Opera in two acts by Charles Villiers Stanford Libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Fully-staged production Sung in English with English surtitles
First performance Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 1916
Background
Both Stanford and Sheridan were born in Dublin but pursued their careers in England; Sheridan as a prominent playwright and one-time owner of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Stanford as Professor of Music at the Royal College of Music and the University of Cambridge as well as a composer best remembered for his choral works. The Critic was the penultimate of nine operas by Stanford and considered one of his best, having been well received initially and later revived by Thomas Beecham.
Tony has been a member of Wexford Light Opera Society for the last 25 years, playing many roles on and off stage. He is also a member of Wexford Drama Group and has competed many times on the All Ireland Drama Circuit with them, picking up many awards along the way. He is looking forward to his debut with Wexford Festival Opera.
Rory Dunne, a German-based bass-baritone from Ireland, began his journey at the Bull Alley Theatre Training Company before earning his undergraduate degree from TUDublin. He has been part of prestigious programs like the Wexford Factory and the Irish National Opera Studio. Currently, he is a resident artist at Cork Opera House. Rory's upcoming season features diverse roles such as Papageno in 'Die Zauberflöte' and Escamillo in 'La Tragédie de Carmen,' along with performances in Handel's 'Messiah' and new opera productions at the Limerick Opera Festival.
Gyula Nagy is a Hungarian baritone based in Ireland. Training: Royal Irish Academy of Music, National Opera Studio (London), Jette Parker Young Artists Programme (ROH Covent Garden). Notable performances include Rigoletto (Rigoletto): Fundacion Excelentia Madrid, Sharpless (Mma Butterfly): ROH Covent Garden, Valentin (Faust): Irish National Opera.
Northern Irish baritone Ben McAteer is versatile in character with a remarkable vocal range, and a natural performer of Gilbert & Sullivan. He’s also recently appeared on the concert platform with the Hamburger Symphoniker, Ulster Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and most recently features on the BBC Concert Orchestra recording of Peter Warlock's music on EM Records with David Hill.
Oliver Johnston, a Royal Academy of Music graduate, has showcased his talent in various roles, including Stroh in 'Intermezzo', Fenton in 'Falstaff,' and Levko in 'May Night.' He has performed with esteemed institutions like Garsington Opera, Opera North, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Notable achievements include a staged rendition of Handel’s Messiah with Opéra and Ballet National de Bordeaux and winning 3rd Prize at the All-Russian Nadezhda Obukhova Young Opera Singers’ Competition.
Rory is currently a member of Chamber Choir Ireland and a Lay Vicar Choral in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. A professional ensemble singer, his stage debut was at Wexford Festival Opera 2023 as Danilo in Camille Erlanger’s L’Aube rouge and he is returning to the festival this year as a member of the Wexford Factory. In 2024, he will perform his first principal role as Mr Owen in RIAM Opera’s production of Dominic Argento’s Postcard from Morocco.
Welsh bass-baritone Meilir Jones, a Royal Academy of Music graduate, has performed with Welsh National Opera, Grange Festival Opera, and the Wexford Festival Opera. He has sung as a soloist at prestigious venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall. Meilir has received numerous awards, including the AESS Courtney Kenny Award and the Blue Ribbon Osborne Roberts Memorial Prize.
A Metropolitan Opera National Council Semi-Finalist, Dane’s recent engagements include Greg (Montag, Soho Rep) and Apollo cvr (Daphne, Carnegie Hall). During a recent resident artist engagement at Opera San José, he sang Canio (Pagliacci), Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Ruggero (La rondine), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), and Alfredo (La traviata).
Andrew is a British-Irish tenor from Monmouth who studied at the Royal Welsh College and the National Opera Studio. He won the 2019 Dunraven Young Welsh Singer of the Year and is the recipient of the 2023 John Scott Award from Scottish Opera. Previous engagements include Heinrich Tannhäuser with Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Candide (cover) Candide with Welsh National Opera, Ottavio (cover) Don Giovanni with Glyndebourne Tour and Nemorino (cover) L’elisir d’amore for Scottish Opera.
Wexford Factory Alumna, Ava Dodd is an Irish soprano acclaimed for her exceptional talent, received the prestigious 2023 Yves Paternot Prize from the Verbier Festival Academy. Ava completed her studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, London, earning first-class honors. Her accolades include prizes from competitions like the Hans Gabor Belvedere International Singing Competition, Met Opera competition/ Laffont Competition and first prize in the International Grand Prix of Romania Trophaeum Artis Cantorum. Ava received first prize in the Northern Ireland Opera’s Glenarm Festival of Voice Competition, and was named the “Young Opera Voice of 2019”.
An alumna of the Wexford Factory programme, Hannah performed as Tatiana in L’aube rouge, Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri, and Nella in Gianni Schicchi in WFO 2023 and as Griselda (Cinderella) in the 2022 festival. In 2024, Hannah will make role debuts as Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) for Hurn Court Opera and Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia) with British Youth Opera, and returns to Wexford to sing as Confidant and First Niece in Stanford’s The Critic.
Mezzo Carolyn Holt has performed with companies such as The Royal Opera House, Irish National Opera, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, and English National Opera, and was awarded the Dermot Troy Prize for the Best Irish Singer at the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. Carolyn is also in demand as a concert soloist, and has performed at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, the National Concert Hall, the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and the Ulster Hall.
