Wexford Festival Opera News

Wexford Festival Opera reflects on a successful 2019 as it prepares for 2020

After a financially challenging 2018, resulting from the high costs of the ambitious artistic programme presented and lower than anticipated box office income, 2019 was a far more successful year, with a budget-beating box office performance and all costs coming in below budget. As a result, preliminary full-year financial results indicate that the company returned to delivering a surplus in 2019.

Chief Executive, David McLoughlin, commented: “We are very grateful to all our supporters and stakeholders, in particular our audiences, for their strong and continued support of Wexford Festival Opera in 2019, which enabled us to present an artistically and financially successful Festival. We are excited by the new artistic and financial opportunities arising from our new Artistic Director’s ambitious programme for 2020.”

Incoming Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi announces her 2020 programme

Incoming Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi announces her 2020 programme inspired by William Shakespeare and the launch of the Wexford Factory Academy for young Irish singers

The 69th Wexford Festival Opera will run from 20 Oct – 1 Nov 2020

2020 marks the inaugural Festival for Rosetta Cucchi as Wexford Festival Opera’s Artistic Director. To date only seven previous Artistic Directors have programmed the Festival over its 68-year history. Today Rosetta Cucchi announced her first exciting programme for 2020. For the first time, in a major new development, the Festival will be themed. Inspired by William Shakespeare, each of the three main evening productions in the National Opera House will be based directly or indirectly on the life and work of this great poet and playwright.

Eleanor White is Wexford Festival Opera’s 2019 ‘Volunteer of the Year’

Having worn many hats in her five decades of volunteering with the Festival, Eleanor White was named the 2019 Ecclesiastical/Wexford Festival Opera Volunteer of the Year. The announcement was made by Artistic Director David Agler and John Devitt, Sales Manager at Ecclesiastical Insurance, from the stage of the National Opera House in front of a capacity crowd of Festival volunteers, who attended the first public dress rehearsal of this year’s Festival, Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet.

EPA and Wexford Festival Opera Roll out the GREEN carpet - Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Opera goers encouraged to wear a touch of green to symbolise how even small changes can help protect the environment!

The Green Carpet will be laid out for patrons attending Wexford Festival Opera on Wednesday, 30 October as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comes together once again with Wexford Festival Opera to go ‘Green’ on the night to highlight how even small individual changes can have a big positive impact on the environment. This initiative which was introduced four years ago, has been met with an overwhelming response from the audience, staff and volunteers and the momentum has continued to grow.

The initiative invites opera-goers on the night to make a small, symbolic change to their attire, signifying a commitment to making ‘small changes’ in their lives to help the environment. People are encouraged to make a small change to their opera-wear that evening, such as a green bow-tie, a green piece of jewellery, a green pocket square, green shoes, green nail varnish; the possibilities are endless! Patrons will also enter that night via a green carpet at the front entrance of the National Opera House, which will be bathed in green light. The message is that small changes can make a great difference.

RTÉ live streams ‘Dorilla in Tempe’ on rte.ie/culture and select cinemas Saturday, 2 Nov 8pm

After the success of the first live-stream of a Wexford Festival Opera last year, RTÉ and Wexford Festival Opera invites the world to a ‘Night at the Opera’ as the two organisations join forces once again to bring the magic of Wexford to new audiences across Ireland, and the world.

In an exciting new development this year, Wexford Festival Opera and RTÉ have partnered with Classical Arts Ireland (promoters of classical music, theatre and ballet in Ireland) to broadcast Wexford’s stunning production of the Baroque opera, Dorilla in Tempe by Antonio Vivaldi in the Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin, Pálás Cinema, Galway and Century Cinema, Letterkenny on Saturday, 2 November at 8pm. This marks the first time that an Irish-produced opera will be broadcast live in cinemas – and a welcome Irish addition to the much-loved screenings of live international opera and theatre currently on offer in Irish cinemas.

And audiences across the country and the globe who can’t make it to either the festival or the cinema screenings will be able to tune in, from the comfort of their own homes, to the worldwide live-stream of this sold-out production - in full HD vision and RTÉ lyric fm broadcast sound - on www.rte.ie/culture and on the RTÉ Player from 8pm on Saturday 2nd November.

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