The First Festival

World Premiere
A Wexford Festival Opera Commission
Libretto by Colm Tóibín
Music by Alberto Caruso

A heartwarming and joyous celebration of love, music, and a town changed forever.

October 1951. It’s Monday morning at Wexford County Council’s Motor Taxation Office, and four local clerks arrive for work nursing freshly broken hearts. They’ve been dumped, their dates were disasters, and all four are looking for love. Then, word arrives that a new opera festival is about to start in town.

Meanwhile, four international opera singers arrive in Wexford singing arias of longing and regret. Behind their glamour, they are equally heartbroken and desperate for connection.

By opening night, four glorious new romances have blossomed between the townsfolk and the stars. But in 1951 Ireland, privacy is virtually impossible to find - until each of the local clerks hatches the exact same plan: to sneak into the empty Motor Taxation Office after hours.

What follows is a night of joyful chaos and soaring song, as music gives eight hopeless romantics their glorious outing in love in October 1951.

About the Production

The First Festival reunites celebrated novelist Colm Tóibín with his regular collaborator, composer Alberto Caruso. Commissioned by Wexford Festival Opera to mark the 75th Anniversary, this operatic tribute honours the Festival Colm has loved and championed for decades. It was written specifically for the rising stars of the Wexford Factory programme.

*Mon 19 Oct | 1950's Themed Night: For the opening night performance, we’re returning to when it all began. Dress up in 1950s style attire and join us for an evening of vintage glamour, celebration, and operatic drama. Dust off your pearls and poodle skirts, and ready that sharp suit!