The Buxton Opera House in the Peak District hosts around 450 shows each year, which include dance, drama and music concerts. The Opera house also hosts the famous Buxton festival. The house itself was restored in 2001, and boasts an original Edwardian theatre and is one of the best things to do in Buxton.
The opera house opened in June of 1903, and the first plays consisting of Mrs Willoughby’s Kiss, and My Milliners Bill were staged at this time. The decades following the opening of the Opera house saw an expansion in the number of performances at the theatre, as well as the theatre hosting numerous travelling Shakespeare companies. The year 1927 saw the theatre turn into a cinema that showed silent films, though sound was eventually introduced to the cinema five years later. The opera house continued its life as a cinema throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s though began to fall into a state of disrepair soon after. This resulted in the theatre closing temporarily in 1976. The restoration took place after the closing of the theatre which was then reopened in 1979, and was restored with an additional orchestra pit being added to it. Further restoration work took place in the late 1990’s that finished in 2001. The theatre has continued to evolve and be relevant in the present day and has staged a number of famous acts from Elvis Costello to Razorlight.
Visitors can either go to the opera house to watch shows or visit to simply have a look around. Coffee mornings are run throughout the year at a cost of £2.50 per time and allow visitors to walk around the building for an hour. Profits from the coffee mornings go towards the maintenance of the building. Alternatively, visitors can visit in order to see one of the art shows, theatre performances or gigs. Tickets are available online on the official Buxton opera House site.