Experience the Magic, Wexford Festival Opera 2015 - Unravel Travel TV

The 64th Wexford Festival Opera runs 21 October to 1 November 2015. To request a season brochure or to book call 1850 4 OPERA/+ +353 53 9122144 or visit http://www.wexfordopera.com

g opens at the end of the month on Saturday, 28 March.

Wexford Festival Opera was founded in 1951 by a group of opera enthusiasts from Wexford town, headed by a local G.P., Dr Tom Walsh. This ambitious and, some might say, fantastical idea to produce a festival of lesser-known opera repertoire in a rural town in Ireland, has now grown into one of the top opera festivals in the world with approximately one-third of its audiences travelling to Wexford each October from abroad to see and hear what they are unlikely to experience anywhere else in the world. In addition to the three mainstage operas, this year’s programme also includes three daytime ShortWorks operas, concerts, lunchtime recitals, lectures and talks: 52 events over the 12-day Festival. There are a range of ticket prices for the evening operas beginning at just euro 25, while daytime events range from just euro 10 to euro 25.

The Programme:

Koanga by Frederick Delius is considered to be the first opera written about African-Americans. Inspired by the African-American songs Delius heard as a young man while working on an orange plantation in Florida, Koanga is a powerfully atmospheric opera about a proud African prince, sold into slavery in Louisiana, who falls in love with a mixed-race maid, with tragic consequences.

Guglielmo Ratcliff by Pietro Mascagni is recognised as having one of the most demanding roles ever written for a tenor. Jealousy is at the heart of Mascagni’s blood-soaked opera, in which a young Scot, spurned by the object of his affections, challenges anyone who woos her to a duel. Enriched by atmospheric orchestral writing, full-blooded melodies and great dramatic pace, Guglielmo Ratcliff is the work of a master in full flow.

Le Pré aux clercs ('The Clerks’ Meadow') by Ferdinand Hérold is a co-production with the famed Opéra-Comique de Paris, where the opera was originally performed in 1832. Based on a novel by Prosper Mérimée, Hérold’s opéra comique was a runaway success in the wake of its triumphant premiere. Set during the French Wars of Religion, Le Pré aux clercs is a touching romance in which a young countess rebels against the suitor chosen for her by the King of France and hatches a daring plot to escape with her lover to Navarre. A co-production with Opéra-Comique de Paris in partnership with La Fondazione Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de musique romantique française.

A taster menu of one hour ShortWorks (daytime short operas):

The ever-popular ShortWorks return to Whites of Wexford Hotel again this year with three intimate productions including: The Portrait of Manon by Jules Massenet (1842–1912), Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921) and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). Approximately an hour in length, the ShortWorks operas allow audiences to enjoy an original short opera or a condensed version of a more familiar opera. A special daytime package is on offer for €60 which includes a Lunchtime Recital, lunch and a ShortWorks opera. Timings allow audiences to travel easily to and from Wexford by car, bus or rail within a day. Seating is allocated for all of these performances.

Continuing a long-established Wexford tradition, the popular Lunchtime Recitals (approximately 50 minutes in length) will be presented in St Iberius Church in the centre of Wexford town. These recitals afford a unique opportunity to hear the principal artists of the Festival display their versatility in an intimate setting. The artists and their performance dates will be announced prior to the Festival.

Always a great favourite, the Gala Concert is one of the highlights of the Festival, featuring a collection of favourite party pieces from members of the Festival Company. This event sells-out early, so it is best not to hesitate.

Tara Erraught will perform a special recital on the October bank holiday Monday from the stage of the National Opera House. The Dundalk-born mezzo-soprano is a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music and continues to study with Veronica Dunne, whom she describes as the guiding force in her musical career. Tara came to worldwide attention in February 2011 when she learned the role of Romeo in five days for a new production of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, in order to replace an indisposed colleague. She had already sung solo roles in a number of productions at Glyndebourne, the Wiener Staatsoper, Theater an der Wien and the Bayerische Staatsoper, being hailed by the press as ‘the new queen of bel canto’. She has been a member of the opera studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper since 2008.