This year is the 21st year of the Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Founded in 1995, the Festival has performed every year, througout August, in Buxton. I have been visiting the Festival every year since its inception. The first few years I only managed to see one opera but in more recent years my G&S chum, Bernie, and I, have managed at least three performances throughout August.
The Festival is a pivotal moment in the year, for me, the Festival is a transition from Summer to Autumn. When it starts, in early August, it is often warm and the evenings are light; when it finishes in late August, the evenings are drawing in, we emerge into the dark, and it's starting to feel distinctly autumnal.
So, we were horrified last year to find that the Festival, for a variety of reasons, was moving to Harrogate. Whilst Harrogate would be fine for me it would be hopeless for Bernie and G&S without Bernie is unthinkable. It would be like gin without tonic or Marks without Spencer!
So, imagine how delighted we were when my wonderful husband discovered that Buxton was running an alternative Festival, a sort of fringe event! We immediately booked for The Sorcerer and The Pirates of Penzance.
Yesterday evening we watched The Oxbridge G&S Society perform The Sorcerer and it was excellent, really fast paced and with a youthful freshness. We missed all of the paraphenalia of the Festival but it was lovely to be in Buxton watching G&S so we didn't think too much about this.
On the way into the Opera House we noticed that Opera Della Luna is performing The Mikado next week and so we booked immediately!! We therefore have two more performances to look forward to as Summer slips into Autumn and all is not lost with our G&S fix!
The Festival is a pivotal moment in the year, for me, the Festival is a transition from Summer to Autumn. When it starts, in early August, it is often warm and the evenings are light; when it finishes in late August, the evenings are drawing in, we emerge into the dark, and it's starting to feel distinctly autumnal.
So, we were horrified last year to find that the Festival, for a variety of reasons, was moving to Harrogate. Whilst Harrogate would be fine for me it would be hopeless for Bernie and G&S without Bernie is unthinkable. It would be like gin without tonic or Marks without Spencer!
So, imagine how delighted we were when my wonderful husband discovered that Buxton was running an alternative Festival, a sort of fringe event! We immediately booked for The Sorcerer and The Pirates of Penzance.Yesterday evening we watched The Oxbridge G&S Society perform The Sorcerer and it was excellent, really fast paced and with a youthful freshness. We missed all of the paraphenalia of the Festival but it was lovely to be in Buxton watching G&S so we didn't think too much about this.
On the way into the Opera House we noticed that Opera Della Luna is performing The Mikado next week and so we booked immediately!! We therefore have two more performances to look forward to as Summer slips into Autumn and all is not lost with our G&S fix!