Public Booking for 65th Wexford Festival Opera 2016 Opens This Weekend

General booking for Wexford Festival Opera 2016 opens on Saturday 19 March at 9:30 am with tickets available online at www.wexfordopera.com or by ringing the box-office at the National Opera House on +353 (0)53 912 2144. The Festival brochure and audio samples of the evening operas are also available on the website.

Internationally renowned for presenting rarely produced operas, this years' programme includes a dramatic and diverse trio of evening opera productions:

v Herculanum by Félicien David (1810-1876), an epic tale of forbidden love between Pagan royalty and Christian slaves, set against the backdrop and ultimate eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

v Samuel Barber's (1910-1981) first opera, Vanessa, an ageing woman, not wanting to acknowledge the many years that have passed since her former lover's departure, discovers when he returns that he is not who he appears to be.

v Maria de Rudenz by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), tell the story of a scorned woman's determination to destroy her former lover and his new intended bride.

The Festival also includes three daytime ShortWorks operas, concerts, lunchtime recitals, lectures, talks and more, in total 56 events over the 12-day Festival, with a further three exciting events soon to be announced

Approximately one hour in length, the ShortWorks operas allow audiences to enjoy an original short opera or a condensed version of a more familiar opera. Daytime packages for €60 include a Lunchtime Recital, lunch and a ShortWorks opera. This year audiences can choose from three ShortWorks, staged in Clayton Whites Hotel in anewly configured audience seating plan:

v The farcical short opera, Il Campanello (The Night Bell) by Gaetano Donizetti

v Riders to the Sea by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based on the Irish play by John Millington Synge

v The Bear by William Walton, on a vaudeville by Anton Chekov

Other events include:

v The 2016 Dr Tom Walsh Lecture which this year will be given by writer/broadcaster John Julius Norwich. A distinguished and popular broadcaster on television and radio he has written and presented some thirty television documentaries on art, architecture and history.

v A special concert with the RTÉ CONTEMPO QUARTET one of the most exciting and vibrant chamber ensembles performing today.

v A recital by Irish pianist Barry Douglas

Wexford Town also hosts a vibrant Fringe Festival to coincide with the Opera Festival, which includes art exhibitions, drama and musical performances, historical tours, and of course the Singing and Swinging Pubs competition. Full details: www.wexfordfringe.ie

For the most up to date information about the 65th Wexford Festival Opera, visit www.wexfordopera.com

 

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