Wexford Festival Opera Programme Book – 2015 by 24pt Helvetica

64th Festival

21 October â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1 November 2015

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Contents

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87 88 89 90 91 96 98 100 102 104 158 160

Welcome from the President Welcome from the Chairman Wexford Festival Trust Sponsors and Funders Koanga Guglielmo Ratcliff Le Pré aux clercs Portraits de Manon Hansel and Gretel Tosca Concerts, Recitals, Lectures Lunchtime Recitals Dr Tom Walsh Lecture Gala Concert Tara Erraught Recital Jack Sullivan – Hitchcock’s Music Nathalia Milstein Piano Recital Artist Biographies Wexford Festival Orchestra Wexford Festival Chorus Wexford Festival Opera Tours Joyce Kennedy – For the Love of Wexford Kevin Lewis – From the Doge’s Throne to the Festival Archive Fionnuala Hunt – The Orchestra of WFO: the first ten years Supporting Wexford Festival Opera Cast and Artistic Sponsorship The President’s Circle & The 1951 Society The American Friends of Wexford Opera The National Development Council Wexford Festival Foundation Sponsor Initiatives Community & Education Initiatives Friends of Wexford Festival Opera Thank You Repertoire by Year 1951–2015 Repertoire by Composer 1951–2015 Personnel Volunteers Festival Calendar Index of Advertisers

The 2015 Wexford Opera Festival is dedicated to the memory of Liam Healy, Chairman and inspirational leader of the Wexford Festival Foundation (2004–2011), whose selfless commitment and support ensured the realisation of the dream to build the National Opera House.

Contents

From the President

t is my very great pleasure, as President of Wexford Festival Opera, to welcome you to the 64th Festival Season.

I attended my first Festival in 1989 with what I now regard as a typical Wexford programme of Marschner, Mozart and Prokofiev. I was so enchanted by the variety and quality of the operas and the charm of the town and its friendly community that I have returned every year. During this time I have had the additional pleasure of introducing many of my dearest friends to the delights of Wexford. Having served as Chairman of the Wexford Festival UK Trust since 1997 I gladly accepted the role of President of Wexford Festival Opera last year. I was greatly honoured to have been asked by the Festival Trust to follow such eminent predecessors as Sir Compton Mackenzie, Sir Alfred Beit and Sir Anthony Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly. I have been greatly impressed by the progress which the Festival has made in so many areas; in particular in its artistic achievements and financial stability. With generous support from the Government and a considerable contribution from the private sector, Wexford has built one of the finest small opera houses in the world. At the same time it has come through the economic challenges of the last few years, all the while preserving its artisticÂ integrity.

From the President

To continue to survive and thrive, Wexford must continue to evolve while remaining true to its founding ethos. In this day and age to stand still is to go backwards. We have some exciting plans ahead of us. I look forward to working closely with the Wexford Board and its Chairman, Chief Executive, Artistic Director and all my colleagues in the National Development Council and UK Trust, and to provide guidance and support as the Festival builds upon its much-admired international reputation. In addition I wish to extend my gratitude to the Arts Council of Ireland and to all our generous sponsors who are vital to our work. IÂ send my affectionate good wishes to the artists and creative teams who have travelled to Wexford from around the world. Finally, may I also warmly thank you, the loyal patrons of Wexford Festival Opera, for your enduring support of our beloved Festival. I know we have a magical twelve days ahead of us. Sir David Davies President Wexford Festival Opera

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From the Chairman

t is my very great honour to welcome you to Wexford as we embark on our annual operatic journey. Once more, David Agler has put together an exciting and diverse programme for the Festival, the unique blend of operatic excellence, musical discovery, friendship and hospitality which is our trademark. Since we last gathered, the sign over our front door has changed to ‘National Opera House’, recognition by the Irish Government of the international status of Wexford Festival Opera. We are exploring future opportunities for the Festival and the Opera House, and in this regard we are delighted to announce our partnership with the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. In Wexford we have always looked to the past for guidance, to the present for support, and to the future for hope. It is hard to believe that ten years have passed since we gathered for the last time in the Theatre Royal; we have many fond memories of that old building and of all who served and performed in it. As I write, we have just laid to rest one of our longest-serving Trustees, Mairéad Furlong. Since joining the Festival Council in 1968, Mairéad subsequently served as Vice Chairman, Board Member, as a Trustee of Wexford Festival Trust and as an impressive fund raiser. With her husband Nicky she presided over the annual Antiques Fair at the Talbot Hotel, scene of so many memorable Wexford post-opera evenings where business was transacted, friendships established and the odd glass of good cheer

enjoyed. Hers was the spirit of Wexford, giving generously of her time and expertise, as many others have done and continue to do. Mairéad’s integrity, passion, diligence, wealth of experience and knowledge, were given freely until the week before her death. She was a former member of the Arts Council and The Ireland Funds, and will be sadly missed in Wexford and beyond. It is unlikely that we will see such a lifetime of unbroken service again. May she rest in peace. To the present: we thank the ongoing work of our National Development Council, under Terry Neill’s inspiring leadership, and of course, the Arts Council of Ireland, which continues to invest in our work, enabling Wexford to present its artists on a world stage each year. You will read of our many sponsors and donors in the programme book, and they deserve our thanks and support. David Agler and David McLoughlin, along with the Board of Directors, the staff, the artists and the volunteers, continue to work with vigour and enthusiasm for the ongoing success of our many endeavours. To old friends, we say ‘welcome back’ and to our many new friends, whether from Ireland, Europe, or further afield, we offer you best wishes from everyone in our Festival family. As you immerse yourself in the ‘Wexford experience’ may our 2015 operas move, inspire and remain with you. Ger Lawlor

From the Chairman

Wexford Festival Trust Contact Details

Patron

Wexford Festival Opera, The National Opera House, High Street, Wexford, Y35 FEP3, Ireland Tel: +353 53 912 2400 Fax: +353 53 912 4289 Email: info@wexfordopera.com

His Excellency, Michael D. Higgins Uachtarán na hÉireann

Box Office: +353 53 912 2144 Callsave: 1850 4 OPERA Email: boxoffice@wexfordopera.com www.wexfordopera.com

Artistic Director

President Sir David Davies

Chairman Ger Lawlor

David Agler

Chief Executive David McLoughlin

Board of Directors Ger Lawlor (Chairman), Seán Benton, David Byers, Patrick Caulfield (Vice-Chairman), Paul Cleary, Mary Gallagher, Dr Cate Hartigan, Paul Hennessy, Ted Howlin (Director of Patron Care), Geraldine Karlsson, David Maguire (Director of Volunteers), Eleanor White

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Wexford Festival Trust

National Development Council

Chairmen

Terry Neill (Chairman), Michael M Collins SC, Jim Donnelly, Mary Finan, Eithne Healy, John Healy, Trevor Jacobs, David Lane, Judith Lawless, Declan Lynch, Oran McGrath PhD, John Reynolds, Dr Sarah Rogers

1951 – 1955 1956 – 1961 1962 – 1966 1967 – 1970 1971 – 1976 1977 – 1979 1980 – 1985 1986 – 1991 1992 – 1997 1998 – 2003 2004 – 2009 2010 – 2012 2013 –

Wexford Festival Trust (UK) Ltd Sir David Davies (Chairman), Paul Hennessy, Ger Lawlor, The Lord Magan of Castletown, Mary V Mullin, Max Ulfane, Keith Hatchick (Secretary)

Presidents 1951 – 1972 1974 – 1976 1977 – 1992 1993 – 2014 2014 –

Sir Compton Mackenzie Lauder Greenway Sir Alfred Beit Sir Anthony O’Reilly Sir David Davies

Dr Tom Walsh Fr MJ O’Neill Sir Alfred Beit Dr JD Ffrench Seán Scallan Brig Richard Jefferies Jim Golden Barbara Wallace-McConnell John O’Connor Ted Howlin Paul Hennessy Peter Scallan Ger Lawlor

Artistic Directors 1951 – 1966 1967 – 1973 1974 – 1978 1979 – 1981 1982 – 1994 1995 – 2004 2005 –

Dr Tom Walsh Brian Dickie Thomson Smillie Adrian Slack Elaine Padmore Luigi Ferrari David Agler

Wexford Festival Trust

Sponsors & Funders

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Sponsors & Funders

Principal Funder

Grant Funders

Principal Production Sponsor

THE DELIUS TRUST Corporate Leaders

Corporate Sponsors

Official IT & Communications Partner Official Festival Car

Community & Education Partners

Accommodation Partners

Preferred Hotel Partner

Hospitality and Media Partners

Sponsors & Funders

Koanga

SPONSORED BY

THE DELIUS TRUST

Frederick Delius (1862–1934)

Koanga 21, 24, 27, 30 October 8 p.m.

