Town festival to celebrate Alfred the Great

The organisers of an annual festival dedicated to Alfred the Great have said they want to deepen people's understanding of the medieval King.

Alfredfest is celebrated annually in Wantage, the birthplace of the Saxon King of Wessex, on the anniversary of his death.

Sunday's events include a procession to his Victorian statue, a blessing of the town, lectures and a recital of a new opera about Alfred's daughter, Aethelflaed.

Lay preacher and organiser David Richardson said he wanted people to see beyond the well known story of him "burning the cakes" and realise Alfred was "where England as a kingdom started".

He said Alfred was not just a warrior king, but a "philosopher and a thinking king".

This was what helped him rally the Saxon people against invasion in the 9th Century, Richardson said.

Composer Andre Fratto and soprano Rachel Kobernick are performing a recital of their opera Aethelflaed in St Peter and St Paul's church on Sunday.

Kobernick, who lives in Ohio, said she was looking forward to her visit to the south Oxfordshire town, adding it was "very hard to process performing the piece in the place where the history actually happened".

Revd Katherine Price, who has helped to organise the event, said she was looking forward to welcoming the creators of the opera to the town from the United States.

She said it was "wonderful to think that Alfred, who is a son of Wantage has influence across the globe".