A message from the chairman
THE 67th Wexford Festival Opera is upon us as once more we proudly celebrate the world’s best opera festival! For seventeen days the town comes alive with over one hundred and eighty individual performance events, including opera, recitals, music, drama and of course all the elements of the fringe festival which together make Wexford the only place to be in October. In addition, the art exhibitions, tours and other events leave us with a rich menu to choose from.
This year the three operas will be broadcast worldwide via the European Broadcasting Union Radio network to an astonishing twenty million people (last year’s official EBU figure), and for the first time, a Wexford Opera will be streamed live on the web. Mercadante’s opera ‘Il
Bravo’ will be available to view worldwide through a new initiative with RTÉ in partnership with the European public service channel Arte.
People often ask me which opera is ‘the best’. As you would expect from a top international festival, the productions are world class, with a full orchestra of over seventy players, a large professional chorus and a young and energetic cast of top class opera singers, all set in large scale productions. This is why music critics and opera lovers from all over the world keep returning, year after year.
This year’s double bill is intense and gripping, with high dramatic content, performed and set in the very best of Italian operatic tradition. Il Bravo is a truly grand opera, also sung in Italian with all the arias and choruses you might wish for, while the European premiere of Dinner at Eight by William Bolcom is sure to please those with a taste for the more modern in a very stylish production set in the glamour of 1930’s New York.
Meanwhile, in Clayton Whites Hotel, the short works programme is the perfect opportunity to get a taste of opera on a smaller scale, while the various recitals, including the welcome return of the choral and orchestral concert on November 4 are sure to please. And it’s all on our doorstep, so be sure to book now!
Funding the Festival each
year is an important and serious job. In addition to the box office and our very significant Arts Council and Local Authority grants, our development department raises around one million euros annually from various sources, including our private donors, our Friend’s contributions, and from strong commercial sponsorship, all of which means that we can offer tickets from as little as twenty euros.
Having had the honour to serve two terms as chairman of the Festival Trust, I will retire at the end of this year. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Wexford who, for the past sixty-seven years have extended the famous Wexford welcome to our artists and visitors, and who have supported our festival in so many different ways. Also to thank our volunteers, our festival artistic company led by David Agler, and to the resident festival and opera house teams lead by David McLoughlin.
Finally, I’d like to thank the board of directors, who give freely of their time, energy and professional talents in many different ways. In this the tenth anniversary year of the opening of the Opera House, we have much to celebrate.
Have a great Festival everyone!!