About the Wexford Factory

Wexford Festival Opera has historically served as a springboard for many young singers at the beginning of their careers to an international stage.

The Wexford Factory, a professional development programme for young Irish or Irish-based singers, builds on this tradition and enables young singers to learn from some of the world's most internationally recognised artists, coaches and opera professionals. The brainchild of Wexford Festival Opera's Artistic Director, Rosetta Cucchi, and inaugurated in 2020, the Wexford Factory nurtures artists and showcases the talents of young singers.

Factory participants will now embark on a two-year journey with Wexford Festival Opera, which will see them take part in a professional development academy in September. As well as performing in the 2022 Festival, participants will have the chance to take part in an international exchange. 

The 2022/2023 participant singers are Deirdre Arratoon, Michael Bell, Eoin Foran, Ami Hewitt, Emily Hogarty, Corina Ignat, William Kyle, Peter Lidbetter, Sarah Luttrell, Giorgi Manoshvili, Hannah O'Brien, Megan O'Neill, Leah Redmond, Richard Shaffrey, Nikolai Zemlianskikh. Read more about these promising young artists here.

Guest tutors this year include Sonia Ganassi, Alfonso Antoniozzi and Ernesto Placio. In a new development, 2022 also sees the establishment of a new initiative offering a formative experience to young pianists/repetiteurs who are about to take the big step into a professional career. This is part of an ambition to continue to expand the reach of the Wexford Factory within the various aspects of performance.

The Factory is proudly sponsored by PwC, showcasing their commitment to supporting and providing platforms for emerging future leaders in the Arts as well as in business.

The graduating students will perform on two occasions. Firstly at the dedicated Wexford Factory Final Concert in September and then in a main staged production of Cinderella by the 17-year-old Alma Deutscher in the National Opera House during the Festival.

The Wexford Factory III° edition is an international collaboration with TUD (Technological University Dublin), RIAM (Royal Irish Academy of Music) and the Rossini Opera Festival "Alberto Zedda" Academy, Pesaro. In recognition of this, two international artists will also join the Factory.

 

 

"The best memories of my life are associated with the academies I attended in my youth. That is where I learned the true meaning of professionalism and how I could continue to challenge myself as an artist. This is the reason I decided to establish the Wexford Factory. It is the duty of every highly regarded international Festival such as Wexford to give a new generation of artists the opportunity to grow; giving them wings to fly in their careers."- Rosetta Cucchi, Artistic Director.
 

Wexford Factory Sponsor

PwC Ireland

 

Foundation Supporter

Fundación Arnhold de la Cámara        

 

Support Wexford Factory

You can help support this vital programme by choosing to donate to the Wexford Factory, thereby helping to provide training and education for these emerging young artists and enabling them the unique opportunity to realise their dreams. For more information, you can contact Anne Marie Dalton, Head of Development, at adalton@wexfordopera.com