(Photo: Armati Bacciardi) Over the next few months, OperaWire will be reviewing a number of productions at a variety of festivals across the globe. One name that keeps cropping up, at least in Europe, is that of Rosetta Cucchi. Blessed with a never-ending supply of energy and ideas, she always has one project on the go with others in the {…}
(Photo: Padraig Grant) Set just off the waterfront in Wexford town centre is The Grain Store, an old, restored warehouse, which last year hosted the festival’s first community opera. It is a project that enables the local population to engage directly with the festival by creating and presenting its own production with the help of workshops that take place throughout {…}
(Photo: Stephen Cain Photography) This year’s North Wales International Music Festival presented the world premiere of “Gelert,” a work labelled as a “community opera” by its composer, Paul Mealor, and librettist, Grahame Davies. By deliberately labelling a work in this manner, it is inevitable that the curious among the audience will want to know its significance. What does “community opera” {…}
Cheltenham Music Festival has announced its 2019 slate of performances. For the purposes of this article, we will highlight mainly vocal and opera-related performances in the lineup. Cheltenham Music Festival will celebrate its 75th Anniversary this year with an ambitious program featuring 20 world premieres and a community opera, with a focus on women composers and performers. The Festival, under {…}