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Come under the spell of a magical Wexford Festival Opera

80 events over 17 days from 21 October to 6 November 2022

Wed Oct 12 2022 - 10:16

With its distinctive character of rediscovering and breathing new life into forgotten operatic masterpieces, Wexford Festival Opera has garnered a reputation for high-quality productions and a strong artistic conviction. The Festival, which returns this autumn, is held in high esteem and affection in Ireland and brings tens of thousands of culture seekers flocking to Wexford from all over the world, tempted by both the possibility of the next big discovery and the enveloping welcome of the enchanting town of Wexford itself.

After the Covid restrictions of past years, the Festival is back to full strength, offering a varied and enticing artistic programme of 80 events over 17 days. Centring around the theme of Magic & Music (curated by artistic director Rosetta Cucchi), the Festival features three main stage operas:

La Tempesta (1850) composed by Fromental Halévy, after Shakespeare’s play, has inspired more operas than any other of the Bard’s work. The opera will be conducted by WFO’s Principal Guest Conductor, Francesco Cilluffo.

Lalla-Roukh (1862) composed by Félicien David, is based on one of the most famous works of celebrated Irish poet and musician Thomas Moore, who died 170 years ago this year.

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Armida (1904) is the last opera of composer powerhouse Antonín Dvořák, with rising Irish star Jennifer Davis in the title role.

In addition to the main stage works there will be two Pocket Operas (Opera Beag): the premiere of The Master, based on the best-selling novel about Henry James by Irish fiction laureate Colm Tóibín, who has also written the libretto; and fanciful operetta The Spectre Knight by Alfred Cellier. There is also a newly commissioned chamber opera by our Northern Irish artist-in-residence Conor Mitchell, Les Selenites, set in the bizarre world of early film pioneer and stage illusionist Georges Méliès; and III° edition of the Wexford Factory, comprised of aspiring Irish singers in a production of the reimagined fairytale Cinderella by Alma Deutscher, who composed the work when she was only 12 years old.

The opera programme is complemented with a dynamic series of lectures, talks, recitals and pop-up events around the town as well as the ever-popular fringe festival.

From its humble beginnings, when Wexfordian Dr Tom Walsh staged the first ‘Festival of Music and the Arts’ in 1951, WFO has grown into one of the world’s leading opera festivals, named Best Festival at the 2017 International Opera Awards and a nine-times winner of Best Opera Production (The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards). WFO is proud to have its home at the National Opera House, Ireland’s first custom-built, multi-purpose state-of-the-art opera house.

The Festival is deliberately set in late October, after all the other European opera festivals have finished. From the outset it made a name for itself by engaging Irish and international singers, conductors and directors to perform neglected operas, many of which have since found an established place in the main repertoire. These include Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, (1952), Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles (1971) and Massenet’s Thaïs (1974). Wexford was where audiences were treated to early performances by Sergei Leiferkus, Juan Diego Floréz, Joseph Calleja, Mirella Freni, Elizabeth Connell, Daniela Barcellona, Angela Meade, Ermonela Jaho, Bryan Hymel, Lise Davidsen, conductor Vladimir Jurowski and director Francesca Zambello.

The 2022 Festival will be no different, with the chance to spot the next great artist or hear an intriguing revived masterwork.

Wexford has deep roots in the local community and has earned a reputation for the warmth of its welcome. Local people have been the heart of the Festival from the outset, and the Festival’s success is due in no small part to Wexford town itself. This ancient Viking town, nestled in a wonderful setting on the banks of the river Slaney, has a charm all its own. Just two hours from Dublin, in a county renowned for its stunning beaches and rebellious history, the town is a key part of what helps to make the Festival unique. Every year the streets, pubs and restaurants of Wexford buzz with a genuinely festive excitement; a warm welcome awaits visitors from an army of Festival volunteers.

Wexford is an unpretentious festival, and every evening during the Festival the executives of WFO greet the audience as they arrive for the opera and then wish them good night and safe home as they leave. The magnificent annual fireworks display that lights up the town on opening night is not to be missed, as thousands of people gather on Wexford’s Quay front to watch the pyrotechnics ahead of the curtain rising on the first opera of the season. Closing the Festival, the audience and cast join together to sing a rousing Auld Lange Syne.

Join us in Wexford this autumn for a spellbinding Festival of Opera, Magic and Music. For full programme details, visit www.wexfordopera.com, telephone the box office at 353-53-9122144, or email boxoffice@wexfordopera.com

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