As the weeks lead into the 67th Wexford Festival Opera, the festival has announced a new event, as well as updates to its current program.

In anticipation of the European premiere of “Dinner at Eight,” an opera originally commissioned by Minnesota Opera, it has been confirmed that the composer and librettist, William Bolcom and Mark Campbell, will be giving a talk to highlight the process behind its creation. The talk will be held on Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 10 a.m., in the Jerome Hynes Theatre in the National Opera House. While tickets are free, seats must be booked in advance. To accommodate this talk, the performance of “Bernstein a la carte,” has been changed to noon so that people may be able to attend both events.

The day before, on October 20, 2018, the Dr. Tom Walsh Lecture has been changed from 11 a.m. to 10 a.m. The lecture will be delivered by British baritone Sir Thomas Allen, who will be singing as part of his discourse. This event will be held at St. Iberius Church on Wexford’s Main Street.

Due to unspecified circumstances, the planned screening of the 1932 film adaptation of “Dinner at Eight” has been cancelled.

As for cast changes, Spanish tenor Sergio Escobar will be singing the role of Vito in “Mala Vita” and San-Lui in “L’oracolo.” American baritone Craig Irving will be singing in the role of Jack Rance in the Shortworks production of “La fanciulla del West,” in addition to his role as Dan Packard in “Dinner at Eight.”