Eva Maria Kavanagh & Cuan Durkin Receive the Wexford Festival Opera Young Outstanding Artists Award 2026
Wexford Festival Opera is renowned as the place to discover new and exciting rising stars. Many internationally acclaimed artists performed at the Festival early on in their careers and that is still the case today.
The Festival is proud to showcase and celebrate the talent of young artists, and is delighted that Danone has continued its sponsorship, now in its sixth year, of the Danone Young Outstanding Artists Award.
This annual award provides vital financial support and career support to emerging performers participating in the Wexford Factory professional development academy. A long-term sponsor of Wexford Festival Opera since 2010, Danone supports one of the Festival’s three mainstage operas each season (The Gambler in 2026), alongside this bursary.
The 2026 bursary recipients have been announced as soprano Eva Maria Kananagh and baritone Cuan Durkin, both participants in the Wexford Factory programme – the Festival’s professional development academy. This Danone bursary will support their career endeavours, provide vital financial support and will benefit their careers for many years to come.
Speaking about the partnership, Supply Point Director at Danone Wexford, Alex Wooldridge, said:
“Wexford Festival Opera holds a special place in our local community, bringing people together each year to experience world-class performances and celebrate artistic excellence. We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the Festival and of the role we play in supporting its continued success.
Through the Danone Young Outstanding Artist Award, which is now in its sixth year, we celebrate and support emerging performers at a pivotal stage in their careers, helping to nurture their talent and future development. This year, we were very pleased to recognise two exceptional young artists, Eva Maria Kavanagh and Cuan Durkin and wish them well in their future careers.”
Eva Maria Kavanagh commented, "The greatest lesson singing has taught me is that finding your voice is about more than developing the instrument. It’s about finding the courage to be vulnerable because it is through that vulnerability that a singer becomes an artist. Bursaries like the Danone Young Outstanding Artists Award provide invaluable opportunities to continue that journey, giving young artists the support and encouragement to grow, take risks, and find their own voice!"
Cuan Durkin said, “It is a true honour to be named one of this year's recipients of the Danone Young Outstanding Artists Award. I am deeply grateful to the dedicated organisers and team behind the scenes who bring this extraordinary festival to life. Having grown up backstage at the Wexford Festival Opera watching my mother perform violin in the pit, returning to the festival—and joining the Factory Singers with the support of this generous bursary— feels like coming home. I am truly humbled and thrilled by this opportunity.”
The award has been in place since 2021 when Jade Phoenix was the inaugural recipient. The other past recipients have been Seán Tester and Frasier Hickland (2025), Laura Aherne (2024), Hannah O’Brien (2023), Leah Redmond (2022) and Jade Phoenix (2021).
ABOUT CUAN DURKIN
Originally from Sligo, Cuan Durkin is an emerging Irish baritone currently pursuing his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, under the tutelage of renowned vocal pedagogue David Pollard. He has been singing for as long as he can remember. Thanks to his mother, (a professional violinist who has played in Wexford Festival Opera many times), he studied piano, harp and singing all through his school days and has always loved the art of storytelling and acting on stage, so opera was the perfect combination for his love of music & drama.
In 2026 alone, Cuan has achieved a number of significant career milestones. He was awarded the Brackaville Bursary for Vocal Studies 2026 from Irish Heritage, following a final held at Wigmore Hall.
At Guildhall, he received the Franz Schubert Prize, which has led to his participation in the Franz Schubert Institute Master Course this summer on a Guildhall scholarship. Further reflecting his rising profile, he has been selected as a Factory Artist for Wexford Festival Opera this season.
His performance experience spans both operatic and concert repertoire. He has collaborated with the London Handel Players, appearing at both the Sligo Baroque Festival and the Korčula Baroque Festival in a fully staged production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. At Guildhall, his recent appearances include scenes as Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Schaunard (La bohème), and the Vicar (Albert Herring), alongside participation in a song project with the renowned pianist Iain Burnside.
Alongside his classical training, Cuan has cultivated a substantial international following as a classical crossover artist, with over 150,000 followers across social media platforms. He has performed solo recitals across the United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, and Spain, and continues to build a growing schedule of upcoming engagements.
ABOUT EVA MARIA KAVANAGH
22-year-old Irish soprano Eva Maria Kavanagh is quickly emerging as one of Ireland’s most exciting young operatic talents. From Co Carlow, Eva started singing when she was around six years old and from an early age took classical singing and grade exams because she felt that classical repertoire suited my voice much better. It was only at 15 though, following a rugby injury that she began to really take singing seriously.
She recently completed her Bachelor of Music (BMus) in Vocal Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), where she studied under the guidance of Professor Kathleen Tynan and Dearbhla Collins. Their mentorship and support have been instrumental in her development, encouraging and challenging her to grow into the strongest artist she can be. She will continue her studies at RIAM for 2026-2027 on the Recital Artist Diploma programme, having been awarded the John Pollard Bursary. In 2026, Eva was awarded the Gervase Elwes Memorial Cup and the Dramatic Cup at Feis Ceoil, adding to her multiple first-prize successes at the competition. She is also a finalist in the 2026 Bernadette Greevy Competition at the National Concert Hall.
In 2025, Eva was the first recipient of the Bríd Phelan Emerging Talent Bursary from the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. She is the winner of the Irené Sandford Award (2024) at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and a multiple first-prize winner at Feis Ceoil, including the Plunket Greene Cup, Thomas Moore Cup, Merchant Cup and Young Cup. She was also a finalist in the Birr Festival of Music Trench Award (2024) and a recipient of the Canto al Serchio Bursary and the John McCormack Bursary. In the 2025–2026 season, Eva was chosen to represent RIAM in a prestigious collaboration with the Juilliard School, travelling to New York to perform under the direction of renowned pianist Iain Burnside. In 2025, she was also selected to represent the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Leipzig, Germany, for a week of masterclasses under Professor Schubert.
Operatic highlights include the title role in El Gato con Botas by Xavier Montsalvatge with RIAM Opera (2026), the role of Rosina in La vera Costanza by Joseph Haydn (2025), and extracts as Fiordiligi in scenes from Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2025). She also performed extracts as Norma from Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma in RIAM’s 2026 Opera Scenes Showcase. Eva has appeared as a soloist with the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival and has performed at the National Concert Hall, as well as at Farmleigh House, Killruddery House, Mount Juliet, and the Austrian and German Embassies in Dublin. Her recital work has taken her to Italy and Germany, and she has been featured on RTÉ Lyric FM.
Wexford Festival Opera would like to acknowledge and thank The Arts Council, Wexford County Council, Fáilte Ireland/Ireland’s Ancient East and the Festival’s Friends, Sponsors, and Donors for their invaluable and continued support.