07 – 25 July 2027
Buxton International Festival is delighted to announce the opera season for the 2027 programme.
The line-up includes Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, Ariadne auf Naxos and Salome by Richard Strauss, La gazzetta by Gioachino Rossini and Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Festival will also present the world premiere of Orlando: An Escapade by Thea Musgrave, based on Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando.
Tales of Hoffmann
Jacque Offenbach
A Buxton International Festival production in collaboration with Norwich Theatre Royal, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.
What drives a poet to love the wrong woman, three times over? In Offenbach’s final opera, Hoffman revisits his most disastrous affairs: a mechanical automaton in Paris, a doomed young soprano in Munich, and a scheming courtesan in Venice. Rich with gorgeous melodies and sharp emotional truth, this production reveals a master of comedy reaching for something profound and eternal.
Ariadne auf Naxos
Richard Strauss
A Buxton International Festival production, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.
In the lavish home of the richest man in Vienna, two rival performing troupes arrive to entertain his guests. Minutes before showtime, the patron delivers an outrageous decree: to ensure the fireworks start on time, both performances must take place simultaneously on the same stage. Pandemonium ensures, yet magic occurs as high-flown opera and sparkling commedia dell’arte weave into an astonishing theatrical tapestry.
La gazzetta
Gioachino Rossini
A Buxton International Festival production, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.
When the overbearing Don Pomponio places a newspaper advertisement to find a suitable husband for his sharp-witted daughter Lisetta, chaos quickly ensues. Misunderstandings, clever disguises, and secret romances turn a quiet garden into a whirlwind of hilarious confusion. Will true love triumph over ridiculous ambition? Warm, clever, and packed with irresistible melody, this delightful opera promises an entertaining evening with some of the best young voices in the land.
Orlando: An Escapade
Thea Musgrave
A Buxton International Festival world premiere production, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.
Guided by Virginia Woolf herself, this joyful opera follows the charismatic Orlando on an extraordinary journey through centuries of passion, identity, and transformation. Sweeping from the court of Elizabeth I to Constantinople, Orlando experiences passionate loves, bitter betrayals, and artistic struggle before waking to a stunning transformation: he is now a woman. Navigating a world of changing desires and societal expectations, Orlando embraces life with wit and courage.
Don Pasquale
Gaetano Donizetti
An Opera della Luna production.
When rich old Don Pasquale tries to trick his nephew Ernesto out of an inheritance by marrying a demure young bride, he gets far more than he bargained for. Enter the cunning Doctor Malatesta and the spirited widow Norina, who disguised as the sweet ‘Sofronia’, agrees to a fake marriage only to instantly turn into a domestic tyrant. Packed with sharp wit and Rossini-style exuberance, this comedy turns a classic battle of wits into pure fun.
Salome
Richard Strauss
An OperaUpClose production, in partnership with Opera North and arts depot.
OperaUpClose, an ‘impressive tour de force’ (The Times), presents a radically distilled take on Richard Strauss and Oscar Wilde’s scandalous masterpiece in partnership with Opera North and artsdepot. Reinterpreted through the ‘ingenious musical bricolage'(Opera Magazine) of Amy Bryce’s new acoustic-electronic score and an original English libretto by award-winning writer Athena Stevens, Salome: Dance Toward Ruin is a psychological horror that asks whether violence can ever free us from the stories that imprison us. Directed by Anna Morrissey, with Strauss’s extraordinary vocal music driving the drama, this compelling reimagining brings audiences closer than ever to the heart of the tragedy, immersing them in a haunted, warped world that is at once disturbing, provocative and visceral.
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A Buxton International Festival concert version, featuring the Buxton International Festival Orchestra.
When the young Spanish nobleman Belmonte discovers that his beloved Konstanze is being held in the palace of Pasha Selim, he sets out on a daring mission to rescue her. With the help of her spirited maid Blonde and his resourceful servant Pedrillo, an escape plan is hatched, but the fearsome overseer Osmin is determined to stop them. Bursting with brilliant arias, lively ensembles and Mozart’s colourful Turkish-inspired music, this exhilarating comedy of love, loyalty and forgiveness races towards an unexpectedly generous conclusion.
Further information on performance dates and details will be announced in the coming months. Stay tuned for more.