Buxton Opera House

The Buxton Opera House is one of England's most beautiful Edwardian theatres, a 902-seat confection of terracotta, plasterwork, and gilded decoration that feels wildly ambitious for a spa town of 22,000 people. It hosts the Buxton International Festival each July — a serious programme of opera, classical music, and literary events that draws performers and audiences from across Europe.

Performances aside, the theatre offers tours and the exterior on The Square is striking enough to merit a look. In the summer festival season, the area around the Opera House is the heart of the town's cultural life, with outdoor performances and events in the Pavilion Gardens next door.

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A story
The Opera House was designed by Frank Matcham, the most prolific and celebrated theatre architect of the Victorian and Edwardian era — he designed over 150 theatres, including the London Coliseum and the Hackney Empire. Buxton's theatre, completed in 1903, is considered among his finest works. It was saved from demolition in the 1970s by a campaign that included the intervention of John Betjeman, who called it "a perfect example of Edwardian baroque."