Mark has worked with all the major Irish theatre companies. Recent theatre includes The Ferryman which played both The Gielgud in London and Broadway. His Film and TV appearances include George Gently, The Tudors, Bloody Sunday, Veronica Guerin, Vanity Fair and the BBCTV Series Roy.
Jonathan, born in Dublin and raised in New York, is an accomplished actor with a rich career in theatre, film, and television. Recently, he starred in The United States vs Ulysses and The Treaty with Fishamble Theatre. Notable theatre roles include King Lear and his co-written show, To Hell in a Handbag. His extensive stage work spans from classics like Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice to contemporary productions like Anglo: The Musical.
On screen, Jonathan has appeared in Happy Ever Afters, Ripper Street, The Tudors, and the beloved Father Ted. His radio work includes Scrap Saturday and over 100 plays and series.
Arthur Riordan, actor and writer, is a founding member of Rough Magic Theatre Company. Notable performances include: Peer Gynt, Improbable Frequency, The Tempest, Amongst Men, Philadelphia Here I Come, King Lear, Krapp’s Last Tape, and Swing.
He has also worked with Druid, The Abbey, Pan Pan, and Red Kettle. TV and film credits include Debutante, Holy Island, A Sunken Place, and Ripper Street. His writing includes adaptations of Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Peer Gynt, and original works like The Train, Improbable Frequency, and Dubliners opera.
Olga graduated with first-class honors in drama from the Conservatory of Music and Drama at DIT. In 2002, she founded "Discovering Drama" in Wexford, where she now teaches over 300 students weekly. While running her school, she earned a H.Dip in Drama Studies from UCD in 2005.
Olga holds a PGCA from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the University of Warwick in teaching Shakespeare to young people and leads ‘Hands On Shakespeare’ workshops in secondary schools. She also earned a Licentiate in Teaching Drama from the Irish Board of Speech and Drama.
Her acting credits include playing Constance Wilde in The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde, appearing in a Boots Cancer Care commercial, performing at the Castle Lake Arts Festival, and playing Florence Nightingale in Wexford Festival Opera 2023.
Ciarán McAuley, former Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, has served as Assistant Conductor for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Kiel Opera. He has been a finalist in the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award and a prize winner in the Arturo Toscanini Conducting Competition. He also won the Ricordi Conducting Prize and Bryden Thomson Trust Award.
Ciarán has conducted for Camerata Salzburg, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the Houston Symphony. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.
Conor is an Irish director with previous work at WFO including L`Italiana in Algeri (Rossini, 2023) and The Master (Caruso, 2022). He trained on Rough Magic`s SEEDS programme and UCLA, and spent two years studying with the Japanese director Ninagawa Yukio. Recent productions include Aeschylus` Persians (Abbey Theatre), An Lár (Evanne Kilgallon, Glass Mask Theatre) and Country and Irish by Pat McCabe.
John works extensively across theatre, music, film and television. He won Best Design at the Irish Theatre awards for Copenhagen with Rough Magic and has been nominated several times for Best Lighting Design. Film directing credits include the award-winning dance drama Hit and Run for CoisCéim;
After earning a specialist degree at the IUAV Venice, Massimo graduated as a costume designer from the Scuola dell’Opera Italiana in Bologna. He worked with Vera Marzot, and later he was assistant to Claudia Pernigotti. His recent designs include Madama Butterfly, Giovanna D'Arco, Falstaff. He is currently Head of Wardrobe at WFO.
Since 1994, Daniele has been Head of Lighting and Lighting Designer for the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Among his many productions in Italy and around the world are Il trovatore, Rigoletto and La traviata (Maggio Musicale), Carmen (Rome), Lohengrin (Bilbao), Jérusalem (Zurich) and La fille du régiment (Tel Aviv).
Paolo began his career as a stage technician for concerts and events before discovering his passion for theatre and lighting design. In 2016, he started collaborating with renowned stylist Pierre Cardin as a lighting designer for musicals and by 2022, he was working at Teatro Comunale di Bologna.
August 2024
The Plot
The Critic takes place on the stage of a theatre, where a new opera, The Spanish Armada, is in rehearsal. The composer, Mr. Dangle and the librettist and impresario, Mr. Puff, have invited the eponymous critic, Mr. Sneer, to attend. Mr. Puff launches into a discussion of his profession, the theatre and the many merits of his new piece.
The rehearsal begins, and we are transported to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
At Tilbury Fort, Sir Walter Raleigh and the Governor of the fort, Sir Christopher Hatton, discuss the threat of a Spanish invasion. They have captured the extravagant Don Ferolo Whiskerandos, son of the enemy admiral, and imprisoned him. (Throughout the rehearsal, Puff, Sneer and Dangle interrupt proceedings to comment on the work.) The governor’s daughter Tilburina enters and we discover that she has fallen in love with Don Ferolo.
Hatton’s and Raleigh’s nieces, both also in love with Don Ferolo, intent on avenging his faithlessness. They are prevented by an English sea captain. He kills Don Ferolo (in a scene that requires a lot of rehearsal) and the bereft Tilburina loses her mind.
An incongruous masque celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s famous victory over the Spanish Armada concludes the opera, before Mr. Puff has to decide if they’ll need more rehearsal tomorrow...
