Conductor
The Pirates of Penzance and Princess Ida, National G&S Opera Company
After a long association with the Festival and the National G&S Opera Company, I am thrilled to be named as Musical Director for the upcoming season. I look forward to bringing my experience from my continuing work in Europe, alongside my love for the Gilbert and Sullivan Operas, to take a more active role in ensuring a bright future for the Festival.
I am always amazed by the work that happens behind the scenes by the team in Halifax to make sure that everything comes together. After conducting the Opera Company at last year’s Festival, I was simply astonished by what they can achieve!
I am very much looking forward to revisiting Iolanthe, one of Sullivan’s best scores, and I can’t wait to see everyone in Buxton for another great Festival.
James Hendry stands at the forefront of young British conductors. Most recently First Kapellmeister at Staatsoper Hannover, the 2024/25 season sees him conduct Verdi’s Don Carlo for the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Swedish Opera, and Puccini’s Tosca in a return to Staatsoper Hannover, among others. In previous seasons, Hendry has worked at Opéra National de Lyon (Offenbach’s Barbe-Bleue), and on numerous productions at Royal Opera House Covent Garden, including Oreste, Der Rosenkavalier, Adriana Lecouvreur, Hänsel und Gretel, and Turandot. Other engagements include English National Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor), Oper Frankfurt (Don Giovanni), Luzerner Theater (Revue des Follies) and Opera North (The Marriage of Figaro). A keen symphonic conductor, recent seasons feature the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchester der Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Southbank Sinfonia, the Orchestra of Opera North and the Niedersächsisches Jugendsinfonieorchester.