International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival Frank Matcham-designed 900-seat Buxton Opera House. Beginning in 2014, the main stage has been the 1,100-seat Royal Hall in Harrogate, another Matcham-designed theatre. These performances are nearly always accompanied by the "National Festival Orchestra". A review of a 2010 performance noted, "The music was up to [the Festival's] usual high standard, with the orchestra (leader, Sally Robinson) ... giving a superb and sprightly reading of the Overture and score throughout." The Festival also hosts dozens of performances and fringe activities in smaller venues. In Buxton, these included the 360-seat Pavilion Arts Centre. In Harrogate, some fringe performances have been held
Spa town Spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word "spa" is derived from the name of Spa, a town in Belgium. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He became interested in the curative properties of the hot mineral waters there and in 1676 wrote "A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water". This brought the purported health-giving properties