Programme and casting details announced for 69th Wexford Festival Opera
20 Oct–1 Nov 2020
2020 programme inspired by William Shakespeare
70 Events over 13 consecutive days including
Ein Wintermärchen (A Winter’s Tale) by Karl Goldmark
Le Songe d’une nuit d’été by Ambroise Thomas
Edmea by Alfredo Catalani
Exciting free ‘pop-up’ events throughout the Festival
The inaugural Wexford Factory, an academy for young Irish / Irish-based singers
The first WFO Artist-in-Residence programme
Late night cabaret programme
A special concert starring the internationally-renowned
Lisette Oropesa
Priority booking opens on Saturday, 21 March for Bravura, Aria, Cabaletta and Ensemble+ Friends.
Priority booking for Ensemble Friends opens on Saturday, 28 March
General booking opens on Saturday, 4 April
Ahead of the opening of priority booking for the 69th Wexford Festival Opera, newly appointed Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi has revealed further details of her inaugural artistic programme including the casting for the three main evening operas, which comprises inspiring operatic talent from16 countries from across the globe, including Ireland, most of whom will make their Wexford Festival Opera debuts.
This year the festival is inspired by William Shakespeare. Each of the three main evening productions in the National Opera House will be based directly, or indirectly, on the life and work of this great poet and playwright. Three day-time operas entitled, Pocket Operas / Opera Beag, will continue this Shakespearean thread, with new productions on the themes of love, fun, and the darker side.
This year’s expanded Festival includes more than 70 performances over 13 continuous days including:
- 3 main stage operas
- A new series of daytime Pocket Operas / Opera Beag, performed in both the O’Reilly Theatre and Jerome Hynes Theatre in the National Opera House. as well as the Wexford Arts Centre.
- A special evening concert in the O’Reilly Theatre, National Opera House with the Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra and starring internationally renowned American soprano, Lisette Oropesa.
- Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle in Rowe Street Church.
- Late night Cabaret des Artistes performances.
- W F O 2.0 (W- F-O- 2- point- zero): A series of free pop-up, multi-disciplinary performances, featuring music, drama, singing and dance which will be performed in non-traditional settings in various locations around Wexford town.
“I want to use my wealth of personal and artistic experiences that I have gathered in Wexford over the years to bring our Festival even higher by maintaining its traditions, and also by adding new lifeblood and new creative ideas. Unlike any other opera festival, Wexford will continue to be that unique place where you can discover rare and beautiful works. At the same time, we will add many more parallel events, both in the theatre such as the Lisette Oropesa Gala concert, and WFO 2.0 – a series of ‘pop-up’ performances in spaces around the town. This programme will fill our audiences’ days and nights with art and entertainment, spreading the magic of the Festival through the town to which it belongs.” Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi.
Three evening operas
- Ein Wintermärchen (A Winter’s Tale)
by Karl Goldmark
An opera in three acts. Sung in German.
Performance Dates: 20, 23, 26, 29 October 2020
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Some Shakespeare plays have been set as operas several dozens of times, others hardly at all. A Winter’s Tale features somewhere in the middle popularity-wise, without having inspired any of the most famous Shakespearean operas, which makes Karl Goldmark’s Ein Wintermärchen all the more intriguing.
Born Károly Goldmark, the son of a Jewish cantor, the composer was born in Hungary but grew up in today’s Austria. Still commonly identified as a Hungarian composer, he never learned to speak Hungarian and allied himself most closely of all with German culture. Described by contemporaries as modest and shy, Goldmark did little to promote himself, and his work and his music suffered the twin fates of falling out of fashion soon after his death and then being branded as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis. From the 1950’s onwards his name was kept alive principally through his Violin Concerto No. 1, recorded by many great names, and his music is now enjoying something of a wider reappraisal. First premiered at the Hofoper in Vienna in 1908, Ein Wintermärchen would prove to be the last of the six operas composed by Goldmark (1830–1915).
