Still, life…

World Premiere
A Wexford Festival Opera Commission
Libretto and Music by Ailís Ní Ríain

As WFO's composer-in-residence, Ailís Ní Ríain was commissioned to create an entirely original immersive work combining elements of opera, video, imagery and text.

Ní Ríain works in the areas of concert music, site responsive installation and public art, opera, electro-acoustic and music-theatre. She is deaf/hard of hearing.

Inspired by a short story by William Goyen, Still, life… a site-responsive, installation-opera investigates a small town's reaction to a man who decides to sit on top of a flagpole and stays there for forty days without explaining why. The work explores the collision between individual mystery and collective conformity and considers the way society experiences mystery and individuality. It is a wonderful opportunity for the community to premiere a brand-new work, and more on an international stage.

First staged in 2023, the Community Opera is a growing element of the Festival and shines a spotlight on the talented people of Wexford as they become active participants in the Festival. In 2025, 43 local residents took part in the preparatory workshops, with 19 people performing in A Little Midsummer’s Night Dream.

Image: Louise Manifold