Ireland’s Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has unveiled its 2023 edition, which will feature a production of a renowned opera classic.

For the purposes of this article, our focus will be solely on vocal performances.

First up, artists from the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Chorus will perform in the St. Mary’s Collegiate Church recital.

Performance Date: May 30, 2023

There will also be several Open Air Lunchtime recitals featuring favorite opera and classical music works.

Performance Date: May 30 – June 4, 2023

Verdi’s “Macbeth” will be the centerpiece of the program in a production by Sarah Baxter that will take place at Lismore Castle. Leonardo Galeazzi and Serenad Burcu Uyar will star as the titular Macbeths with Gorán Jurich as Banco.

Performance Date: May 31 – June 4, 2023

There will be a Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Chorus recital at Villierstown Church.

Performance Date: June 1, 2023

Ian Bostridge will perform Shakespeare songs alongside pianist Saskia Giorgini.

Performance Date: June 1, 2023

Soprano Abigail LaDuke will perform in recital alongside Ella Nagy as part of the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival / RIAM Bursary Recital.

Performance Date: June 2, 2023

Soprano Megan O’Neill and pianist Mairead Hurley headline the RDS Collins Memorial Recital.

Performance Date: June 2, 2023

The “Yeats in Music” recital will feature music highlighting the poetry of famed poet William Butler Yeats.

Performance Date: June 2, 2023

Soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson headlines “Of Fiction & Fantasy Recital” with pianist Mairead Hurley.

Performance Date: June 4, 2023

On the final day of the festival, audiences will hear the “Irish Songmakers Recital” with soprano Amy Ní Fherraigh and pianist Niall Kinsella.

Performance Date: June 5, 2023 

Closing out the festival will be mezzo Paula Murrihy and the Irish Baroque Orchestra in a concert entitled “Where Shall I Fly? A Händel Celebration.”

Performance Date: June 5, 2023