Designed by celebrated theatre architect Frank Matcham, Buxton Opera House opened amidst great celebration on 1 June 1903.
A full house audience was treated to The Prologue, written specifically for the occasion, followed by the first plays to be staged, Mrs Willoughby’s Kiss and My Milliners Bill.
Touring Shakespeare, West End successes, ballets and comedy were popular on the Opera House stage right up until the great depression of 1921.
Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were in the audience to watch Anna Pavlova perform the Dying Swan in 1925.
“Frank Matcham’s glorious Opera House at Buxton, with its warm and intimate design, always guarantees a night to remember for theatregoers”