Your one-stop guide to everything going on at Buxton International Festival this week

With five stars for Gypsy: A Musical Fable in The Stage, four for La donna del lago in The Telegraph and four for Viva la Diva in The Guardian, Buxton is the place to be this summer!

It’s all going wrong for the High Peak Festival in Donizetti’s Viva la Diva – will the intervention of aging diva Agatha save the day, or tip the entire production over the edge?

Witty, hectic and full of big personalities, Donizetti’s operatic parody takes us behind the scenes of a regional opera company beset by chaos. Art imitating life? We couldn’t possibly comment.

Tickets still available for next week’s performances!

Gypsy: A Musical Fable received rave reviews, including five stars from The Stage!

Not seen it yet? Check out our fantastic trailer, and book your tickets for one of the remaining performances!

The atmospheric romance of the Scottish Highlands comes to life with Rossini’s La donna del lago, a tale of love, loyalty and lochs.

Based on the Walter Scott poem, La donna del lago sees Elena pursued by three suitors – her betrothed Rodrigo, a political ally of her father; Uberto, really King James in disguise, and her true love Malcolm, a rebel chieftain.

WEATHER WARNING

As we’re sure you will know, the Met Office have issued amber and red heat warnings for much of the UK over the next few days.

While it might be strange to think of hot weather affecting Buxton, the forecasts are putting the temperature at a possible high of 36 on Tuesday – this is a clear 4 degrees hotter than the previous record, which was 31.9 in 2019.

We are recommending that you bring bottled water with you, if possible in a bottle that will keep cool all day. Wear plenty of suncream and a hat, sit in the shade if you’re outside, and if you begin to feel unwell at any of our events please speak to one of our staff or volunteers, who will be very happy to help you.

We are working with our venues to ensure that your visit is as safe as possible – there are air circulation systems in the PAC and the Octagon, fans will be in use before performances and water will be available at our venues.

You can read the Buxton Opera House’s guidelines here.

MONDAY 18TH
Zoe Playdon                                                                     10am Pavilion Arts Centre
Wildlife Walk with Mark Cocker  SOLD OUT           11:30am Meet at the Junction of
Corbar Road and Lightwood Road
Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton                                  12pm St. John’s Church
Kitty and Al Tait                                                          12:30pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Mansfield Park                                                                       3pm St. John’s Church
Gill Hornby                                                                         4pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Pre-show Talk: Violet                                                       6pm Buxton Opera House
Violet                                                                            7:15pm Buxton Opera House
Piccadilly: Film with                                                          8pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Live Musical Accompaniment

TUESDAY 19TH
Frances Spalding                                                             10am Pavilion Arts Centre
Remembering Malcolm Fraser                      11:15am Crescent Assembly Rooms
Philippa Forrester                                                       12:30pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Viva la Diva                                                                       2pm Buxton Opera House
Manchester Camerata with the                                                     3pm The Octagon
Brodsky Quartet and Jess Gillam 
Christina Lamb                                                             5:30pm Pavilion Arts Centre
The Jess Gillam Ensemble                                              8pm Buxton Opera House

WEDNESDAY 20TH
Robert Sackville-West                                                     10am Pavilion Arts Centre
Vera Brittain at the                                                   11:30am Meet at the Reception
Devonshire Dome walk                                                      of the Devonshire Dome
Christopher Maltman and Audrey Saint-Gil                      12pm St. John’s Church
Gypsy: A Musical Fable                                                      2pm Buxton Opera House
Brodsky Quartet                                                                   3pm St. John’s Church 
Anna Keay                                                                          4pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Gypsy: A Musical Fable                                                7:15pm Buxton Opera House
Antonio e Cleopatra                                                     7:30pm Pavilion Arts Centre

THURSDAY 21ST
Simon Thurley                                                                    10am Pavilion Arts Centre
Iestyn Davies and Thomas Dunford                                      12pm St. John’s Church
Lady Hale                                                                    12:30pm Buxton Opera House
Mansfield Park                                                                        3pm St. John’s Church
Common People walk                                     3:30pm Meet at Buxton Opera House
Giles Milton                                                                          4pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Viva la Diva                                                                   7:15pm Buxton Opera House
Dominic Halpin and the Honey B’s                                  8pm Pavilion Arts Centre

FRIDAY 22ND
Toby Wilkinson                                                                   10am Pavilion Arts Centre
Eleanor Corr and Emil Duncumb                      11:15am Crescent Assembly Rooms
Justin Webb                                                                12:30pm Buxton Opera House
Antonio e Cleopatra                                                             1pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Gould Piano Trio                                                                     3pm St. John’s Church
Andrew Mitchell MP                                                             4pm Pavilion Arts Centre
La donna del lago                                                         7:15pm Buxton Opera House
Nigel Price Organ Trio                                                         8pm Pavilion Arts Centre

SATURDAY 23RD
Katherine MacInnes                                                           10 am Pavilion Arts Centre
Iain Dale, Colleen Graffy,                                                 12pm Buxton Opera House
Justin Webb and Adam Boulton
The BIF Chamber Ensemble: The Corran Quartet              2 pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Lindsey Fitzharris                                                                4pm Pavilion Arts Centre
Viva la Diva                                                                   7:15pm Buxton Opera House
The Creation                                                                      7:30pm St. John’s Church
Ian Shaw Quartet                                                                 8pm Pavilion Arts Centre

SUNDAY 24TH
Festival Mass                                                                         11am St. John’s Church
Gypsy: A Musical Fable                                                      2 pm Buxton Opera House