Lyric drama in a prologue, three acts and an epilogue Libretto by Frederick Delius and Charles F Keary after the novel The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life by George W Cable Revised libretto, 1972, by Douglas Craig and Andrew Page First performance (in German translation by Jelka Delius) in the Stadttheater, Elberfeld, Germany on 30 March 1904 Sung in English The performance will last approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes. There will be a 30-minute interval after Act 2 A short introductory talk will take place in the Jerome Hynes Theatre one hour before the performance. Speaker: Dafydd Hall Williams By permission of Boosey & Hawkes 21 October Performance Sponsor

Koanga Norman Garrett Palmyra Nozuko Teto Simon Perez Jeff Gwaltney Uncle Joe Aubrey Allicock Don José Martinez Christopher Robertson Rangwan Aubrey Allicock Clotilda Kate Allen Renée Rachel Croash Hélène Eleanor Garside Jeanne Frances Israel Marie Maria Hughes Aurore Emma Watkinson Hortense Vivien Conacher Olive Laura Murphy Paulette Jennifer Parker Dancers Sifiso Selby Khumalo, Sifiso Thamsanqa Majola, Magcino Pamella Shange, Mzamo Jabu Siphika, Kayla Smith Conductor Director Set Designer Projection Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Choreographer Stage Manager Assistant Director Répétiteurs Surtitles

Stephen Barlow Michael Gieleta James Macnamara Seán O’ Riordan Sarah Roberts Ian Sommerville Boyzie Cekwana Colin Murphy Dafydd Hall Williams Andrea Grant, Janet Haney Elizabeth Drwal

CHORUS OF WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Errol Girdlestone, Chorus Master ORCHESTRA OF WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Fionnuala Hunt, Concertmaster Production built by TPS, Dublin

Koanga

Koanga – Costume Designs

Koanga

Palmyra

Simon Perez

Uncle Joe

Don José Martinez

Clotilda

Costume Designs by Sarah Roberts

Koanga – Costume Designs

Koanga – Synopsis

Prologue Uncle Joe tells the next generation of plantation owners the story of the African prince-slave Koanga and Palmyra, his wife-not-to-be.

Act 1 Palmyra, born of an African mother and a white American father, is a maid to Clotilda, the wife of the plantation estate owner José Martinez in early nineteenth-century Louisiana. Simon Perez, the estate manager, makes unwelcome sexual advances to Palmyra. The estate is under a great financial strain and Martinez urges Perez to increase the productivity levels. Perez puts his hopes in the imminent arrival of a new group of slaves from Africa, including the famously strong Prince Koanga. Upon Koanga’s arrival it becomes clear that physical threats will not force him into submission. Martinez comes up with the plot to

make the resilient slave emotionally dependent on the beautiful Palmyra. The stratagem works and Palmyra, in return, recognises in Koanga the spiritual leader of the Dahomean nation that her maternal ancestors came from. Palmyra’s beauty and affection do the intended trick: Koanga sees that the only way he can be with Palmyra is to become a submissive slave on the estate. In order to maintain the status quo, Martinez suggests that the two marry, but Perez realises that the marriage would mean the end to his hopes to possess Palmyra. He consults Martinez’ wife, Clotilda, who pledges that the marriage will not take place.

Act 2 The wedding preparations are underway. Perez’ determination to stop the wedding becomes more insistent. In cahoots with Clotilda, he learns that Palmyra is in fact Clotilda’s half-sister. Koanga publicly renounces his people and lands for the sake of Palmyra’s love. The wedding is

about to take place when Perez abducts Palmyra. A fight breaks out between Koanga and Martinez, resulting in Koanga’s escape. As a fugitive, Koanga realises that the loss of Palmyra is his punishment for the betrayal of his duties as a royal prince and a priest.

Act 3 Koanga and the other escapees meet to pray in the marshes. Rangwan has assembled all the items needed for the ritual of placing the curse on Martinez’ estate. In a vision Koanga sees the effects of the terrible curse he placed on his oppressors. Concerned with Palmyra’s fate, he decides to return to the estate. The plantation is in the final stages of collapse. Unsuccessfully, Martinez tries to coerce the ailing

slaves back to work. Perez renews his offer to save the weakened Palmyra from an inevitable death. Martinez’ men capture Koanga. There is a fight during which Koanga kills Perez, then Martinez’ men capture Koanga and lay into him with whips. As he is dying, Koanga says his farewell to Palmyra. Upon his death, Palmyra renounces her Christian faith and stabs herself. She dies true to her mother’s African religion, which she shared with her beloved Koanga.

Epilogue Joe finishes the tale as the sun rises on a new day. Koanga – Synopsis

Koanga: Delius on the Bayou by Jack Sullivan

oanga is Frederick Delius’s most provocative opera, and one of his most beautiful. A story of interracial love, Louisiana Voodoo and a slave who calls down a pagan curse on his plantation, it is suffused with black spirituals and jazz chords. Written in 1895–7, it demolishes standard music history, sometimes in jaw-dropping ways: ‘He will meet her when the sun goes down’, for example, is a slave chorus sung over distant banjos, one of Delius’s most intoxicating effects, years before the operas of Joplin or Gershwin.

important as the revelation itself, and far more compelling than the shabby present: the lovers in A Village Romeo and Juliet ‘once more relive all those days upon the wildland’; the hero of The Magic Fountain goes on a ‘phantom quest’ in the Everglades for his lost childhood; the enslaved Prince Koanga invokes pagan magic in the twilight to recapture his lost heritage and reclaim his identity. The Proustian moment requires a rare, complicated confluence of internal and external factors, but the Delian epiphany needs only a scene from nature: a sunset over a river, a few birds singing in the twilight, a fleeting glimpse of will-o’-the-wisps. Hypnotic harmonies, mysterious pedal notes and offstage vocals take over from there. Delius’s libretti are often dismissed as ‘stilted’ and ‘grotesque’, but they are not the point. Characters say things like, ‘I feel a strange foreboding in my heart; this Voodoo will bring me to my grave’. Such lines look terrible on the page, but it is merely a kind of shorthand; Delius’s operas are not about texts and narratives but about desires, atmospheres and states of nature.

Koanga is the second of Delius’s American operas, part of a remarkable stream of pieces based on black and Native American sources that he wrote as a young man during his sojourn in Florida, where he came from England to grow oranges for his businessman father. According to music historian Cecil Grey, normally a wry and ironic observer, Delius’s music is an example of ‘that which is known to the mystics as “the state of illumination” … a kind of ecstatic revelation which may only last a split second of time, but which he who has Delius is often labelled ‘worldknown it spends the rest of his weary’ and preoccupied with life trying to recapture’. Delius Frederick Delius (1862–1934) ‘transience’, the principle told Grey that his epiphany of nature, but nature is about renewal as well as occurred ‘when he was sitting out on the veranda mortality. Delius’s shimmering harmonies, singing of his house on his orange grove in Florida, and woodwinds, flowering strings and glistening the sound came to him from the distance of the harps all convey a constant freshness and vitality. voices of negroes in the plantation, singing in His narratives do this as well: Fennimore dies, chorus’. It is the rapture of that moment that but Gerda lives; the female lovebird in Sea Drift Delius is perpetually seeking to communicate in vanishes, but her song echoes ‘in the air, in the all his characteristic work. woods, over fields’; Vrenchen and Sali sink in the One of the most direct translations of that rapture water, but the river keeps flowing over a long is Koanga, which is structured on an old plantation pedal note as the life cycle continues; Koanga tune and filled with distant slave choruses and Palmyra perish in the Louisiana bayou (a floating over the water. For Delius, as with Proust, marshy, sluggish body of water), but the planters’ the attempt to recapture a great moment is as

Koanga: Delius on the Bayou

work suited his ideological purposes. A white progressive from New Orleans, Cable presented slavery as a decadent, destructive institution: the mutilated hero is Mioko Koanga (in French, ‘BrasDelius was an admirer of Louis Moreau Coupe’ or ‘Arm Cut Off’) who, in Cable’s words, Gottschalk, the New Orleans Creole composer ‘made himself into the type of all slavery, turning whose experiments in African-American music into flesh and blood the truth that all slavery is preceded his by half a century. Gottschalk’s maiming’. Unlike the original story, the opera best work, like Delius’s, was based on euphoric begins by depicting plantation life in a nostalgic memories of jungles and swamps. The distant haze, a typical Delian atmosphere that suggests cornet soaring over strings in Gottschalk’s A Night the Old South myth of happy slaves presenting in the Tropics anticipates Delius’s far-away brass their masters’ meals in bucolic sunlight, but the and choruses in Koanga; the tangy rhumba in piece builds towards a polemic against slavery and Gottschalk’s finale is an Afro-Caribbean dance racism, one that ends by being more fierce and similar to ‘La Calinda’, which Delius used in both uncompromising than Cable’s, the Florida Suite and Koanga. with a ringing affirmation of paganism over slaveryIn his fascinating memoir, condoning Christianity. Notes of a Pianist, Gottschalk Koanga, an African prince describes the tropics as having of ‘great dignity’, refuses to ‘a voluptuous languor which work for his treacherous and is contagious… a poison sadistic white masters, Don which gradually infiltrates José Martinez and Simon all the senses’. It is easy to Perez. Martinez tries to imagine Delius writing these bribe Koanga into working lines, and in his own libretto by offering him Palmyra, a to The Magic Fountain, the young mulatto with whom opera preceding Koanga, the prince has fallen in love, he came close, evoking the but just before the wedding, ‘great swamp’ with its ‘rank Perez, who has repeatedly and luxurious vegetation’ stalked and harassed Palmyra, and fireflies glimmering ‘by George Washington Cable (1844–1925) kidnaps her. Led on by his hundreds in the heavy fragrant wife Clotilda, Palmyra’s halfair’. The Magic Fountain sister, Don José refuses to intervene. In rage and was never mounted in Delius’s lifetime, but he despair, Koanga calls down a spectacular and resurrected some of its sultriest music for the peculiarly non-selective Voodoo curse that wipes orchestral introduction to Koanga’s third act. out the plantation: ‘We shall be free, never more Delius’s source for Koanga was the brutal ‘Brasto slave!’ he shouts, as he rains down a ‘triple Coupe’ chapter (initially rejected by Scribner’s curse on land, and air, on flood’. In the violent as ‘unmitigatedly distressful’) from George finale, Koanga, incited by Palmyra (‘Kill him like Washington Cable’s novel, The Grandissimes. a dog’), runs Perez through with his spear. His Delius loved the vividness and wildness of white masters then whip him to death, bringing American literature, especially in Twain and his mutilated body out on a stretcher. Palmyra Whitman (the latter the source for some of his commits suicide after renouncing Christianity and greatest works, including Sea Drift), and Cable’s embracing Voodoo, gloating that her lover’s ‘curse daughters who hear their story late at night stay up to ‘await the sunrise’ and greet the ‘sun-kissed earth’.

