Another Day at Buxton
22 July

Well, what we've all known for some time is now official. We've had the wettest April-June on record.

Apparently, the Gulf stream is flowing further south than usual forcing unusual levels of cloud and precipitation our way.

Some things in the garden have been favoured by this. We had lots of raspberries which have loved the rain but the strawberries were meagre because there was only a little sun to accompany the flow of water. Unsurprisingly, the buddleja, which is like one giant tap root, is reaching for the stars.

The astilbe and the irises have all been lacklustre. The honeysuckle, on the other hand, has never been more prolific.

Finances are tight at present and so Ross and I haven't been going out much. It was with some joy therefore that I went over to Buxton for the day with Roland for a mini opera festival. We took in a matinée performance of the Northern Ireland Opera production of Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw. In many ways this was not as technically well achieved as the Glyndebourne production I saw at FACT last year. It was, however, much more engaging and spooky.

There was casting in depth with Fiona Murphy as the Governess, Giselle Allen as Miss Jessel and Yvonne Howard as Mrs Grose. Thomas Copeland's Miles was one of the most chilling assumptions I've witnessed in a while. Nicholas Chalmers conducted a clear and supportive reading of the score and Oliver Mears' direction kept a clear hold of the narrative allowing for the audience to do the work. This was the best of the three works on offer.

Buxton makes its name from offering repertoire that would usually not be given anywhere else. The evening's double bill showed their adventurousness to the full.

I didn't know that Sibelius had even written an opera. The Maiden in the Tower, though it had its lyric moments showed why he didn't do much more with the medium. The score pleasantly washed over me without leaving much of an effect. As a curiosity, I'm happy to have ticked that particular box but I wouldn't be tempted by it again.

I have higher hopes of Rimsky-Korsakov's Kashchei the Immortal as he has much more of a reputation as an opera composer and the musical, vocal and lyrical standards of the piece were stronger and more immediately attractive. Still, I can't say that I would be swayed into a second hearing.