Wexford Festival Opera announces details of year-long celebrations to mark 70th anniversary
The celebrations will commence with the 2021 Festival which will see live audiences return to the National Opera House once again. The numbers will, in line with current government guidelines, still be limited. So the team decided to expand the celebrations outside of the traditional autumn period of the Festival. Wexford Festival Opera will have an extended the presence throughout 2021-2022 reaching out to existing and new audiences in fun and innovative ways.
Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi said today, “Reaching the 70th anniversary is a big moment for the festival. Looking back over the years and it’s remarkable history makes us ever more aware of just how special Wexford Festival Opera is and we look forward to sharing a taste of it with audiences around the world during this anniversary year”.
This will include the following initiatives:
W4WOMEN | FOUR AMBASSADORS | AROUND THE WORLD WEXFORD VOICES AROUND THE WORLD
4 extraordinary sopranos, whose careers started in Wexford and are now acclaimed operatic stars will be festival ambassadors and help spread the word of Wexford Festival Opera around the world.
They will each perform a special concert, in a different city around the world. They are connected not only by their link to Wexford but a shared dedication to artistic excellence.
They will be:
ELEONORA BURATTO - performing 22 Dec 2021, Villa Torlonia Theatre, Rome.
ANGELA MEADE - performing 14 Apr 2022, Merkin Hall, New York.
ERMONELA JAHO - performing 20 Jun 2022, Stationers' Hall, London.
THE DUBLIN CONCERT
An incredible year can only end with a musical fireworks show, an incredible orchestral concert at the National Concert Hall in August 2022.
The evening will be an unforgettable performance of the 5th Symphony by Beethoven, Stabat Mater by Rossini . It will be conducted by Michela Mariotti, and featuring Celine Byrne, Tara Erraught, Konu Kim, John Molloy, the New Dublin Voice Chorus and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
THE ZOOM MEMORIES
Sit back and explore 12 separate conversations, with personalities from the most diverse fields, each of whom have a particular link with the Festival. These Zoom Memories will be published on www.wexfordopera.com and social channels throughout the year.
70 VIDEOS FOR 70 YEARS
The festival team will over the next 12 months, release seventy videoclips, one for each year of the Festival, with photos interviews and musical extracts. Find out more here.
70 YEARS A GROWING
A moving and exciting exhibition which offers audiences a chance to see previously unpublished photos of the Festival found in newspaper archives.
More details will be announced in due course.