Koanga: Delius on the Bayou

will stay with you! Hated whites who dared to kill a Voodoo Prince!’ In Cable’s softer ending, Koanga lifts the curse just before he dies, and Palmyra does not kill herself. Koanga is rarely performed, and it had such a tortuous history that we are lucky it survived at all. Charles Keary, a friend of Delius’s wife-to-be Jelka, offered a treatment of Cable’s story that was embellished by Frederick and Jelka, translated into German by Jelka for a 1904 Elberfield premiere after the English version Andrew Black, failed to get produced, the first Koanga translated back into English for the 1933 London premiere, and finally ‘reconstructed’ by Douglas Craig and Andrew Page for a production in 1972. It attained a brief visibility in the early twentieth century (the Daily Telegraph called it ‘an embodiment of the modern spirit’) and garnered a wonderful review from composer-critic Constant Lambert, who compared Delius to Conrad: both, he wrote, are artists of ‘retrospect’ rather than immediacy, who view wild nature as intrinsic to the action rather than a picturesque backdrop: ‘Their works are neither portraits nor landscapes, but “landscapes with figures”’. Like Conrad’s Belgian Congo, Delius’s jungles and seascapes are inseparable from his restless heroes. Nothing can really happen without those birds, will-o’-the-wisps and summer nights on the river: ‘The introduction to Act 3, though apparently static, is in essence as dramatic as any murder or suicide in an Italian opera.’ Delius’s mature works have a mysterious, static serenity conveyed by a dense, chromatic language; harmonies droop down or reach up but rarely resolve. Koanga, an early work, certainly has moments like this: ‘I Hear Palmyra’s voice’, for example, sung by Koanga against a slave chorus as

Koanga: Delius on the Bayou

Palmyra’s distant vocalise drifts over the bayou; or the haunting orchestral introduction and ‘Onyame’ chant in Act 3. But the music has many other moods and textures, indeed, more variety than any Delius opera, from the scampering children’s choruses in the opening through the soaring fanfares in ‘All hail Koanga, mighty prince’ and the fierce furioso dance (‘Voodoo must hear him’) to the spectacular sunrise in the epilogue, one of Delius’s few fortissimo endings (who says that Delius is always ‘ephemeral’?). The orchestral interlude Ella Russell, after Palmyra’s death the first Palmyra sums up the opera’s motifs in vivid technicolour (it’s hard not to think of Max Steiner’s Hollywood scores); it ends with a hypnotic string rendition of the central spiritual, which finally plays through from beginning to end after being presented through most of the opera in teasing fragments (the same strategy Delius used later in Appalachia). In Koanga, Delius began dismantling the standard distinctions between aria and ensemble, a process he carried further three years later in A Village Romeo and Juliet. Vocal lines ascend and intermingle, melting in and out of the orchestra, a method Delius called ‘flow’, where one idea meanders into another, where a melody is a birdcall or glinting reflection imperceptibly swelling into something bigger before drifting away. This is not really Wagnerian continuity, though Delius admired Wagner more than most composers. Delius is too concise and understated to be a true Wagnerian, but there are occasional bows, such as Palmyra’s voluptuous aria, ‘The hour is near when to him my soul surrender’, and Koanga’s ‘Gods of the upper air and the depths below, reveal your mighty power’, invoking a Voodoo Valhalla.

Louisiana Bayou

Koanga, Act I: Set design by Nicholas de Molas. PHOTO ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ARCHIVES

Koanga allowed Delius to directly express his empathy with African-Americans, to whom he owed the soul of his aesthetic. As Christopher Palmer points out in Delius: Portrait of a Cosmopolitan (1976), Delius connected with the sorrow and isolation of African-Americans, for they reflected his own. But there may be a more specific connection as well. All seven of Delius’s operas involve unconventional love affairs, and it’s hard not to wonder whether his alleged secret amour with a young black woman in Florida – Chloe Baker, with whom he supposedly fathered a child – is a subtext. The Magic Fountain and Koanga both involve interracial couples in America, and Koanga was written during the period Delius is believed to have revisited Florida to find Chloe and his son, only to discover, in a typically Delian narrative, that they had vanished. Whether the story is true or not, the sheer sexiness of Delius’s music is one of its most striking aspects. According to Delius’s disciple, Eric Fenby, Koanga meant something special; it seemed to ‘hold some secret bond that bound him to his youth in

Florida. It was the one work he deplored in old age he was never likely to hear again.’ In Idyll, his final opera, he returned again to a long-ago love affair, enacting the essential Delian drama, the memory of a lost passion (‘Again we wander, we love, we separate’). The concluding cadence, ‘All is over and long gone, but love is not over’, echoes the ending of Koanga, where Uncle Joe and the planters’ daughters bring alive once more the lost love of Palmyra and her African prince. Jack Sullivan is Professor of English and Director of American Studies at Rider University and Westminster Choir College. His books include Elegant Nightmares: the English Ghost Story from LeFanu to Blackwood; New World Symphonies: How American Culture Changed European Music, and Hitchcock’s Music. He is currently writing a book on New Orleans jazz. Jack Sullivan’s Wexford lecture, Hitchcock’s Music, is at 11 a.m. on 30 October in the Jerome Hynes Theatre.

Koanga: Delius on the Bayou

Koanga – Seascape

Detail, My Sea, My Sister, My Tears. SMITHSONIAN

Wexford Festival Opera thanks Ubuhle – Beautiful Beads in South Africa for giving permission to use their photographic image of ‘My Sea, My Sister, My Tears’ created by Ntombephi ‘Induna’ Ntobela. Ntombephi learned to bead from her grandmother. Her sense of beading and of the significance of colour and pattern is grounded in the traditional Mpondo framework. Ntombephi is now a master beader, and she has taught many other women to bead. Her skill as a beader was the initial impetus which led her

to co-found Ubuhle with Bev Gibson in 1999. Ntombephi is known as ‘Induna’ which means ‘leader’, a term of great respect in South Africa. The title also indicates the responsibility she feels for the community, viewing herself as the guardian of its future. Ntombephi hopes to establish the Ubuhle guild so that children, including the orphans of her sisters Bongiswa and Thembani, and other orphans cared for by the community, will one day learn to bead. A number of the artworks currently produced thus function as memorials to Ubuhle artists who have lost their lives. www.ubuhlebeads.co.za

born in africa but breastfed another mother tongue put to sleep on foreign lullabies praying for a jesus-heaven when i die (Malika Ndlovu, born in africa but)

Koanga – Seascape

Koanga – Director’s Notes

Set designs by James Macnamara for Wexford Festival Opera’s 2015 production of Koanga.

