Wexford Festival Opera News
opera festival in Ireland
- Wexford
- Republic of Ireland
Last update
2024-04-25
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2024-03-02 09:03:00
Shamus O'Brien: withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change
[…] opera needs, including a good story, that is actually about something, with a swashbuckling hero and love interest. But for modern audiences, the opera's spoken elements mean that you would need Irish singers, we no longer accept the idea of English-speaking singers emulating an Irish accent on stage, and with the plethora of good Irish singers, there is no need. And David feels that it would be a good piece to perform in Ireland. In 2019, Wexford Festival Opera performed Stanford's The Veiled Prophet (written in 1877), and will give the modern premiere of Stanford's The Critic, or An Opera Rehearsed (written in 1915) as part of the 2024 festival, marking the 100th anniversary of Stanford's death.David comments that the regular opera repertoire is quite narrow so it is important that lesser-known and neglected works are revived. He has always enjoyed reviving lesser-known operas and has been associated with the operas of […]
2023-12-04 08:46:00
Merry & Bright - An Evening of Songs and Arias
Soprano Susie Gibbons and pianist Joanna Kacperek are presenting an evening of classic Christmas songs, operatic arias and more at St George's Church, Campden Hill on 13 December 2023. Both performers are graduates of the Royal College of Music and they have performed around London and Ireland together as a duo.Dublin-born soprano Susie Gibbons graduated with distinction from the Royal College of Music with a Master of Performance as a Sussex Scholar, studying with Amanda Roocroft and Andrew Robinson. She has recently been busy in Wexford where she made her debut with Wexford Festival Opera as Suor Osmina and Le Suore Cercatrici in Suor Angelica and joined the Wexford Festival Opera Chorus to sing Marco Tutino's La Ciociara [see my interview with the opera's conductor Francesco Cilluffo]Joanna Kacperek is currently an Oxford Song Young Artist with her Lied-duo partner Clara Barbier Serrano, and she was a finalist at the Royal Over-Seas League […]
2023-10-07 09:09:00
Astonishing that no-one has heard or heard of the work: Ella Marchment on directing Camille Erlanger's L'Aube rouge at Wexford
Camille Erlanger's L'Aube rouge in rehearsal at Wexford Festival Opera This year's Wexford Festival Opera opens on 24 October with the theme, Women & War with operas including Donizetti's Zoraida di Granata, La ciociara by contemporary Italian composer Marco Tutino and L'Aube rouge by the French composer Camille Erlanger. La ciociara is conducted by Francesco Cilluffo, Wexford's principal guest conductor and I chatted to him about the opera earlier this year, see my interview. L'Aube rouge will be directed by Ella Marchment and conducted by Guillaume Tourniaire, and I caught up with Ella, in the midst of rehearsals, to talk about Erlanger and his opera.Ella MarchmentCamille Erlanger (1863-1919) studied the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes, won the Prix de Rome in 1888 and wrote nine operas including the five-act music drama Le Fils de l’étoile, written for the Paris Opéra, where it enjoyed success. Erlanger was Jewish and served as choirmaster of the Synagogue des […]
2022-07-29 07:38:00
Welcome to L'isola di Alcina: Glyndebourne's first production of Handel's opera
[…] - opera reviewOur Future in Your Hands: Kate Whitley's new oratorio for Buxton used a chorus of children from local schools and students from the RNCM to terrific effect - concert reviewBaroque gem: Hasse's early serenata Antonio e Cleopatra gets an intriguing modern staging in Buxton with some stylish singing - opera reviewNot a kilt in sight: Jacopo Spirei's fascinating production of Rossini's La donna de lago at Buxton - opera reviewRediscovered rarities, new opera and young artists: I chat to Rosetta Cucchi, artistic director of Wexford Festival Opera - interviewome