The Derbyshire spa town of Buxton will come alive when it hosts the 36th Buxton Festival and the Fringe Festival which has been running since 1980.
Recognised as one of the UK’s leading arts festivals, Buxton Festival is a “summer celebration of the very best opera, music and literature at the heart of the beautiful Peak District”.
Opera is the central pillar of the Festival. Artistic director Stephen Barlow says it concentrates on a repertoire that is not performed very often “and the rarity of an opera is balanced with its quality and appeal to artists and audiences alike”.
The festival runs from Friday (11 July) until Sunday, 27 July. The full programme can be viewed at the Buxton Festival web site.
At the same time Buxton Festival Fringe, “one of the largest open-access arts festivals in the country”, takes place. “The biggest UK Fringe between Edinburgh and Brighton” uses various spaces around the town.
The Fringe aims to provide “an opportunity for artists to perform or exhibit in an environment that is low cost and an atmosphere that is receptive”. Organisers hope the Fringe “encourages artists to take risks and experiment”.
Theatre forms nearly a third of the entertainment at the 2014 Fringe which runs from Wednesday (9 July) until Sunday 27 July. The full programme can be seen at the Fringe web site.