Cast Set for 64th Wexford Festival Opera

Artistic Director David Agler today announced the cast for the main evening operas in the forthcoming Wexford Festival, opening Wednesday, 21 October. A mixture of new and familiar voices makes up the 64-member company, comprising 20 principal roles, 32 chorus-members and 10 dancers. They hail from several different countries, including Ireland, Britain, South Africa, Canada, US, France, Italy, Australia and Malta. When including the creative teams, production team, orchestra and crew, the full company of this year's Festival is likely to be in excess of 200.

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 operas 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 to see and hear rarely performed or unjustly neglected operas sung by new and emerging Irish and international talent.

This year's cast will perform in the various events during the Festival, including three evening operas: Koanga by Frederick Delius, Guglielmo Ratcliff by Pietro Mascagni and Le Pré aux clercs by Ferdinand Hérold.

Koanga by Frederick Delius, which opens the 64th Wexford Festival Opera, features two new voices in this rarely performed opera, said to be the first opera written for African-Americans, and features American baritone Norman Garrett in the title role, with South African soprano Nozuko Teto singing opposite him. The 2014 Arnhold Bursary winner, Irish mezzo-soprano, Kate Allen joins this cast and will also sing the role of Gertud in the ShortWorks production of Hansel and Gretel.

In a change to the previously announced casting, Italian tenor Angelo Villari will now sing the title role in Guglielmo Ratcliff, one of the most difficult roles ever written for a tenor voice. Three singers make a welcome return to Wexford to join Angelo Villari on stage in the Gothic Italian tragedy, Guglielmo Ratcliff: British baritone David Stout, who sang in the 2013 Festival in the award-winning Cristina, regina de Svezia, and Italians Mariangela Sicilia and Annunziata Vestri, who sang in L'Arlesiana in 2012.

Having already opened at the Opéra-Comique, Paris last month, Le Pré aux clercs by Ferdinand Hérold, a co-production with Wexford Festival Opera, sees the return of Canadian soprano Marie-Éve Munger, who sang in last year's very popular, Don Bucefalo. She will perform the role of Isabelle. Joining her from the Paris cast is Marie Lenormand and Eric Huchet, both of whom will make their debut in Wexford.

A full cast list is available online at Wexfordopera.com

In addition to the three evening operas, this year's programme also includes three daytime ShortWorks operas: The Portrait of Manon by Jules Massenet, Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, as well as 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 €25, while daytime events range from just €10 to €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 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 first 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. This co-production with Opéra-Comique de Paris is in partnership with La Fondazione Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de musique romantique française and in association with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The ShortWorks return to Whites of Wexford Hotel and will include 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 within a day.

In addition to the six opera productions, Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught will also perform a special recital on the October bank holiday Monday from the stage of the National Opera House. The Festival is also delighted to once again be associated with the Dublin International Piano Competition and the winner of this prestigious competition will give a recital at the Festival. The 2015 Dr Tom Walsh Lecture will be given by the conductor of Koanga, Stephen Barlow. This, plus the ever-popular Gala concert and eight lunchtime recitals, makes for a very packed programme.

Attendance at last year's Festival was at an all-time high, with most performances sold-out. Just three weeks into the opening of booking for this year's Festival, ticket sales are extremely strong, so the message is: book now to avoid disappointment. Tickets can be booked 24/7 at Wexfordopera.com, by telephoning the box office at +353 (0)53 912 2144 or by calling into the National Opera House from between Monday and Saturday, 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

The 64th Wexford Festival Opera is grant-aided by the Arts Council, Fáilte Ireland, and Wexford County Council.