Gilbert and Sullivan operas are still very popular with Buxton hosting a G&S Festival ever year. This year was the 32nd Festival celebrating the works of the talented dramatist and composer duo, although written in the late 1800s there are many similarities to our 21st century lives.
I studied and saw a couple of their operas as part of my music studies at school but Hubby had not seen any although he knew of their music. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote comic operas with very funny characters and quirky plot lines all portrayed with songs showcasing amazing vocal ranges.
We booked a two night stay in Buxton at the Premier Inn, one night for the opera and a full day to then explore Buxton. It wasn't a long walk into Buxton, plenty of pub stops on the way with a short but very steep hill to get to the Opera House.
The Opera House is a stunning building, it's decor and layout transports you back in time which was perfect for Gilbert and Sullivan. The building was restored in 1979 with the original features kept, even the fire hoses!
The festival was over 2 weeks on with performances of The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, The Gondoliers, Iolanthe and HMS Pinafore which was the performance we booked.
It was superb, it's a very funny story with all characters having a role not just the leads. The songs are very catchy but there are also some operatic solos. We both really enjoyed our evening, so much so we booked to see The Gondoliers the following evening. This was a Bus Pass performance with every performer on stage being over 60, they were superb with amazing voices.
For this performance we had a box (cheapest seats left) which everyone thinks is the place to sit but actually has quite a limited view unless you lean right forward, it made me wonder if the Royal Box in a theatre is more about seeing the Royals than the Royals seeing the show.
We really enjoyed both shows and the buzz around with the majority of the audiences being avid Gilbert and Sullivan fans who join in all the Festival activities not just the actual operas. We plan to return next year to see The Pirates of Penzance and the Mikado.
Our second day in Buxton was filled with discovering more about this Peak Distict spa town. Our first discovery was a flat route avoiding the hill which led us to the Pavillion Park, perfect place for breakfast. To my delight there was a miniature train although we didn't take a ride.
Buxton is England's highest market town at over 1000 feet above sea level with Georgian and Victorian architecture including The Cresent and St Ann's Well which still provides natural spring water.
The Buxton Baths building is now an arcade full of independent shops with original tiling and bathing features still in place. There's also a small museum with a Victorian bathing area and stained windows.
As with all our trips away we sampled the local refreshments starting with Buxton spring water but progressing to visiting Buxton Brewery Tap where Hubby enjoyed a pint and I had a most delicious g&t. It was one of the nicest gins I have had in ages while and did buy a bottle of Buxton Distillery Dry Gin to enjoy at home.
Not local but not far away in Stoke-on-Trent we also enjoyed Titantic Beer who make the superb Plum Porter.
Buxton was a great place for a short break and was a fabulous chance to see two operas, we both had a lovely time and are looking forward to the 33rd Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.
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