Cast
Leontes Sergy Radchenko
Hermione Sophie Gordeladze
Perdita Deanna Breiwick
Poliienes Simon Thorpe
Florizel Julian Hubbard
Camillo Rory Musgrave
Antigonus Lancelot Nomura
Paulina Zlata Khersberg
Creative Team
Conductor Marcus Bosch
Director Dmitry Bertman
Set & Costume Designer Astrid Janson
Lighting Designer D.M. Wood
- Le Songe d’une nuit d’été
by Ambroise Thomas
An opéra comique in three acts. Sung in French.
Performance Dates: 21, 24, 27 October and 1 November 2020
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Le Songe d’une nuit d’été is an opéra-comique, with spoken dialogue. Despite its title, anyone expecting to see Oberon and Titania will be in for a surprise: Le Songe d’une nuit d’été has nothing to do with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; it is a fantasy about Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I. The librettists portray the playwright-poet sinking gradually into drunkenness and debauchery until Elizabeth is forced to remind him of his duty as England’s literary genius. The third leading character is Sir John Falstaff, governor of ‘Richemont’, where the action is set.
Best remembered for his operas Mignon and Hamlet, Ambroise Thomas (1811–96) wrote around 20 works for the lyric stage, mostly forgotten – though audiences may recall Wexford’s production of his opera, La Cour de Célimène (2011). Premiered in Paris at the Opéra-Comique in 1850, about halfway through Thomas’ career, Le Songe d’une nuit d’été was a considerable success, and it is not hard to see why it remained popular until at least the end of the nineteenth century when The Musical Times was still describing it as ‘a little masterpiece’. Now an absolute rarity, it was however revived in Compiègne in 1994 in celebration of the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
Cast
Queen Elizabeth 1 Hasmik Torosyan
Olivia Valentina Mastrangelo
Shakespeare Sébastien Guèze
Falstaff Tommaso Barea
Lord Latimer Vasyl Solodkyy
Jeremy Sheldon Baxter
Nelly Poala Leoci
Creative Team
Conductor Guillaume Tourniaire
Director Walter Le Moli
Set Designer Tiziano Santi
Costume Designer Gabriele Mayer
Lighting Designer D.M. Wood
- Edmea
by Alfredo Catalani
An opera in three acts. Sung in Italian.
Performance Dates: 22, 25, 28, 31 October 2020
The character of Edmea is reminiscent of the tragic Ophelia and thus fits well into the Shakespearean theme of the Festival. The opera by Alfredo Catalani tells of a young woman, Edmea, driven mad by love having been forced by her adoptive father, a Count, to marry against her will when she was in love with Oberto, son of her aristocratic guardian. Often noted for his dramatic, atmospheric music, Edmea’s mad scene is considered one of the most successful parts of his opera.
Edmea enjoyed some success at its premiere at La Scala in 1886. When it was repeated later the same year in a revised version in Turin, the conductor was the 20-year-old Arturo Toscanini. This marked the start of a friendship between the composer and conductor, who even named his daughter after the heroine of Catalani’s next and final opera, La Wally, and who continued to champion his music after the composer’s tragically early death. Although Edmea was quickly overshadowed by the popularity of La Wally, Catalani’s skills as an orchestrator were considerable – make it an opera well worth rediscovering.
Cast
Edmea Anne Sophie Duprels
Il Conte di Leitmeritz Ivan Shcerbatykh
Oberto Raffaele Abete
Il Barone di Waldek John Molloy
Ulmo Leon Kim
Fritz Conor Prendiville
Creative Team
Conductor Francesco Cilluffo – Principal Guest Conductor
Stage Director Julia Burbach
Set & Costume Designer Cécile Trémolieres
Movement Director Johannes Stepanek
Lighting Designer DM Wood
Three Pocket Operas / Opera Beag
This series of daytime operas, under the title of Pocket Operas /Opera Beag, will be performed in different venues in Wexford town, including the O’Reilly and Jerome Hynes theatres in the National Opera House, as well as Wexford Arts Centre.
