About Wexford Factory | Wexford Festival Opera 2025

About the Wexford Factory

Wexford Festival Opera has established the Wexford Factory to offer professional and financial support to young singers, pianists and stage managers in the early stage of their careers.

Wexford Festival Opera’s aim in creating the Wexford Factory is to offer one of the world’s most formative experiences for young opera professionals who are about to take the biggest step of all into a fully professional career. Working closely with our partner opera companies, the Rossini Opera Festival ‘Alberto Zedda Academy’ in Pesaro, TU Dublin, Royal Irish Academy of Music and Opera for Peace, we will help them hone their musical and professional skills to start a brilliant journey into the industry.

Factory participants embark on a two-year journey which sees them take part in a professional development academy each September. In addition to performing at the Festival each year, participants also have the chance to take part in an international exchange.

Wexford Factory has been proudly sponsored by PwC and supported by Fundacion Arnhold de la Cámara since its inception. The Festival was delighted to also welcome The Community Foundation for Ireland as a supporter in 2023, with particular focus on the repetiteur and stage management programmes.

Wexford Festival Opera is about opening up the world of opera to everyone. Introducing new and emerging talent, while discovering some forgotten masterpieces along the way, the Festival has historically served as a springboard for many young artists at the beginning of their careers; an introduction to an international stage.

The Wexford Factory provides robust mentoring and gives individual participants the creative space, mentoring and time to develop their craft. It also enables young and emerging talent to learn from some of the world's most internationally recognised artists, coaches and opera professionals.

…the academies I attended in my youth is where I learned the true meaning of professionalism and how I could continue to challenge myself as an artist.

- Rosetta Cucchi, Artistic Director.