Barber of Seville was superb and a joy too see and hear. Surprisingly the Knot Garden was most enjoyable as well. Handel's Ariodante sadly was far too slow and long winded so left after the 2 hour First Act. The least said about the dreary Merry Wives the better - even the orchestra sounded dreary and out of tune - the only disappointment of a most pleasant week. JR

Our third successive attendance at the second week. As usual, mixed bag of opera performances but overall unusual and sometimes compelling. Details:- Ariodante: Marred by poor diction and lacklustre production; a disservice to a fine piece. Had been "on the road" too long? 25% Ascanio: A fine presentation and performance of a masque we had previously thought unstageable. Play-within-a-play worked brilliantly and fine singing all round. A real success! 90% Barber: Interesting, quite funny and generally well sung and acted but production tried too hard to jolly us along with slapstick. 70%. Merry Wives: Good piece, well worth reviving, sung and produced entertainingly and with conviction except for Windsor Forest. A pity that Verdi did it better! 85%. Knot Garden: Not Tippett's best opera, and a bit oversold this year. This performance was workmanlike, with good attempts at the diction in the often cruel vocal parts though the reduced orchestra was even more obtrusive than usual. Wilsonian projections lacked relevance. Wouldn't this piece project better "in the round"? 60%

What another fabulous festival! I live near Brighton and their brochure goes straight in the bin because I have better things to do in Buxton! Also Brighton doesn't have the lovely Yvonne Howard!! Recital with the still gorgeous Helen Field and that naughty but talented Jeremy Huw Wulliams was enchanting! Hope he's made a full recovery now! Return visit to Ariodante reinforced my view of the drama, musicality and power of this opera in this production which has such dramatic integrity, consistency of excellent singing, tightness between pit and stage and respect for the work itself. All made to seem so effortless when we know it ain't! A triumph!! Compare that with the also excellent Glyndebourne Julius Caesar which is full of camp gimmicks, no depth of humanity and which has no faith in the power of the work itself. An insult to Handel, the singers and the audience! Excellent production of Merry Wives with consistently good performances across the board, But too much heavy tat made for long scene changes which lost impetus. Less is more please! But what fabulous costumes!! Paisello's Barber I could do without seeing ever again, particularly in that production which started out well but then was completely hampered by that bloody caravan! But again well sung!! Ascanio was another triumph visually, dramatically and vocally! What national treasures we have in Steven Lawless and Aidan Lang! Long may they prosper and thrill us!! The final Festival Mass was the best I've heard because the choir were heard above the orchestra and sang really well - well done Sopranos! Another real festival to gladden the heart of an old opera fart; restoring his faith in the genre and proving that he's not an old cynic who's seen and done it all! Covent Garden take note!! Thankyou - onward and upward!!! Mike Hollands

I felt privileged to hear the stunning singing of Miss Rebecca Bottone at the performance of Paisiello's Barber - I'm simply awestruck at how a human larynx can produce the phenomenal sound that hers did in the cadenzas to her arias (some of which perhaps owed something more to Herr Mozart than Signor Paisiello!). It was also a rare and fascinating experience to hear a piece which so clearly inspired and influenced the composition of Le Nozze di Figaro. With thanks for this year's Festival and best wishes for the future, William Deaucarre.

Fabulous festival - particularly loved the innovation in the birds. More such matinees please.

I so much enjoyed the Barber of Seville - what quality singing, and a great production. I hope we'll be seeing more of the company at the Festival. Quite a contrast to the Handel, which was slow, dull and not well sung although it did look good. RD

I was delighted to visit the Festival and stay at the Palace Hotel where I was entertained, on a Friday July 15th afternoon, by a very talented pianist, Phillip Dyson. He gave a wonderful programme of popular tunes and his repartee gave an extra special feel to the afternoon. I do hope he will return to entertain us again and I look forward to that time with anticipation Sincerely, Heather Hine

As usual the Festival was superb. The one sour note was the Knot Garden. This was characterised by singing that was mainly bellows or shrieks, band playing that was more noise than melody and a visual that was distracting and added nothing to the understanding of what appeared to be an unpleasant worthless plot (not in itself dambing for an opera). The Chorus recital was very good and the duet from the Pearl Fishers was spine chillingly beautiful. It would be wonderful if some of the festivals own productions could be recorded and made available on the net or via CD. I would willingly pay for a copy of the above duet and the "Merry Wives" would make a welcome addition to my music shelves.

