(Photo credit: Sean O’Riordan) The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival unveils programming for its 15th anniversary season. For the purposes of this article, only vocal works are featured. Recitals & Mainstage Performances Festival artists and the Discover Singing Children’s Choir perform in the opening ceremony. Performance Date: May 27, 2025 (Lismore Millennium Park) Purcell’s “Dido And Aeneas” is presented by mezzo-soprano {…}
(Photo credit: Sean O’Riordan) Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has announced its the line up for its 2025 season. From May 26 to June 2, the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival will present opera productions, concerts, educational events, and more. In total there will be 23 events and concerts held in 12 historic venues across the Blackwater Valley. Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s {…}
Over 100 local primary school students will perform at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival’s Official Opening Ceremony in Millenium Park Lismore for the first time in the festival’s history. Their performance is the culmination of a six-week education outreach program run by the festival in conjunction with Music Generation Waterford tutors Anita Mahon and Conor Clancy. For two months weekly {…}
This past weekend the Blackwater Valley Opera opened its season with a new production of “Macbeth” celebrating its 13th anniversary. In the cast, Leonardo Galeazzi is making his role debut with the title character. It marks his third Verdi role after performing Germont in “La Traviata” and Iago in “Otello.” Throughout his career, the baritone has performed in Lyon, Naples, {…}
The end of this month sees the start of Ireland’s Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, which this year will be performing Verdi’s “Macbeth.” The staging will take place in the grounds of Lismore Castle, the perfect backdrop for evoking the atmosphere of murder, treachery and ghostly interventions, set within the walls of Inverness and Dusinane castles. The director bringing this to {…}
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 {…}
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has announced its 2022 season, which will take place between May 31 and June 6. The festival kicks off with “Orfeo ed Euridice” starring Kelli-Ann Masterson, Meili Li, and Aoife Gibney. David Bolger directs and Peter Whelan conducts. Performance Dates: June 1-5, 2022 There will also be a series of concerts. First up will be {…}
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has announced the 2021 Bursary award winner. This year the festival announced that flutist Amy Gillen and bass-baritone Rory Dunne received the award which is made up of €10,000. “Amy and Rory are most deserving recipients of our 2021 bursary award, and we are looking forward to welcoming them back to perform at the Festival later {…}
During early June, tucked away in the Blackwater Valley in Ireland’s southeast, the small town of Lismore plays host to Ireland’s other opera festival. Not nearly as famous as the Wexford Festival, the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has been slowly developing its profile, and attracting the attention of a wider public, although it still remains relatively unknown outside Ireland. This {…}