Performances to include Full Length Operas, Classical and Traditional music to be held over 5 weekends between October and March.
Highlights announced today of the 2016 Northumberland Music Festival include Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Verdi’s Rigolleto, a full length performance ofThe Pirates of Penzance, The Northumbrian Ranters, and a concert performance by Graeme Danby.
Taking place at The Robert Parker Collection of hotels, the festival will commence with A Feast of Gilbert & Sullivan on 14th October at Eshott Hall near Morpeth, and end with The Pirates of Penzance at Doxford Hall, near Alnwick, on 11th March. It will also tour the other hotels in the Robert Parker Collection, including Dalhousie Castle Hotel, near Edinburgh, Ednam House in Kelso, and the Wordsworth Hotel in Grasmere.
The decision to tour the 6th Northumbrian Music Festival is the latest innovation introduced to the unique event. Organised by The Robert Parker Collection of Hotels, the concerts have become an established part of the musical scene in Northumberland. The expansion of the hotel group was seen as an opportunity, and the events will now be held in each of the 5 hotels in the group.
Mark Booth General Manager of Doxford Hall, which has been hosting the festival since the outset commented earlier today:
“We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming the Northumberland Music Festival, Heritage Opera and of course the Northumbrian Ranters back to Doxford Hall. We know from experience that all performances include a gourmet meal, the festival offers the perfect winter’s evening of entertainment, fine food and culture.”
The Northumbrian Ranters at Doxford Hall Hotel – one of the key Events in the 6th Northumberland Music Festival, which has just been announced, will take place on 10th March.
Heritage Opera will be bringing full length productions of The Magic Flute [Mozart], Rigolleto [Verdi] and The Pirates of Penzance [Gilbert and Sullivan]. The programme also includes highly successful operatic galas, and this year, for the first time, sacred music and an organ recital – thanks to the Church at Grasmere – who’s other claim to fame, is the burial place of Wordsworth.
The Northumbrian Ranters, featuring young musicians from throughout Northumberland, have been at every festival, and continue to draw full houses whenever they appear.
Commenting on the Festival at its launch, organiser Barbara Huddart said:
“We are delighted that the Northumbrian Music Festival goes on tour for the first time. The music and the food that accompanies it combine to make a hugely memorable event for all who attend.
“The halls and castles of the hotel group are perfect venues for musical performance – with large spaces that were designed from the outset for large social events. Most also provide a dramatic backdrop for the classical music that is often contemporary with their architecture.”
A full programme can be obtained from the Festival organisers at info@nmfestival.co.uk, by ringing 01668 283100 or writing to the Northumberland Music Festival, Cheviot Centre, Padgepool Place, Wooler, NE71 6BL