The annual Ryedale Festival in North Yorkshire aims to present familiar works in unusual and beautiful settings. This year's festival runs from July 11-27, commencing with a performance of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 conducted by Robert Hollingworth.

Every year, the Ryedale Festival Opera presents a new production. This year it will be Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea in a new English translation by John Warrack (who has been a contributor to Gramophone since the late 1950s). The photographs in this gallery come from recent festival seasons and show the extraordinary range of musical activity that is typical of the festival.

For more information about this year's events, visit the Ryedale Festival website.

Click on an image above to open the gallery