ne of the joys of directing non-canonical operas is the absence of the immanent pressure to make one’s mark by a ‘novel’ approach to well-known material. In Wexford a director becomes the conduit between an arcane opera and an unbiased audience. Delius’s opera and Cable’s forgotten novel are uniquely progressive in validating the cultural, spiritual and social identity brought to the nascent American nation by enslaved Western Africans, with an insight associated with contemporary postcolonial thought. Because western understanding of Africa is continually reductive, moulded by a few noted films set in the ‘dark continent’ and perfunctory television reports of droughts, wars and epidemics, Delius’s opera emerges as one of the most avant-garde works of its time. Koanga (1895–7) portrays the eponymous Jaloff prince – our production uses the revised libretto by Craig and Page, which makes Koanga Dahomean (Beninese) – with the gravitas usually reserved for European royalty, and discusses the complex subject of mixed ethnic identity with a foresight that predates late twentieth-century writing. Having lived on the borderline of several cultural, linguistic and religious identities, I found Delius’s ultra-progressive stance on the subject revelatory. At the height of the Victorian colonial era, Delius,

who was himself of mixed German and Dutch ancestry, devised an opera about individuals tragically trapped between two mutually exclusive cultures. His interest in reflecting African musical idioms in the score must have been radical, as was the very idea of writing an opera for black voices, three decades before Show Boat and Porgy and Bess. Equally daring is Delius’s stance on colonial capitalist greed: the enslaved African aristocrat and an illegitimate daughter of a master and a slave are exploited, emotionally and sexually, solely in order to raise the productivity levels on the estate. Typically, alcohol is used to weaken the will power. Koanga is reduced to a malleable workhorse and Palmyra used as sexual bait in order to compel obedience from the latest arrival of slaves. Extraordinarily, Delius upholds the existence of Koanga’s Voodoo gods whose spell obliterates the local population, as if the opera was a warning sign to all those who belittle the legitimacy of non-Abrahamic religions. It is an enormous honour for me and my predominantly African creative team to accept the invitation of the Festival to produce this trailblazing opera in Ireland, whose own struggle against religious, cultural and economic oppression became one of the universal points of reference. Michael Gieleta, Director Koanga – Director’s Notes

Guglielmo Ratcliff

SUPPORTED BY

Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945)

Guglielmo Ratcliff 22, 28, 31 October 8 p.m. 25 October 5 p.m. Tragedia in four acts Libretto based on Andrea Maffei’s Italian translation of the play Wilhelm Ratcliff by Heinrich Heine First performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan on 16 February 1895 Sung in Italian The performance will last approximately 2 hours. There will be a 30-minute interval after Act 2 A short introductory talk will take place in the Jerome Hynes Theatre one hour before the performance. Speaker: Elizabeth Drwal By arrangement with Casa Musicale Sonzogno The performance on 22 October is generously sponsored by Stephen Vernon The performance on 25 October is generously sponsored by Terry and Marjorie Neill 31 October Performance Sponsor

In association with Italian Institute of Culture – Dublin

Guglielmo Ratcliff Angelo Villari Maria Mariangela Sicilia Count Douglas David Stout Margherita Annunziata Vestri MacGregor Gianluca Buratto Lesley Alexandros Tsilogiannis Tom Quentin Hayes Willie Sarah Richmond Robin Henry Grant Kerswell Dick Stephen Anthony Brown Bell Matthew Wright John Rory Musgrave Taddie Raffaele D’Ascanio A Servant Simon Chalford Gilkes Dancers Mattia Agatiello, Noemi Bresciani, Alexander McCabe, Riccardo Olivier Dancers supplied by Fattoria Vittadini Supernumeraries Susan Anderson, Ryan Blanch, Zsuzsa Forgeteg, Catherine Gaul, Eoin O’Connor Conductor Director Set Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Choreographer Assistant Choreographer Stage Manager Répétiteur Surtitles

Francesco Cilluffo Fabio Ceresa Tiziano Santi Giuseppe Palella Ian Sommerville Riccardo Olivier Alexander McCabe Theresa Tsang Carmen Santoro Ian Julier

CHORUS OF WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Errol Girdlestone, Chorus Master ORCHESTRA OF WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Fionnuala Hunt, Concertmaster Production built by Laboratori Leonardo, Parma

Guglielmo Ratcliff

Guglielmo Ratcliff â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Costume Designs

Guglielmo Ratcliff

Maria

Margherita

Lesley

Costume Designs by Giuseppe Palella

Guglielmo Ratcliff â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Costume Designs

Count Douglas

Tom and Willie

Guglielmo Ratcliff – Synopsis

Act 1 In the nineteenth century, in a castle in northern Scotland, lives MacGregor, a Scottish lord, with his daughter Maria. She is engaged to Count Douglas, who arrives at the castle having survived a murderous attack by three bandits who were driven off by an unknown horseman. Maria faints and is comforted by Margherita, a mysterious old woman in the castle who repeatedly sings part of a sad ballad. Maria’s father explains that Guglielmo Ratcliff had been in love with Maria, but she rejected him and after he left Scotland

she became engaged to someone else. However, the night before their wedding her fiancé was found murdered, and later, the same fate befell another suitor. Ratcliff had sworn to take his revenge by fighting any other man Maria decided to marry and giving her as a present the fiancé’s severed hand, complete with wedding ring. He had killed two men in this way and now Ratcliff’s friend Lesley arrives with a note from Ratcliff challenging Douglas to a duel.

Act 2 At an inn, a rendezvous for thieves and bad characters, the innkeeper, Tom, asks his son Willie to recite the Lord’s Prayer. The child repeatedly stumbles over ‘And lead us not into temptation’, and his father sends him from the room, saying that he will end up like Guglielmo Ratcliff and the other customers. Ratcliff claims he is not a murderer; he had fought Maria’s suitors in lawful

duels. He tells Lesley that Maria’s rejection of him led to his compulsion to kill any other man she falls in love with. He also says that since his childhood he has had a disturbing vision of a man and woman trying, but failing, to embrace each other. He does not realise that they are the ghosts of his father and Maria’s mother.

Act 3 It is a dark, stormy night. Douglas arrives to fight the duel and recognises Ratcliff as the man who saved him from the bandits. He tries to thank him but his gratitude is scorned and Ratcliff challenges him to fight. Douglas calls on the spirits of Maria’s

two slain suitors and Ratcliff stumbles and falls. Douglas spares his life but Ratcliff sees in a dream the disturbing ghostly vision of the couple unable to reach each other. Waking up, he decides to go to the castle and see Maria again.

Act 4 Maria is preparing for her marriage to Douglas, but remembers Ratcliff and the almost hypnotic way he looked at her. Margherita suggests she might still be in love with him. She tells Maria the story of her mother, Elisa, who was in love with Edvardo Ratcliff, Guglielmo’s father. Edvardo’s violent moods frightened Elisa, so she broke off their engagement and married MacGregor. Later, Edvardo and Elisa realised that they still loved each other. When MacGregor found out, he killed Edvardo and Elisa died of grief. From this unhappy tale we learn the full story told in Margherita’s interrupted ballad. Guglielmo Ratcliff enters Maria’s room covered in blood from his duel with

Douglas, and begs Maria to run away with him. Confusing Guglielmo and herself with the ghosts of his father and her mother, Maria is almost persuaded and tends his wounds before realising they are Maria and Guglielmo, not Elisa and Edvardo. She asks him to leave; he flies into a rage and kills her and then kills her father, who rushes in on hearing her cries for help. Finally, Ratcliff kills himself. Douglas arrives, horror-struck at the bloody scene, while Margherita comments that Ratcliff and Maria’s corpses resemble the deceased Edvardo and Elisa. Both generations of star-crossed lovers can now know eternal peace.

Guglielmo Ratcliff – Synopsis

Guglielmo Ratcliff – A journey in the regions of the ideal and of the fantasy by Fulvio Venturi

Genesis

ietro Mascagni (1863–1945) took his first steps as a musician in the Istituto Cherubini in Livorno around 1875 and his first compositions were written between 1878 and 1882 (the romance Duolo Eterno!, dedicated to his father and written in memory of his mother, who had died prematurely). In 1881 Mascagni composed his first large-scale secular work, the idyll In Filanda, which was performed with great success in 1881 in the ridotto of the Teatro Carlo Lodovico in San Marco (Livorno). In 1882 he composed a cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Alla Gioia, which was performed in the Teatro degli Avvalorati, also in Livorno.

fashionable life of Milan, asking his family to send him a dress suit and patent leather shoes. In a later interview Mascagni said it was during his years at the Conservatory that he read an edition of Heine’s Wilhelm Ratcliff in the Italian translation by Andrea Maffei. It was love at first sight and for a long time he dreamed of nothing else but the ‘osteria di Tom’ (the scene in the second act) and Guglielmo’s fantastic, all-consuming passion. The verses appealed so much to Mascagni that he recited them at night, walking up and down in his room.