Ariodante 17th July - singers good, but we were disappointed with the minimal sets and action. This was virtually a concert performance which we could have listened to on the radio in more comfort - it was one of the tropical nights in the theatre. My wife left at the interval for that reason also. This production made us appreciate Aidan Lang's productions even more than we already do. (We've been coming every year since 1994) We enjoyed Ascanio, Merry Wives, Barber and Hollow hill - also a Good Reed| Another thought - if the Festival can produce early Mozart, why not try early Wagner? Obviously, the longer operas cannot be done, on cost grounds, but there must be people who, like me, would love to see Die Feen or Das Liebesverbot, if these are "normal" length. David & Alison Asquith

Matinee performance of The Barber of Seville was excellent. Funny, a witty translation and some superb young singers. My first visit to the Festival - and I hope the first of many! DER

A lovely festival, our first visit. Merry Wives: excellent in all respects. Knot Garden: enjoyed very much, despite disliking Tippett. Barber: very funny, superb young singers and well worth hearing. Ariodante: left at the interval (straggly playing, slow recits and no communication with the audience). Jane Young

Superb festival, really enjoyed our first visit. All but The Knot Garden were superb especially Jonathan Lemalu and The Birds. Well done everyone, we will be back. Steve Meek and Ruth Brewin

Just seen the Knot Garden and thought it was fabulous with sensational singing and very innovative video sets. The talk before was very helpful and full marks for such an innovative piece of work. The rest of the Festival has been excellent especially Merry Wives and Ascanio in Alba. We so enjoyed The Birds yesterday - also brilliantly innovative. Congratulations to Glyn Foley and Aiden Lang and all their staff. Jennie Ball

I have been coming to the Buxton Festival for twenty years now and it just gets better and better.It is undoubtedly the finest summer festival in Britain. Such a varied programme, performances of the highest quality, and a friendly relaxed atmosphere. Thanks to all concerned, especially Aidan Lang. Darrell Farrant.

We've just spent a wonderful and varied week at the Buxton Festival 2005. Merry Wives of Windsor excellent -super music, lovely singing, well performed, great use of a clever set; Ascanio in Alba most enjoyable, good singing, very interesting set; Ariodante somewhat disappointing both dramatically and visually with an unhelpful set and actions; the Knot Garden - we left at the interval, couldn't cope with any more of the same music or the very repetitive video installation display. We greatly enjoyed many other concerts and entertainments during the week. We eagerly await next year! Rita Harrigan.

Beware seats on the far right hand side of the stalls for Ascanio - the view is extremely restricted, and a good deal of the action is out of sight. The singing is wonderful, which makes it all the more disappointing not to be able to see.

We had to leave The Knot Garden at the interval - not enjoyable in any way. Enjoyed the Merry Wives of Windsor, PDJames, Allegri Quartet, Midsummer Night's Dream and Sheila Hancock and hope to enjoy more. Ann and Richard Oliver and guests

What a great show on Saturday - Mozart's 'Ascanio in Alba'.Great singing, good diction, an inventive interpretation, a sympathetic orchestra and colourful costumes.It gelled so well - a first class show - not to be missed! Brian Dotson - Llandrindod Wells

The Northern Chamber Orchestra - Sunday What a smashing programme. The Larsson Pastoral Suite was new to me, but very enjoyable. The Beethoven Symphony was really good and I think the orchestra enjoyed it as much as the audience. The soloist, Thomas Carroll was brilliant - the cello is my favourite instrument and he did everything to confirm my view. I know the festival is predominantly opera, but could we have some more of the Northern Chamber Orchestra in concert please? Rod Walters

Bekova Trio - Saturday Bring 'em back! This very talented and professional trio was a delight. The Methodist Church was a good venue and I especially enjoyed their arrangement of Pictures at an Exhibition. What a start to the festival! Chris Walters