When the final curtain came down recently on another hugely successful Wexford Opera Festival, most of those involved were contemplating a well-earned rest.
However, for two of the most talented performers to feature in the 18-day event, an Irish soprano and a Maltese tenor, the excitement really only began with the closing ceremonies.
For the first time in the festival's history, the final formalities included the awarding of bursaries to two participants considered to have outstanding potential and a clear educational or training purpose for the prize money. Directors, crew members and others with off-stage roles were eligible for the bursaries, named after two men who befriended the festival in very different ways, Gerard Arnhold and the late John Small.
This year, however, the ecstatic faces belonged to two of those on stage when the 47th festival concluded with a performance of I Cavaleri di Ekebu, soprano Elizabeth Woods, a graduate of Dublin City University, and tenor Joseph Calleja from Malta.
"Neither of them had any idea they had been selected as only four or five people knew who the winners were. Their reaction showed that and it was a nice way to end," said Mr Jerome Hynes, the festival chief executive.
The John Small bursary, which was won by Joseph Calleja and is worth £4,000, was funded by Mr Small's widow, Ann, and their family. Mr Small was a member of the festival board from 1962 until his death last year, but was probably even better known to many of the thousands who at tended each year as the welcoming owner of White's Hotel, which hosts many of the festival's official events.
Gerard Arnhold, in contrast, had never been to the Wexford Opera Festival when he offered to fund the second bursary, worth £3,500. A German art collector living in Brazil, he was prepared to act on the festival's reputation alone, although he did make the trip this year.
Both bursaries have been guaranteed for the next four years.