Come and join other members of BIF Friends for a coffee morning where our speaker will be the acclaimed opera singer Donald Maxwell, an original cast member of the 1980 Festival production of Hamlet.
Join us as Donald gives us a talk on that famed Festival production which launched the careers of singers like Sir Thomas Allen and put Buxton firmly on the calendar as a place to come and hear opera. Donald will reminisce what it was like singing at the Festival all those years ago and working with the two people who founded the Festival, Malcom Fraser and Anthony Hose. People who came to the production of Hamlet 45 years ago often recall their admiration for the opera and we hope that we can replicate that excitement people had about seeing this rarely performed opera again in a Festival setting.
About Donald Maxwell
A native of Perth, Scotland, Donald Maxwell graduated in geography and taught in Scotland whilst studying singing with Joseph Hislop. Donald Maxwell has been a professional opera singer for more than 45 years with his Buxton debut in 1980. He joined Scottish Opera in 1976 and Welsh National Opera in 1982. He was Director of National Opera Studio 2001 to 2008 and Head of Opera Studies at RWCMD from 2004 to 2009. Donald is a Board Member of Welsh National Opera and Vice President of Buxton International Festival and former Patron of BIF Friends.
About the Venue
Thorneycroft is a tall and commanding residence: a physical gesture of grandeur reflecting the confidence of its era. It was built in 1891 during Buxton’s heyday and bought by a Lancashire mill owner, John Slack.
