Wexford Festival Opera Unveils 75th Anniversary Season
By Afton MarkayWexford Festival Opera announces it 2026 season.
This article only features opera events.
Main Stage Operas
First up is Pietro Mascagni and Luigi Illica’s “FIris.” Rosetta Cucchi directs and Francesco Cilluffo conducts.
Performance Dates: October 15, 20, 23, 28, & 31, 2026
“L’equivoco stravagante” by Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Gasbarri is next. Max Hoehn directs. Riccardo Bisatti conducts.
Performance Dates: October 16, 21, 25, & 29, 2026
The last main stage opera is “The Gambler” by Sergei Prokofiev is directed by Ivan Popovski. Valentin Uryupin conducts this production performed in the original Russian.
Performance Dates: October 18, 22, 24, & 30, 2026
Pocket Operas
The rarely performed “The Rose of Castille” by Michael William Balfe , Augustus Glossop Harris, and Edmund Falconer is present to introduce under-represented Irish composer to new audiences.
Performance Dates: TBA
Charles Villiers Stanford and Julian Sturgis’ “Much Ado About Nothing” is the next Pocket Opera.
Performance Dates: TBA
Factory Operas
“The First Festival” by Alberto Caruso and Colm Tóibín was commissioned for young voices on the Wexford Factory programme. The new work features an ensemble of eight singers.
Performance Dates: TBA
Community Opera
“Still, life…” by Ailís Ní Ríain, the 2025 composer-in-residence is featured as the 2026 Community Opera production. The Community Opera allows the people of Wexford – children, adults, amateur, and volunteers to become active participants in the Festival.
Performance Dates: TBA
Concerts, Recitals, Lectures, & Other Events
The 75th Celebration Concert features Ermonela Jaho, Daniela Barcellona, Joseph Calleja, Igor Golovatenko, and Georgi Manoshvili, who are five of the 75th Ambassadors. Francesco Cilluffo conducts the National Symphony Orchestra.
Performance Date: October 17, 2026
Performers from main stage operas perform in the Gala Concert.
Performance Date: October 25, 2026
The lunchtime recitals in St Iberius Church and the O’Reilly Theatre span the season.
Performance Dates: TBA
The 2026 guest lecturer, who will focus on the impact of the company’s repertoire on the standard opera canon, has yet to be announced.
Performance Date: TBA
The “Impossible Interview” features The Irish Times critic, Michael Dervan, who continues his series of unlikely conversations on the subject of the 2026 Festival theme.
Performance Dates: TBA
Pop-up Operas are hosted at cafés and hotels, to bars and shops in order to bring free live opera shows to audiences who may not otherwise experience it.
Performance Dates: TBA
Read Related Stories