Continuing the Shakespearean theme these productions will be an important showcase for young Irish and international Festival artists. The Pocket Opera / Opera Beag production of Falstaff will be performed by the members of the Wexford Factory and will also feature the SinfoNua Orchestra of young Irish-based musicians tutored by members of the Wexford Festival Orchestra.
- Shakespeare in Love
Performance Dates: 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 30 Oct – 3.30 p.m. and 26, 29 Oct
Time: 11a.m.
Wexford Arts Centre
Director: Lyaysan Safargulova
Dramaturg: Jessica Traynor
Set & Costume Designer: Luca dal Bosco
A collage of the most famous love scenes, arias, duets and quartets from operas related to Shakespeare.
- The Dark Side of Shakespeare
Performance Dates: 21, 24, 27 Oct – 11 a.m. and 22, 25, 28, 29, 31 Oct
Time: 3.30 p.m.
Jerome Hynes Theatre, The National Opera House
Director: Wayne Jordan
Set & Costume Designer: Luca dal Bosco
A collage of the darker, more obscure and mysterious Shakespearean characters in opera from Otello to Macbeth.
- Shakespeare for Fun- Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi
Performance Dates: 22, 25, 28, 31 October
Time: 11 a.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Director: Roberto Recchia
Set & Costume Designer: Serena Treppiedi
A reduced production of Falstaff by Verdi with singers from the Wexford Factory and SinfoNua orchestra.
The Wexford Factory
The Wexford Factory, a new academy for young Irish or Irish-based singers, will take place in early September, prior to the beginning of rehearsals for the Festival. The brain-child of Artistic Director, Rosetta Cucchi, the Wexford Factory is designed to mentor young Irish or Irish-based singers through intensive masterclasses led by internationally recognised artists and professionals. Guest tutors will include world-renowned tenor Juan Diego-Flórez, Irish soprano Celine Byrne, as well as Ernesto Palacio of the Rossini Opera Festival and Dmitry Vdovin, head of the Bolshoi’s Young Artist programme. In addition, graduating students will perform in the Pocket Operas / Opera Beag reduced production of Verdi’s Falstaff (Shakespeare for Fun).
The Wexford Factory is in collaboration with TUD (Technological University Dublin), RIAM (Royal Irish Academy of Music) and CSM (Cork School of Music) and in keeping with the International profile and reach of Wexford Festival Opera, a partnership with the Bolshoi Academy, Moscow, the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, and Opera for Peace has also been established.
Dr Tom Walsh Lecture
The 2020 Lecture will be presented on Friday, 30 October at 11 a.m. in the Jerome Hynes Theatre by one of Wexford Festival Opera’s previous Artistic Directors, Luigi Ferrari (1995–2004). Luigi will present a provocative conversation based on the hypothesis that someone else, namely the Italian John Florio, was the real author of many of Shakespeare’s works. Florio is one of the many individuals who have been proposed as the real author of the works of William Shakespeare by advocates of the ‘Shakespeare authorship question’. The theory is linked to the argument that Shakespeare’s work shows an intimate knowledge of Italian culture and geography, even though there is no evidence that Shakespeare ever left English soil.
Lunchtime Recitals
The very popular Lunchtime Recitals provide an insight into the artistic personality of some of the principal singers of the Festival and are a way to engage with them in an informal setting. Performed in the beautiful and acoustically excellent eighteenth-century church of St. Iberius in the centre of Wexford town in Ireland’s Ancient East, audiences can appreciate the musical versatility of solo singers who perform a wide variety of music from across the repertoire, including operatic arias, lieder, oratorio, concert and popular songs.
The artists and their performance dates will be announced in due course but it has been confirmed that prominent Irish soprano Celine Byrne will perform in the final lunchtime recital on Saturday, 31 October. St. Iberius Church – 1.05 p.m. on 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 31 October.
