflict, inequality and the dangers of power, but we also look at hope, heroism, diplomacy, trust, lives lived in nature and through art, kindness, curiosity and exception.”