During that period Mascagni’s state of mind was affected by a particular event in his life. He had left a girl in Livorno, Giuseppina Acconci, who came from a The idea for In Filanda had family of musicians. Mascagni come from Alfredo Soffredini, had met and talked to her director and founder of the several times and everything Istituto Cherubini, who was seemed to suggest that an Mascagni’s teacher and author official engagement would of the text. But for his next work soon follow. But when the the young student chose the news got back to Livorno of text himself, the famous ode An his brilliant and sophisticated die Freude by Friedrich Schiller, life in Milan, the girl did which, in the Italian translation not want to hear from him by Andrea Maffei (1798–1885), anymore. It was in the midst became Alla Gioia. This was of his disappointment over an audacious choice because Giuseppina that Mascagni of Beethoven’s own setting Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) came across Heine’s tragedy of Schiller’s Ode to Joy in the about unrequited love and Finale of his Ninth Symphony, became infatuated with the subject. but his confidence was rewarded and, with the support of a sponsor, Mascagni was able to study at the Milan Conservatory under the direction of Amilcare Ponchielli. Once in Milan Mascagni became friends with other students, including Giacomo Puccini with whom he briefly shared an apartment, and an engineering student, Vittorio Gianfranceschi, who remained his friend for the rest of his life. He also began to attend performances at the major theatres in the city and to take part in the

Heine’s tragedy, simple in its plot, but complex in the psychological interpretation of the characters, absorbed the young Mascagni more than he expected. He started writing passionately to his closest friends, particularly to Vittorio Gianfranceschi, who was to be the dedicatee of the opera, telling them about the progress of the composition, with all the impetuosity of an early romantic writer, as if the character of Heine’s hero had overlapped his own. From these letters

Guglielmo Ratcliff – A journey in the regions of the ideal and of the fantasy

we know that in the attempt to give a shape to the work, Mascagni stood in front of the mirror and recited the verses with great enthusiasm. He changed intonations, cried out loud, and implored, as if he was Guglielmo Ratcliff imagining he was embracing Maria. At the same time, he was thinking of leaving the Conservatory to earn his living and to write music as he wished, and so he accepted the role of orchestra conductor with an operetta company. The news was not received well in the Conservatory and after an argument with Prof. Antonio Bazzini (1818–1897), the famous violinist and composition teacher, he was requested to leave the Conservatory. Mascagni thus started travelling through Italy with various operetta companies and the draft material for Guglielmo Ratcliff in his luggage.

Edoardo Sonzogno, as artistic director of the Teatro alla Scala, who offered him a contract for a new opera. Discussions continued during the following months and eventually, on 16 February 1895, the composer’s hopes were realised and he conducted Guglielmo Ratcliff, the ‘great’ opera of his dreams, from the podium of La Scala.

Production and reception

In Guglielmo Ratcliff Mascagni completely understood the emotional tempest and romantically aggressive feelings, mixed with melancholia, of the Caricature from Guerrin Meschino, Milanese text, which he was able satirical magazine, on the occasion of the to translate with his own world premiere of Guglielmo Ratcliff in 1895. musical language into The verses, in the Milanese dialect, state that in order to prevent La Scala from being a simple and effective empty, an altar with an Annunciation to the synthesis. The division into Milanese people has been placed in front of the four acts has a clear sense theatre to announce the coming of the Scottish of unity. If the first act does Ratcliff. On hearing this announcement, all the people of La Scala should kneel down and pray, not take off very easily, it is, thanking Sonzogno (the opera’s publisher) In 1887 during his artistic nevertheless, necessary for for having been merciful towards their journeys, Mascagni arrived a full understanding of the misfortunes. It is hoped that people will attend, at Cerignola in the Apulia plot. When the protagonist, and exhorts, ‘Mascagni, everybody is calling region in the south of Italy. Guglielmo Ratcliff, comes on you, so go on stage, and amen. There he was offered the COURTESY CASA MUSICALE SONZOGNO stage the opera captures all possibility of a permanent the elements of the literary job with a reasonable remuneration: the text with a pathos perhaps even stronger than that directorship of the local orchestra. Mascagni, of the original tragedy. Mascagni’s creativity shows whose girlfriend, Lina Carbognani (1862–1947), its strength in the naturalistic additions in the third was pregnant, accepted the offer. act (O come il vento/Fischia!) where the Scottish landscape interacts with Guglielmo Ratcliff’s The ‘Ratcliff project’ remained dormant until emotions, uniting them with the visionary moments 1893, by which time Mascagni had become famous (Non mi schernite; su lurido capo/Vo’ le rupi for Cavalleria rusticana and the comedies L’Amico scagliarvi i pini io voglio/Svellere della Scozia...), and Fritz and I Rantzau. The right opportunity thus driving the action and influencing the outcome. came with the appointment of his publisher,

Guglielmo Ratcliff – A journey in the regions of the ideal and of the fantasy

Following Heine’s dramatic structure, Mascagni’s attention focuses on four monologues, one in each act. The first presents the background (Già corre il sesto anno, sung by MacGregor); the two central monologues, both sung by Ratcliff, contribute to the progress of the drama (Quando fanciullo ancora in the second act and Ombra esecrata in the third); the last one anticipates the final tragedy (E bella, bella era tua madre, sung by Margherita). The orchestration is steered mostly by the strings and gives to the brass and woodwind sections the task of highlighting and colouring the events and settings, as in the delicate Pastorale which closes the thieves’ and rogues’ scene. String tremolos create cathartic moments, as in the epilogues of Guglielmo’s central narration (Ah! Maledetta serpe! Con occhi impauriti e strani) and in the ramblings of the final duet. The melodic line of the score is given mainly to the voice. ... returning to the romance of Guglielmo in the second act, I do not know, I am not able to describe it to you: I do not know it yet; I know that it is all heart, all passion, all pain; I do not judge it, I do not examine it cool-headed; I would be scared; maybe I would destroy everything; I know that there are 120 blank verses; maybe it cannot be performed; I do not want to know anything; I did it in this way; when I hear it I am moved; I am transported in the regions of the ideal and of the fantasy; it is enough for me! (...) This extract from a letter by Mascagni to Vittorio Gianfranceschi, written on 4 April 1886 from

Drawing of the third act (Teatro alla Scala, 1895). COURTESY CASA MUSICALE SONZOGNO

Ancona whilst composing Guglielmo Ratcliff, could explain the reasons for the opera’s short life on stage: roughly forty performances in Italy and a few more around the world in one hundred and twenty years. Very few indeed for a popular composer’s favourite opera, an opera which was received with acclaim when it first appeared and in subsequent productions. After a production of Guglielmo Ratcliff at the Teatro dal Verme in Milan, Adriano Lualdi (1885–1971) wrote in the Corriere della Sera on 14 September 1924: (…) if many consider Ratcliff as the most significant opera of the Livornese master, it seems to me that they are not wrong; and it would be right if fortune, greater than it has done until now, smiled on this score in our theatres (…) Amongst the possible causes of the limited theatrical fortunes of this opera are the complicated staging, which makes it difficult to realise, and the vocal parts, for the technical and interpretative aspects of the roles are very difficult. The very detailed development of Heine’s plot results in parts for the singers where monologues, ensemble sections and short, arresting sentences

Guglielmo Ratcliff – A journey in the regions of the ideal and of the fantasy

follow one another relentlessly. Something of the ‘Sturm und Drang’ character is present in the score. Furthermore, in line with Heine’s tragedy, the protagonist in Mascagni’s opera is a tenor who must sustain a challenging vocal texture throughout very long sections; challenging not only for the numerous top notes, but also for the consistently high tessitura. The role of Guglielmo Ratcliff has sometimes been compared with the roles of the Wagnerian Heldentenor. However, Wagner did not distribute so many A naturals and A flats throughout his Ring cycle. On the contrary, the role of Guglielmo Ratcliff should be compared with other latenineteenth-century Italian roles, such as the part of the protagonist of Asrael by Franchetti, and with several tenor roles in Ponchielli’s operas, including Azaele in Figliuol prodigo, and Didier in Marion Delorme. The other roles in Guglielmo Ratcliff have simpler parts, even though Count Douglas, a typical ‘grand seigneur’ baritone role, has a difficult first act with È sempre il vecchio andazzo and an incisive third act. Margherita, the keystone of the plot, has a very complex part, and not only from the interpretative point of view: in the rambling monologue of the fourth act, which is vocally very demanding, she must convey the evocative qualities necessary for the drama to be fully understood. The vocal quality of Maria’s role is comparable to that required for Suzel in Amico Fritz, along the lines of a soprano role such as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen. The parts of MacGregor and Tom are very interesting too: almost a reinterpretation of the nineteenth-century ‘basso cantante’, both buffo and serious. But the absolute protagonist of the opera is Guglielmo Ratcliff; his part is what it is: difficult, as the composer himself was well aware. The difficulties in staging the opera, as Mascagni feared, were soon evident during the preparations for the premiere at La Scala in 1895. Francesco Tamagno refused to sing the part of Guglielmo Ratcliff because of its excessive

length. After considering other singers, including the French Emmanuel Lafarge, the role was given to Giovan Battista De Negri (1851–1924), the most famous interpreter of Verdi’s Otello after Tamagno. Mascagni must have been grateful to him. After the premiere the critic G. B. Nappi wrote in the Perseveranza: It would prove difficult for Mascagni to find another protagonist equal to De Negri, who, with an intense full voice, a clear diction, an effective declamation, and full of lyric and dramatic expressive nuances, was able to make the role his own, to the admiration of all. On the occasion of the premiere there was greater difficulty with the role of Margherita, which had been given to an excellent French singer, Renée Vidal (1861–1911). But she fell ill and could not sing on the opening night. It was impossible to find an effective replacement, so Mascagni decided to give the role to a secondary singer, Della Rogers, but he was forced to eliminate Margherita’s great scene in the fourth act. Although severely cut, Guglielmo Ratcliff was a great success on the opening night and the success became even greater and more vibrant when Renée Vidal was eventually able to sing her role and the opera was performed in its entirety. Dr Fulvio Venturi is a prolific essayist in the area of musicology and has collaborated with several European opera companies. He is particularly interested in verismo theatre and in Mascagni: he is Consulente del Comitato Promotore Pietro Mascagni and Presidente del Centro Internazionale di Ricerca Pietro Mascagni (CIRM). Translated by Dr Antonio Cascelli, Maynooth University.

