(Photo: Patricio Cassinoni) The Wexford Festival Opera is well-known for its commitment to exploring neglected and unearthing forgotten works written by both well-known and lesser-known composers. Although it has met with considerable success in this endeavor, inevitably there have been one or two failures along the way; after all, many such operas are not performed for very good reasons! Two {…}
This week the Wexford Festival Opera is set to open a production of Mascagni’s “Le Maschere,” which has long been rarely performed since it premiered. The opera will showcase a young cast of rising stars, including tenor Andrew Morstein who will sing Florindo. Winner of the “Best Male Newcomer” at the Österreichischer MusikTheater Preis Awards in Vienna, Morstein is a {…}
We all know “Cavalleria Rusticana,” the great masterpiece of Pietro Mascagni, who was born on Dec. 7, 1863. Unfortunately, that’s all most people in the opera world and outside of it, know about the Italian composer. It’s actually quite unfortunate, given that “Cavalleria” was his very first opera and that he would go on to write 15 total, his final {…}