Lisette Oropesa in Concert
This special concert starring the American lyric coloratura soprano Lisette Oropesa, accompanied by the Wexford Festival Orchestra, will be performed on Friday, 30 October at 8 p.m. in the O’Reilly Theatre of the National Opera House. Lisette Oropesa is one of the most in-demand lyric coloraturas today, who has triumphed in various roles in the most important houses throughout Europe and the US. Known for her liquid legato and seamless technique, stylistic integrity, precise coloratura, and superlative acting, Lisette excels in the repertoire of the bel canto, Mozart, and French composers.
Petite messe solennelle
Rossini’s final composition before his death, and one of the most delightful examples of a solemn mass, will be performed in Rowe Street Church on the closing afternoon of the Festival, Sunday, 1 November at 3.30 p.m. The magnificent piece will be performed with two pianos, harmonium, four soloists and chorus.
Gala Concert
The Gala Concert on Monday, 26 October at 9 p.m. is one of the Festival highlights and features a collection of favourite party pieces from members of the artistic company. All performers generously donate their time and talent for the Gala Concert, and all proceeds go toward supporting Wexford Festival Opera. Early booking is advised.
Cabaret des Artistes – Late Night Cabarets
A new late-night performance series performed in true cabaret-style featuring music, recitation, dance and drama by an ensemble of the Festival’s singers, actors and dancers, exploring French, German, English and American cabaret. There will be four performances held in the top floor café/bar in the National Opera House at 11.15 p.m. on 23, 26, 29, and 31 October.
Artist-in-Residence / Opera at Green Acres
Irish composer and conductor Andrew Synnott is not only the incoming Chorus Master for Wexford Festival Opera, but is also the Festival’s first Artist-in-Residence. As Artist-in-Residence, Andrew is composing a short opera entitled, The 47th Saturday, based on a short story of the same name by William Trevor in an adaptation by Vivienne Howard. This new work will have two performances on 21 and 29 October at 11 a.m. in the intimate setting of the Green Acres Gallery.
WFO 2.O
A new chapter for Wexford Festival Opera, WFO 2.O includes pop-up events throughout the town. The pop-up events are a series of free, multidisciplinary performances featuring music, drama, singing and dance, performed in non-traditional settings around Wexford town. This exciting new initiative is designed to make the Festival ever more accessible for existing, new and diverse audiences. A map indicating the location of these free performances will be created to lead the public to venues where these artistic spectacles will take place, adding a ‘Treasure Hunt’ element to the experience. There will be two to three events daily throughout the entire Festival but details will not be announced in advance.
With the new, expanded artistic programme, demand for 2020 tickets for the 69th Festival is expected to be at an all-time high at the commencement of the booking period, set to open in just a little over two weeks’ time.
Priority booking for the 69th Wexford Festival Opera opens on Saturday, 21 March for Bravura, Aria, Cabaletta and Ensemble+ Friends.
Priority booking for Ensemble Friends opens on Saturday, 28 March, while booking opens to the general public on Saturday, 4 April.
To avail of priority booking and ensure best choice of dates and seats, become a Friend and avail of the numerous membership benefits. Join online today at https://www.wexfordopera.com/friends/become-a-friend/
Wexford Festival Opera is supported by grants from the Arts Council, Wexford County Council and Fáilte Ireland/Ireland’s Ancient East.
For more see wexfordopera.com @wexfordfestivalopera / @wexfordopera
/ends
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UK press PR: Joanna Townsend +44 7491 238115 jo@wexfordopera.com
The Programme:
Ein Wintermärchen
by Karl Goldmark (1830-1915)
Libretto by Alfred Maria Willner after William Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale
An opera in three acts
Sung in German with English surtitles
First performance 2 January 1908, Vienna State Opera
Performance Dates: 20, 23, 29 October 2020
Time: 8 p.m.