Guglielmo Ratcliff – A journey in the regions of the ideal and of the fantasy

‘Se non è vero, è ben trovato’ Reflections on Verismo in Opera by Francesco Cilluffo

ny talk about verismo in music should start with Amilcare Ponchielli, the composer who wrote La Gioconda, and, more importantly, the man who taught Mascagni and Puccini. Quite a lot for a nearly-forgotten moustached man from Cremona. Ponchielli and Arrigo Boito (composer of Mefistofele, librettist of La Gioconda and for late-period Verdi) were both exponents of the Scapigliatura, an aesthetic movement originating in Northern Italy around the 1860s. Scapigliati were interested in depicting situations in a largerthan-life fashion, looking up to French naturalism as the model for the new aesthetic tendencies of fin de siècle Europe, with a mixture of rebellion, anti-provincialism, messy hairstyles and a strong love of all things German.

clay, the composer has the power to transform into myth and abstraction what, in the plot, could be simply an ordinary everyday life gesture. To put it bluntly, as a Verga novella, Cavalleria rusticana is a crude story of Sicilian vendetta, but as a Mascagni opera, Cavalleria becomes a fresco of some of the elemental forces that shape human relationships: sex, religion, poverty and the frustrated hope of redemption. In verismo operas, music transforms the everyday ‘real’ (‘vero’, hence ‘verismo’) into archetypal situations. So the text actually becomes the pre‑text.

The real aim of verismo in music is not to focus on stories that portray ordinary life, but rather to tell stories using realistic timing and reactions. So if in the bel canto era, anger and frustration were abstracted into long, repeated lines of singing that turned events into Therefore, when in metaphors of a character’s Ponchielli’s La Gioconda the inner world, with verismo the villain Barnaba crawls around timings and the expressive Venetian canals indulging range on stage are well within in evildoing and strangling our own real-life perception. blind old women, we realise Arias get shorter, ensembles that some part of the way the are less important (unless they Verdian operatic vocabulary become part of a cinematicdepicts rebellion and evil like sequence like Tosca’s has been expanded and ‘Te Deum’ or the Easter exaggerated into something Procession in Cavalleria Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886) modern and disturbing. The rusticana), so repetitions of deformed expressions of entire sections of music or variations per se are Barnaba are the key to entering into the world of unlikely to be found. verismo and expressionism: Puccini, Mascagni This tightening of narrative pace and register is and Leoncavallo learned from Ponchielli a certain the link that connects Italian verismo to European way of vocal ‘exaggeration’ and how to transform expressionism. In fact, I strongly believe the two the realistic into the deformed and almost absurd. should be seen (and performed!) as two sides of Clearly though, naturalism in literature could never the same coin. It is no mystery that Cavalleria and be translated successfully onto the operatic stage, Pagliacci have always been and still are among the because of the very essence of opera: a genre which most-performed Italian operas in the Germanis unreality par excellence, bringing about as it speaking world, cradle of psychoanalysis and does the transfiguration of a story or a situation by expressionism. One has only to recall the famous musical means. In fact, using music as modelling Blue Angel movie with Marlene Dietrich (based

‘Se non è vero, è ben trovato’ Reflections on Verismo in Opera

La Gioconda, Amilcare Ponchielli, Wexford Festival Opera 1963. wexford festival opera archive

on a 1905 book by Heinrich Mann) to understand how much the narration of the story and its development owe to Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci. Alberto Savinio, brother of the famous surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico, used to call Berg’s Wozzeck the Cavalleria rusticana of Northern Europe; he had a good point. Verismo operatic writing has been described far too many times as just screaming (‘gridare’). But this only proves its closeness to expressionism, if we remember that The Scream is the title of that most iconic of expressionist paintings by Edvard Munch. The archetypal use of screaming, which is such a strong theatrical gesture, shows the Italian and German musical world in constant dialogue: consider the ‘Hanno ammazzato compare Turiddu’ scream at the end of Cavalleria rusticana, or the screams connected with the deaths of Klytämnestra (Strauss’ Elektra), Maria (Berg’s Wozzeck) and Lulu (Berg’s Lulu, finale of the three-act version). Even late Mahler symphonies seem to use the ‘scream-sound’ to represent unbearable sorrow and defeat (Das Lied von der Erde and the Ninth Symphony). Furthermore, if we look back in time, in Il Trovatore (1843)

/ denis o’connor

Verdi made a verismo-like use of high notes to represent Azucena’s psychological trauma, long before Freud put pen to paper or Proust started reminiscing over French cakes and tea. In a way, verismo is a continuation of this inner psychological way of thinking about music that started with Verdi, developed with Ponchielli and Boito, and reached maturity with the Giovane Scuola (Mascagni, Puccini, Cilèa, Leoncavallo and Giordano, among others), only to migrate towards the anxieties so well depicted by expressionism and the Viennese School. Listen to Franz Schreker’s Der Ferne Klang (1903–1910) and you will see the dots connecting. But how does all this translate into verismo performance practice? When performing this repertoire, one should be aware that real verismo operas are always about psychological rather than superficial drama, no matter what story is being told. While not a thoroughly verismo opera, Guglielmo Ratcliff is exemplary in this: the hero is actually an antihero, and it is the closest we ever get in an Italian opera to Verdi’s Otello after Otello. We are dealing with the psychological portrait of a man who has

‘Se non è vero, è ben trovato’ Reflections on Verismo in Opera

Sakùntala, Franco Alfano, Wexford Festival Opera 1982. wexford festival opera archive

lost his centre of gravity and is haunted by inner fears and demons.

conduct Wozzeck more as a verismo opera (listen to Böhm’s and Mitropoulos’ recordings).

Since Ratcliff was written partly before and partly after Cavalleria, it is an extraordinary opportunity to see the composer in his workshop, searching for a fine balance between heritage and modernism. This is the struggle that brought most verismo composers to migrate towards symbolism and exoticism; as Mascagni himself did with Iris and Isabeau, Puccini with Turandot, and Alfano with Sakùntala.

To conclude on a lighter note: at the time of writing, verismo is also a very successful Starbucks brand of coffee beans in America. I guess the marketing department associated the term verismo with something Italian with an exotic twist: bold, dark and yet completely refined and unmistakably southern. Most of the time, at least in opera, it is.

So, the extremes of verismo should be put into perspective and redirected towards a more psychological approach. If we listen to Mascagni’s own recordings – he was, like Mahler, a famous conductor and composer – we realise that singing always prevails over screaming, just as psychological study prevails over mere vocal exhibitionism. Conductors should conduct Cavalleria rusticana more as a dark twentiethcentury masterpiece (listen to the recordings by Sinopoli, Bernstein and Karajan!), and should

/ john ironside

Francesco Cilluffo was born in Turin in 1979. After graduating in composition and conducting from his hometown conservatoire he moved to London, where he earned a MMus at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a PhD at King’s College London. He has a busy schedule as a conductor all over the world and his compositions have been performed throughout the USA and Europe.

‘Se non è vero, è ben trovato’ Reflections on Verismo in Opera

Guglielmo Ratcliff – Director’s Notes

Set designs by Tiziano Santi for Wexford Festival Opera’s 2015 production of Guglielmo Ratcliff.

Through the looking glass

he characteristics of the soul of a people may be revealed through their belief in the power of oral tales and their awareness of their ancestors and their fables. So it was to the fable that I turned in order to find those elements that could be used to translate the complex plot of Guglielmo Ratcliff into theatrical language. It is an opera that encompasses two opposite worlds: Heine’s Scottish misty landscape on the one hand and the Mediterranean flavour of Mascagni on the other. To find a unifying element one must search deeper and look further back to find a feature that is common to the fables of both cultures: that feature is the intrusive presence of the supernatural in everyday life. The inhabitants of the parallel worlds, like the four ghosts in the story of Ratcliff, are the pivot of the dramatist’s concept of the text. Although these figures make their presence felt in a variety of ways, in the Scottish tradition the spirits are present in a single form: that of an animal. For this reason, two ghosts, Maria’s fiancés, who were both killed and mutilated by Guglielmo, are present from the beginning of the opera as two limping dogs in the manner of famuli, spirits of the domestic fire, ready to defend both the home and the owner. They are contrasted with the ghosts of the beautiful Elisa and Edvardo, two romantic figures, who long to embrace each other

once more, but who are prevented from doing so. In this production the ghosts of Elisa and Edvardo are portrayed in the form of two deer, with the majestic, beautiful presence of those who run through the woods in solitary silence, like messengers from another world. The two protagonists of the opera, Guglielmo and Maria, are aware of the supernatural but do not have any direct connection with it; they accept the fact of a hidden world, which determines their choices and actions. A third character, Margherita, is the lady of the two worlds: she is allowed to cross the threshold that divides the physical from the metaphysical and moves freely between them. As a sort of medium, or guide, Margherita weaves the thread of the drama: the spectral dogs obey her and with her old songs she evokes the spirits of the deer, thus unleashing their vengeance. The line, the threshold that separates the two worlds, is the mirror referred to in the libretto, conveyed through Guglielmo. As a sort of dimensional door, it becomes a passage between two parallel universes. When it is crossed two generations of human beings are united, and the living and the dead are thus finally enabled to find peace. Fabio Ceresa, Director Translated by Dr Antonio Cascelli, Maynooth University.

