Young Artist bursaries are won by Cormac and Emma

CORK SOPRANO Emma Nash and baritone Cormac Lawlor from Kerry have been announced as the winners of this year’s PwC Wexford Festival Opera ‘Emerging Young Artist’ bursaries. The initiative seeks to support talented young singers.

Both artists have principal roles in this year’s world premiere of Dubliners by the Irish composer Andrew Synnott, based on the novel by James Joyce, as part of the ShortWorks daytime opera progamme, as well as performing in the chorus for the evening operas.

Emma Nash made her Wexford Festival Opera debut in 2015 in the chorus and also in the principal role of Gretel in the ShortWorks opera Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck. She is returning for the 2017 festival, to sing the role of Polly in Dubliners and the role of Handmaiden in Medea directed by Fiona Shaw. She will also sing in the chorus for Margherita.

Cormac Lawlor, from Tralee is a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music where he studied under Dr. Veronica Dunne. He is currently studying under Judith Mok and recently completed a term as a Young Associated Artist with Opera Theatre Company in Dublin before going on to work with companies such as NI Opera, Glyndebourne Opera Festival and Opera Holland Park. He is rehearsing for the three main evening operas Medea, Margherita and Risurrezzione as well as Farrington in Dubliners.

Wexford Festival Opera Artist Director David Agler said Emma and Cormac are very worth winners of the award and a great addition to this year’s Wexford Festival company.

‘Providing a platform for the best emerging talent on the national and international stage is a key part of the Wexford Festival Opera mission and it is hugely appropriate for PwC to partner with Wexford Festival Opera in the nurturing of young talent,’ he said.