The new director of the Lichfield Festival has promised “something for everyone” at this year’s event.
More than 70 events will take place from July 3 to 12, including music, literature, theatre, dance, art and film.
Sonia Stevenson will take on the role of artistic director with a big reputation to live up to as last year’s festival saw record ticket sales.
She said: “The Lichfield Festival has a long and proud history and putting together this programme has been a great honour and an immense pleasure.
“This year’s offering is as eclectic as ever, with an array of internationally-renowned artists across a wide range of genres offering something for everyone in this most beautiful of settings.”
This year will see a new foray into opera with a specially-commissioned adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute by Anthony Kraus performed as part of the opening of the festival.
David Matthews is composer in residence with two world premieres performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Toward Sunrise) and Ex Cathedra (a new choral work inspired by the dawn chorus), and his music is played throughout the ten days. This year’s artists in residence are the Sacconi Quartet who give a series of chamber music concerts including Elvis Costello’s The Juliet Letters in collaboration with Bellowhead’s Jon Boden, and Heartfelt – an audience-immersive project involving robotic hearts.
Jazz pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock is joined by special guests guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel and Julian Argüelles, while author Michael Morpurgo brings his novel The Mozart Question to life with actress Alison Reid and violinist Daniel Pioro. Elsewhere, Ksenija Sidorova and Kirill Burlov give the UK premiere of their new project Tango Stories.
Other highlights include stand-up from comedians Marcus Brigstocke and Mark Watson and a series of talks from acclaimed authors including Wendy Cope, Philip Walling and Bill Oddie. The Malachites, Shoreditch’s 5-star Shakespeare company, perform Twelfth Night with a cast including BAFTA-nominated John McEnery.
Among the free events this year are a vintage tea party on the lawn at Lichfield Cathedral and a baby elephant parade, supported by Twycross Zoo.
General booking opens at 11am on April 21. Tickets and the full programme are available from the Lichfield Festival website.