Guglielmo Ratcliff – Director’s Notes

Le PrĂŠ aux clercs

SUPPORTED BY

Ferdinand Hérold (1791–1833)

Le Pré aux clercs 23, 26, 29 October 8 p.m. 1 November 5 p.m. Opéra comique in three acts Libretto by FrançoisAntoine-Eugène de Planard after Chronique du règne de Charles IX by Prosper Mérimée First performed at the Opéra-Comique (Salle de la Bourse), Paris on 15 December 1832 Sung in French The performance will last approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. There will be a 30-minute interval after Act 1, and a 20-minute interval after Act 2 A short introductory talk will take place in the Jerome Hynes Theatre one hour before the performance. Speaker: Elizabeth Drwal By permission of Alexandre Grus A co-production between Opéra-Comique, Wexford Festival Opera and Palazzetto Bru Zane (Centre de musique romantique française), in partnership with Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian Presented with the support of the Bravura Friends of Wexford Festival Opera

Marguerite de Valois Marie Lenormand Isabelle de Montal Marie-Ève Munger Nicette Magali Simard-Galdès Baron de Mergy Nico Darmanin Comte de Comminges Dominique Côté Cantarelli Eric Huchet Girot Tomislav Lavoie Le Brigadier Felix Kemp L’exempt du guet Jan Capinski ´ Archer 1 David Howes Archer 2 Sheldon Baxter Dancers Alexandre Bado, Camille Brulais, Ghislain Grellier, Costantino Imperatore, Anna Konopska Conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud Director Éric Ruf Revival Director Laurent Delvert Set Designer Éric Ruf Costume Designer Renato Bianchi Lighting Designer Ian Sommerville Choreographer Glyslein Lefever Stage Manager Erin Shepherd Assistant Director Rob Kearley Assistant Costume Designer Vera Boussicot Répétiteurs Greg Ritchey, Marie-Ève Scarfone Surtitles Jonathan Burton CHORUS OF WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Errol Girdlestone, Chorus Master ORCHESTRA OF WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Fionnuala Hunt, Concertmaster Production built by Technoscena, Rome Presented with the support of the French Embassy in Ireland

Le Pré aux clercs

Le Pré aux clercs – Costume Designs

Cantarelli

Brighella

Girot

Comte de Comminges

Nicette

Mère de Nicette

Costume Designs by Renato Bianchi

Le Pré aux clercs – Costume Designs

Le Pré aux clercs – Synopsis

Act 1 It is 1582 in France during the Wars of Religion, ten years after the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. At a country inn near Étampes the innkeeper Nicette, and Girot, a hotelier at the Pré aux clercs in Paris (famous for duels and lovers’ trysts), celebrate their engagement. Nicette’s godmother is Marguerite de Valois, sister of Henri III, king of France, and the wife of Henry, king of Navarre. A Roman Catholic, she was forced to marry the Protestant king of Navarre in order to pacify the religious wars. Marguerite has returned to Paris from Navarre and is detained at the Louvre Palace as a hostage of peace between her husband, anxious to strengthen his claim to the throne of France, and her brother. She is accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, Isabelle de Montal, a young countess in love with Baron de Mergy, who is also from Navarre. The king of Navarre has sent Mergy to France to bring Marguerite and Isabelle back.

The engagement celebrations are disturbed by the king’s knights who attack Mergy at the inn where he is breaking his journey, but he is aided by Cantarelli who recognises Mergy as the man who saved him during the Siege of Bergerac. Cantarelli is the director of the court festivities at the Louvre and he tells Mergy that Isabelle is resisting the advances of Comte de Comminges, a royal favourite and formidable swordsman. Mergy leaves to watch the royal hunt and Comminges arrives at the inn, angry at having been delayed by fighting a duel. He tells Cantarelli that he killed his challenger. They join the royal hunting party and Marguerite and Isabelle leave the hunt and visit Nicette. The queen is concerned at Isabelle’s unhappiness, but has to tell her that it has been decided she should marry Comminges. Appalled by this news, Isabelle’s distress attracts Mergy and they embrace. Comminges is suspicious of Mergy, who is protected by his ambassadorial status; the hunt leaves for Paris, and Marguerite invites Nicette to the palace to receive her dowry.

Act 2 In the Louvre Marguerite concocts a plan for Isabelle and Mergy, who are both Protestants, to marry secretly and escape to Navarre. Nicette and Girot will also get married at the chapel of the Pré aux clercs on the same day. Cantarelli is persuaded – blackmailed – into helping them. However, Comminges confronts Cantarelli with his suspicions that there is a conspiracy to rob him of Isabelle, and threatens him. Cantarelli misleads him, saying

that Mergy’s secret love affair is with Marguerite, not Isabelle. Then the order comes through: Mergy must return to Navarre but Marguerite and Isabelle will not be permitted to leave France. Isabelle, a Protestant, must marry Comminges, a Roman Catholic, for political reasons, as Marguerite had to marry Henry. In despair, Mergy challenges Comminges to a duel. The queen is determined that both weddings should still go ahead.

Act 3 At the Pré aux clercs, across the Seine from the Louvre, Nicette and Girot are celebrating their marriage. Mergy and Isabelle are married in secret and Cantarelli arrives with their safe-conduct passes so they can escape. But there is danger, for Comminges is going to fight a stranger in a duel. He and Mergy fight and Comminges learns that it

is Isabelle whom his opponent not only loves but has married. Comminges is killed and his body put on a boat. Isabelle faints as she sees the boat passing by, but her husband reappears, alive after all, and he and Isabelle escape to Navarre with Cantarelli as their guide.

Le Pré aux clercs – Synopsis

How Hérold Saved the Opéra-Comique by Sylvia L’Écuyer

ritic Joseph d’Ortigue, writing in La Quotidienne on 2 February 1833, observed that ‘when you see the size of the crowds gathering in front of the doors of the Opéra-Comique for a performance of Le Pré aux clercs, you would think you were back in the glory days of Elleviou, Martin and Ponchard.’ These three charismatic singers had acquired a devoted following at the Opéra-Comique in the 1810s and early 1820s singing Méhul, Grétry, Auber and Boieldieu. This was the golden age of a theatre celebrated for being quintessentially French, a theatre well attuned to the taste of its Parisian public. By the early 1830s, however, its glory days were only a nostalgic memory. Constantly teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the Opéra-Comique had been forced to close for almost eighty days in 1832. First, there was the fierce cholera epidemic that hit the city in March, and then in June civil unrest brought riots to the streets of the capital. In the midst of such turmoil, Hérold’s music brought a welcome measure of solace to a dispirited public. Writing a mere two weeks after the death of the composer, and only seven weeks after the premiere of Le Pré aux clercs, d’Ortigue’s analysis suggested that the main attraction at the Opéra-Comique had now become its music, rather than its singers. Indeed, as the final curtain went down at the work’s premiere on 15 December 1832, the audience jumped to their feet, calling for the composer to take a bow, but he had already left the theatre after suffering a violent bout of tubercular bleeding. The work was an instant success, despite the misgivings of some critics. Jules Janin, for one, concluded his less than enthusiastic review in the Journal des débats with the admission: ‘Whatever I might say about Le Pré aux clercs does not matter, people loved it and it is here to stay.’ So why did the public embrace this work with such enthusiasm? And why is it worth revisiting Le Pré aux clercs today? First of all, timing was an important factor in the work’s initial success. While the public had always enjoyed dramas with a sentimental love story and happy ending, the current vogue for historical subject matter had made this tale of religious strife

How Hérold Saved the Opéra-Comique

between Catholics and Huguenots in sixteenthcentury France particularly appealing. Prosper Mérimée’s novel Chronique du règne de Charles IX (1829) on which the libretto is based, deals with one of the darkest events in French history, the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572. The twenty-five year-old Merimée had published his novel as an indictment of religious intolerance but made no claims to historical accuracy. ‘What I like about history’, Merimée wrote in the preface to his novel, ‘is the anecdotes, and the anecdotes I prefer are the ones where I can imagine a vivid portrayal of the mores and characters at a given period in time.’ The protagonists of Merimée’s Chronique, fictitious or real, gave librettist Eugène de Planard a wonderful opportunity to create a strong dramatic cast of operatic characters. In addition, the historical background of the story had considerable resonance for the Parisian public of 1832. Only two years earlier, the regime of Charles X had been brought down by a popular uprising and his cousin Louis-Philippe had replaced him as Roi des Français. The abrupt end of the Bourbon monarchy was still sorely resented by the légitimiste faction of public opinion responsible for the June riots which had convulsed the city. Renewed interest in historical study had a wide-ranging impact on cultural life in France during this period. In 1827 François-Joseph Fétis initiated a concert series featuring music ranging from medieval polyphony to Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1831 Victor Hugo fed the growing appetite for period drama and Gothic architecture with his novel Notre-Dame de Paris. Meanwhile, in the fine arts, Ingres and AlexandreÉvariste Fragonard served up idealised historical scenes in the so-called ‘troubadour style’, the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre being a favourite subject. An entire myth developed around the figure of Marguerite de Valois, Reine de Navarre, one of the main characters of Hérold’s opera, when Alexandre Dumas published his serialised novel La Reine Margot in 1844–5, giving her the bad press from which she still suffers to this day.

