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WEXFORD
FESTIVAL OPERA - 2011
60 Years of Rare Opera in Ireland
The 2011 Wexford Opera Festival marks the 60th year since the first
festival took place in Wexford in October 1951 at the old Theater Royal
a few blocks from the Wexford waterfront. Since its initial production
The Rose of Castile by Wexford home town composer of the 19th Century,
Michael William Balfe, the Wexford Opera Festival, held in late October
to early November has held a tradition of presenting rarely performed
operas, now in one of the most modern and beautiful purpose built opera
houses in Europe. The Wexford Opera Festival has grown to be one of
the premier cultural events in Ireland, with a firm fixture on the
international Opera Festival calendar.
The
idea of an opera festival on the south-east coast of Ireland originated
with a visit in 1950 of the publisher of The Gramophone Magazine to
give a lecture before the Wexford Opera Study Circle and suggested
the group of opera afficiandos should stage their own operas at the
theater where he was standing, the Theater Royal which he thought acoustically
suited to the form. The first opera event held in October-November
1951 at the hand of the first Artistic Director Dr. Tom Walsh was called
the “Festival of Music and the Arts”. The old Theater Royale
fell into disrepair was torn down and replaced by and sparkling new
Wexford Opera House complex, with the 771 seat O’Reilly Theater
main concert stage lined with American Black Walnut and a second multi-flex
theater space for more intimate productions and experimental performances,
the Jerome Hynes Theatre.
Wexford Festival Opera Season 2011
The
60th Wexford Festival Opera spanning 16 days, opening on Friday,
October 21st and continuing running until Saturday, November 5th,will
feature artists from 11 different countries. In the tradition of Wexford,
the three main stage productions are rarely-produced operas. La
cour de Célimène by the composer of Mignon and Hamlet, Ambroise
Thomas an “opéra comique” highly successful in its
day, now fallen by the wayside is first up. The second, Maria,
by the Polish composer Roman Statkowski, first performed in 1903, has
been
oddly ignored even in its native land. Lastly, in honor of the 60th
Anniversary season, the Festival will produce its 15th opera by Donizetti,
his tragic melodrama, Gianni di Parigi, written in 1839.
For the first time in 2011, audiences will be able to experience
a special daytime package. Arrive in Wexford in the late morning,
enjoy a lunchtime recital in St. Iberius Church, lunch in Whites
of Wexford Hotel and a Short Work opera, all for an all inclusive
price of €55. The main stage operas will run in 4 cycles of
12 evening performances in total, with the popular Gala Concert featured
as a stand-alone event on Wednesday, October 26. Tickets can be purchased
online. A new booking and program innovation for this year is a Wexford
Festival Opera i-Phone app, available to download free from i-Tunes.
For non-opera types, or for just a change of pace the town of Wexford town will also host its Fringe Festival which has run to to coincide with the Opera Festival for 59 years, including art exhibitions, drama, music, historical tours and the famous singing and swinging pubs competition.
To get to Wexford from the UK by air, for festival ticket holders, Aer Arann flies to Waterford Airport from Birmingham, Manchester, Luton or London-Southend with a 10% discount and a complimentary return bus transfer to Wexford courtesy of Wexford Opera Festival. Wexford is a short distance from the Europort ferry terminal at Rosslare. The Stena Line operates daily sailings between Rosslare Harbor and Fishguard. Irish Ferries operates routes between Rosslare and Pembroke, and between Rosslare and Cherbourg, France. By rail trains travel daily from Connolly and Pearse Stations in Dublin to Wexford. Also, ‘Golden Trekkers’ pass (see Golden Trekker), offers free rail travel throughout Ireland for EU citizens aged 66 and over. By coach, Wexford Bus operates a direct service between Dublin Airport and Wexford.
For visitors not in Wexford during the festival, it is possible to enjoy a meal in the rooftop restaurant, the Skyview Café of the Opera House with views across Wexford Harbor of Waterford Bay where on a clear day, the peak of Mount Leinster and the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse can be seen over tea and a sandwich. The theaters and spaces are also available for private events. © Bargain Travel Europe
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