Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 – 1924) is a largely forgotten name in the opera world, being better remembered for his church and orchestral music. Occasionally, productions of his operas do crop up, but they tend to be performed by small-scale companies operating on the fringes. Recordings of excerpts from his operas do exist, and a live recording of {…}
(Photo: Paula Malone) Rossini’s one act farsa, “L’inganno felice,” premiered in 1812 at Venice’s Teatro San Moise and was an instant success for the young, 19-year-old composer. However, along with most of his other operas, it faded from view following his death in 1868. Even the renewed interest in Rossini’s work following the Second World War has done little to {…}
(Photo: Paula Malone) “Cinderella” is a popular subject for operas, and has attracted its fair share of composers over the years. However, one of the lesser known compositions must be by the French composer, Pauline Viardot, who today, is largely remembered as a famous mezzo-soprano for whom Gounod and Meyerbeer created important roles. However, her influence went much further, for {…}
David Agler took his final bow on stage on Nov. 2, 2019, as Artistic Director at the National Opera House after the closing performance of the 68th Wexford Festival Opera. During his final bow, Agler thanked both the company and the audience for their loyal support throughout the years, before formally handing over the reigns to the incoming Artistic Director {…}
(Photo: Clive Barda) Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” may not be an opera you would usually associate with Wexford. Judged a success at its premier in Monte Carlo in 1910, in which Chaliapin featured in the title role, it has since struggled to establish itself as part of the mainstream repertoire. It can, therefore, hardly be deemed a forgotten or rarely performed {…}
(Credit: Paula Malone) In 1856, the 18-year-old Georges Bizet won joint first prize in a competition for an opéra comique to be played at Offenbach’s theatre, the Bouffes-Parisienes, with a one act operetta, “Doctor Miracle.” The work was premiered in 1857, received 11 performances, and was then forgotten until it was revived in 1951. Lasting around one hour, with a {…}
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 {…}
(Photo: Gerard Collett) It was an early start this morning to what proved to be a long day. At 10:30 a.m. Rosetta Cucchi held a press conference to announce next season’s program along with her vision for the future of Wexford Festival Opera which, to put it mildly, is very exciting and includes many new initiatives, which is certain to {…}
The Wexford Festival Opera has announced its 2020 season. This season, the festival will present a program inspired by Shakespeare and will present three main stage operas as well as a number of concerts and pocket operas. Main Stage Goldmark’s “Ein Wintermarchen” will get a production by Dmitry Bertman with conductor Markus Bosh leading the work. Performance Dates: Oct. 20-29, {…}
RTÉ and the Wexford Festival Opera will team up to stream a performance of “Dorilla in Tempe” on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, making history in the process. The stream will be broadcast in two fashions. First off, audiences can watch the showcase at the three movie theaters starting at 8 p.m. local time: the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin, the Pálás {…}
The Wexford Festival Opera has unveiled casting for most of its operas. The company revealed that the role of Admento in “Dorilla in Tempe” by Vivaldi will feature tenor Juan Sancho. The ShortWork operas also got full cast lists. In “Le Docteur Miracle,” audiences will see Lizzie Holmes as Laurette, Kasia Balejko as Veronique, Guy Elliott as Dr. Miracle, and {…}
