A very grey day here in Wexford, with the rain pouring down, but there is plenty of things going on indoors.

The lunchtime concert at St. Iberius was given by the Italian mezzo-soprano Manuela Custer, who took us to warmer climes with a tour of her native country, with songs from a variety of Italian composers. The favorite would have to have been the melancholic air “I Pastori” by Ildebrando Pizzetti with words by Gabriele D’Annunzio, which Custer, accompanied by Tina Chang on the piano, sang beautifully

At 3:30 p.m., there was a performance of Rossini’s one act farsa, “L’Inganno felice,” which was given a spirited and amusing performance; it went down well with audience. The singers, including soprano Rebecca Hardwick, tenor Huw Ynyr, bass Thomas D Hopkinson, baritone Peter Brooks, and bass Henry Grant Kerswell, all performed well, supported by crisp and vibrant playing from Giorgio D’Alonzo on the piano.

The evening opera on the main stage was Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” can only be described as brilliant. It had everything: superb scenery, a strong narrative, beautiful playing from the orchestra, and great singing, featuring three first class soloists Olafur Sigurdarsen, Goderdzi Janelidze and Aigul Akhmetshina. It was also a real revelation, and although it does receive the occasional performance one wonders why it is not produced more regularly.