Véronique Serret will perform in Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden for Sydney Festival. Photo © Wendel Teodoro

The festival has long been a pilgrimage for arts lovers, offering cultural and spiritual uplift. Some traverse the globe like migratory birds – just think of the Wagnerians who travel from Ring cycle to Ring cycle; others are happy to roam their own backyard, attending boutique festivals in the British country house opera tradition, reuniting with familiar faces and enjoying world-class performances in often bucolic surrounds.

It was in this vein that Peter Pears suggested creating “a modest festival with a few concerts given by friends.” The rest is history, with Pears, Benjamin Britten and Eric Crozier launching the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948.

History has been made here too, with regional towns playing host to small-scale festivals...