Arts festival near Knaresborough with UK-wide reputation to launch with rare opera double bill

A rare opera double bill will launch this year’s Northern Aldborough Festival held in a lovely village setting near Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.
By Graham Chalmers
Published 15th May 2023, 17:29 BST
Updated 15th May 2023, 17:34 BST
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The highly-rated annual arts festival, which runs across ten days in the bucolic North Yorkshire village of Aldborough, offers audiences the chance to experience performances normally seen on cosmopolitan stages, in a rural setting.

Running from Thursday, June 15 to Saturday, June 24, Northern Aldborough Festival 2023 will kick off with two of Haydn’s comedies, The Diva and The Apothecary.

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Presented by Bampton Classical Opera, who are celebrated for breathing new life into lesser-known works, the double bill will take place on Thursday, June 15 at 6.30pm in the beautiful 14th-century St Andrew’s Church.

Northern Aldborough Festival launch event - Soprano Madeline Robinson will be one of the stars in a Haydn double bill presented by the nationally-renowned Bampton Classical Opera.Northern Aldborough Festival launch event - Soprano Madeline Robinson will be one of the stars in a Haydn double bill presented by the nationally-renowned Bampton Classical Opera.
Northern Aldborough Festival launch event - Soprano Madeline Robinson will be one of the stars in a Haydn double bill presented by the nationally-renowned Bampton Classical Opera.

The nationally-renowned opera company’s stage director Jeremy Gray said: “Bampton Classical Opera has taken a lead in presenting Haydn’s neglected operas to new audiences and has staged six with great success, including last season’s much-praised production of Fool Moon (Il mondo della luna).

"With their simple and witty plots, demonstrate Haydn’s delight in exploring bizarre romantic situations and creating affectionately humorous music.”

The cast will include light tenor Guy Beynon, a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, who is currently studying for a Masters at the Royal Academy of Music, and tenor Henry Ross, a Royal Academy graduate who has made his debut at Wigmore Hall and has a concert repertoire including Bach, Handel, and Haydn.

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The award-winning British soprano Iúnó Connolly also stars having performed at venues including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and English National Opera.

Northern Aldborough Festival launch event - Light tenor Guy Beynonwill be one of the stars in a Haydn double bill presented by the nationally-renowned Bampton Classical Opera.Northern Aldborough Festival launch event - Light tenor Guy Beynonwill be one of the stars in a Haydn double bill presented by the nationally-renowned Bampton Classical Opera.
Northern Aldborough Festival launch event - Light tenor Guy Beynonwill be one of the stars in a Haydn double bill presented by the nationally-renowned Bampton Classical Opera.

Conductor Mark Austin, was a finalist in the Chicago Symphony Solti Conducting Competition and was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2019.

Now in its 29th year, the Northern Aldborough Festival has built its reputation on delivering high quality music and talks to rural audiences.

The ten-day festival also welcomes Leeds International Piano Competition winner, Sunwook Kim, the BBC Young Musician of the Year (brass), trumpet-player Matilda Lloyd, the Armonico Consort performing Monteverdi’s Vespers, and the award-winning jazz ensemble, The Tim Kliphuis Sextet.

For tickets and more information, visit www.aldboroughfestival.co.uk

Related topics:KnaresboroughBoroughbridge