Performance: 26 October 2020
Time: 5 p.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €20-€150
Le Songe d’une nuit d’été
Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896)
Libretto by Joseph-Bernard Rosier and Adolphe de Leuven
An opéra comique in three acts
Sung in French with English surtitles
First performance 20 April 1850 by the Opéra-Comique at the second Salle Favart, Paris
Performance Dates: 21, 24, 27 October and 1 November 2020
Time: 8 p.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €20-€150
Edmea
by Alfredo Catalani with Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni
An opera in three acts
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
First performance 27 February 1886, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Performance Dates: 22, 25, 28, 31 October 2020
Time: 8 p.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €20-€150
Shakespeare in Love
Performance Dates: 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 30 October
Time: 3.30 p.m.
Performance Dates: 26, 29 October
Time: 11 a.m.
Wexford Arts Centre
Tickets: €30
A collage of the most famous love scenes, arias, duets and quartets from operas related to Shakespeare.
The Dark Side of Shakespeare
Performance Dates: 21, 24, 27 October
Time: 11 a.m.
Performance Dates: 22, 25, 28, 29, 31 October
Time: 3.30 p.m.
Jerome Hynes Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €30
A collage of the darker, more obscure and mysterious Shakespearean characters in opera from Otello to Macbeth.
Shakespeare for Fun
Performance Dates: 22, 25, 28, 31 October
Time: 11 a.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €35
A reduced production of Falstaff by Verdi with singers from the Wexford Factory and SinfoNua orchestra.
Lisette Oropesa Concert
Performance Date: Friday, 30 October
Time: 8 p.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €50-85
A special concert with full Wexford Festival Orchestra, starring the internationally-renowned American lyric coloratura soprano Lisette Oropesa.
Gala Concert
Performance Date: Monday, 26 October
Time: 9 p.m.
O’Reilly Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €50-€85
Featuring a collection of popular arias from members of the Festival company.
Petite messe solennelle
By Gioachino Rossini
Performance Date: Sunday, 1 November
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Rowe Street Church
Tickets: €25
Rossini’s final composition before his death will be performed with two pianos, orchestra, soloists and chorus.
Lunchtime Recitals
Dates: 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 31 October
Time: 1.05 p.m.
St Iberius Church
Tickets: €20
Lasting approximately 50 minutes, these very popular Lunchtime Recitals are performed in the beautiful and acoustically excellent eighteenth-century church of St Iberius in the centre of Wexford town by members of the company who sing a wide variety of music from across the repertoire, including operatic arias, lieder, oratorio, concert and popular songs.
Dr Tom Walsh Lecture
Date: Friday, 30 October
Time: 11 a.m.
Jerome Hynes Theatre, The National Opera House
Tickets: €10
The 2020 Lecture will be presented by Luigi Ferrari, who served as Artistic Director of Wexford Festival from 1995-2004. Luigi will present a provocative conversation based on the hypothesis that someone else wrote much of Shakespeare’s work. Tea and coffee will be served after the lecture.
LATE- NIGHT CABARET DES ARTISTES
Performance Dates: 23, 26, 29, 31 October
Time: 11.15 p.m.
Café/Bar – 3rd Floor – The National Opera House
Tickets: €25
A new late-night performance series performed in true cabaret-style featuring music, recitation, dance and drama by an ensemble of the Festival’s singers, actors and dancers, exploring French, German, English and American cabaret.
W F O 2.0
Performances dates: 2-3 events daily.
Time: Schedule and venue locations published in the autumn.
FREE
W F 0 2.0 A series of free pop-up, multi-disciplinary performances featuring music, drama, singing and dance which will be performed in non-traditional settings in various locations around Wexford town.
WEXFORD FACTORY
The Wexford Factory, a new academy for young Irish or Irish-based singers, will run for two weeks from 1 September, 2020. Participants, chosen from an audition process, will take part in masterclasses and tuition from recognised industry professionals including Juan Diego-Flórez and Dimitry Vdovin. They will also perform in a reduced version of Verdi’s Falstaff, one of the 2020 Pocket Operas / Opera Beag