Scène de massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy, dans l’appartement de la reine de Navarre, Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (1836).

How Hérold Saved the Opéra-Comique

The financial hardship experienced by the OpéraComique in 1832 could be traced to a recent string of uninspiring productions, pointing to the need for a revival of the genre itself. Among the handful of original works staged in recent years none had achieved a permanent place in the repertoire, so the theatre resorted to commissioning pastiches, or patchwork operas concocted by a team of composers. A case in point was the historical drama La Marquise de Brinvilliers (1831), written by a team of nine composers including Hérold, with a hastily assembled libretto by Eugène Scribe and Castil-Blaze. With Le Pré aux clercs, however, a new era seemed to have arrived. Here was a fresh and original work with vivid, intensely dramatic scenes and tender yet elegant melodies, all buoyed up by a lively and brilliant orchestral score. The impact of this work was so great as to prompt Arthur Pougin, in his hagiographic 1906 biography of the composer, to declare that the third act of Le Pré aux clercs was ‘a masterpiece inside a masterpiece’ and Hérold ‘beyond a doubt, the greatest French musician of the first half of the nineteenth century.’ We could forgive Pougin for disregarding Berlioz, among others. After all, the composer of the Symphonie fantastique had never achieved wide public acceptance in France. Indeed, Pougin quotes at length the ferocious review that Berlioz had penned in 1835 in the Journal des débats on the occasion of the revival of another extremely successful work by Hérold, Zampa. Berlioz, bitter at the delay in mounting his own opera, Benvenuto Cellini, dismissed Hérold’s swashbuckling opéra comique with the quip: ‘C’est de la musique parisienne!’ And Berlioz had a point. Hérold’s music suited perfectly the tastes of his Parisian audience, and particularly that of the OpéraComique, where the French middle class expected to find family-oriented fare, not sublime artistic achievement, and simply wanted to be entertained. A fairer assessment would grant Hérold’s music more credit than Berlioz’s condescending remark would allow. All his life, Hérold dreamt of writing serious operas for the prestigious stage of the Académie Royale de Musique but circumstances

How Hérold Saved the Opéra-Comique

prevented him from realising his dream. In his formative years, he had certainly acquired everything he needed to succeed as a serious composer. At the Paris Conservatoire, where he was admitted at the age of fifteen, he counted among his teachers the highly esteemed pianistcomposer Jean-Louis Adam, the celebrated violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, and the composer Louis-Étienne Méhul whose innovative works displayed a masterful command of operatic orchestration. Their lessons were not lost on Hérold who won the Prix de Rome in 1811. After a brief obligatory stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, the young musician went to Naples where, on the recommendation of J-L Adam, he was appointed music teacher to the daughters of Joachim Murat, recently installed by Napoleon as King of Naples. Hérold was also invited to write an opera on a libretto of his own choosing and La Gioventù di Enrico Quinto was premiered at the Teatro del Fondo in January 1815. In preparation for writing his first important work for Paris he decided to further his education in Vienna, where in a twomonth stay he absorbed the operas of Mozart and Gluck, also meeting Salieri, for whom he had the greatest admiration. Keeping a careful record of his thoughts in a small notebook, Hérold indicated why he resisted the idea of writing an opera for the Austrian capital: ‘It is not in my interest to write an opera for Vienna. If it succeeds, it will not likely be performed in Paris, whereas if I make a good one for Paris, it will likely be performed here.’ And the future proved him right. Returning home in August 1815, Hérold was hired as a rehearsal pianist at the Théâtre-Italien, a post he held until 1826. As his knowledge of the lyrical repertoire grew, his ambitions still remained focused on the Opéra. But circumstances always brought him back to the Opéra-Comique. In 1816, Boieldieu, the most celebrated composer in France at the time, asked him to write the second act of his opéra comique, Charles de France, a work that received high praise. The next year Hérold’s Les Rosières and La Clochette earned him further acclaim at the same theatre. A lean period

ensued, and then in 1821, Hérold travelled to Italy and returned with two superb acquisitions: the soprano Giuditta Pasta, and the score of Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto which was immediately accepted at the Théâtre-Italien. In 1826 Hérold seems to have found his own voice. His gently melancholic and touching Marie triumphed at the Opéra-Comique, with one hundred performances during its first year alone, but his hopes of writing a serious opera were dashed again when the Opéra, hiring him as a chef de chant in 1826, asked him for … ballets! La Somnambule, La Fille mal gardée and La Belle au bois dormant were all successful. Meanwhile the Opéra-Comique, after closing for renovations, reopened in May 1831 with Zampa ou la Fiancée de marbre. Italianate in its vocal treatment, with a plot vaguely reminiscent of Don Giovanni, Zampa received both the highest praise and the most disparaging reviews. Its success was compromised by the financial difficulties of the theatre and by the defection of Chollet, the singer for whom Hérold had specifically written the demanding role of Zampa, which required a high baritone voice, exceptional range, and dramatic stage presence. No one dared to tackle the role after his departure. Hérold’s music was more sophisticated than the usual fare at the Opéra-Comique. The composer had set himself high standards, as we can see from the little notebook entitled ‘Venise 1815 – Cahier rempli de sottises plus ou moins grandes, rassemblées en forme de principes par moi’ which Pougin quotes at length in his biography. This ‘notebook full of nonsense’ establishes principles which were to be Hérold’s mantras for the rest of his life. Here are a few of them: Why not use different styles in a largescale work? Songs have to come from the soul to reach the soul of the listeners.

If I ever write for the stage again, I have to give each character, for a tragic work, a distinctive voice, guided by the text. Citing as his models Salieri, Mozart, Gluck and Piccinni, he reminds himself to re-read Grétry’s Memoirs, and … to remain true to himself. These principles are all found in the score of Le Pré aux clercs. Many styles are readily found in the overture, including a fugato passage and an accelerando à la Rossini. Then follows a joyful, animated opening scene with Nicette, Girot and the choir, featuring the duo ‘Les rendez-vous de noble compagnie’, which became wildly popular. The entrance of the tenor, Mergy, brings a new tenderness, his light voice blooming into an expressive coloratura at the words ‘la crainte et l’espérance font palpiter mon cœur’. Isabelle’s tender romance ‘Souvenirs du jeune âge’ touched the soul of its first listeners and continued to do so for a century afterwards. The same tinge of sadness colours the opening of the second act in Isabelle’s aria ‘Jours de mon enfance’ with its heart-wrenching violin obbligato. Nicette’s song in the third act is a gem in classic opéra comique style, as is the playful trio that follows. And Hérold’s mastery in building a great scene is on full display in the opera’s finale, a perfect example of the pleasures in store for modern audiences of today! Sylvia L’Écuyer is a musicologist and broadcaster. Music producer for Radio Canada since 1985, she is the host and producer of the network’s weekly opera programme, Place à l’Opéra. She is also Associate Professor at Université de Montréal. Her writings on music have been published in many languages. She was awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Consider carefully the character of the scene and determine if languor, or vigour, tenderness or melancholy, joy or sadness should dominate.

How Hérold Saved the Opéra-Comique

From the fairground to the heights of French art: opéra comique and Le Pré aux clercs by Clair Rowden

n 2015 the Opéra-Comique in Paris celebrates its three hundredth anniversary. This historic institution, and its associated genre (opéra comique), represents an eminent tradition born of very lowly origins in seasonal fairground shows in Paris in the late seventeenth century: the Foire Saint-Germain took place on the left bank of the Seine during Lent, and the Foire Saint-Laurent ran through the summer months on the right bank.

plots. Over the next thirty years, and following the 1762 merger, the genre was reified and nobilised. The luxurious first Salle Favart was opened in 1783 (the current theatre is the third Salle Favart), inaugurated in the presence of Queen Marie-Antoinette. Thus, by the end of the eighteenth century, under the direction of Charles-Simon Favart (1710–1792) after whom the Opéra-Comique theatre is named, opéra comique had reached an apogee with two differing strands of spectacle: the one witty, amusing, naïve, sentimental and gay, the other more tragic and dramatic, displaying vibrant and pathetic humanity. Indeed, the adjective ‘comique’ in the title of the genre was more synonymous with ‘theatrical’ rather than anything funny, and during the Revolutionary period and years of the First Republic, French opéras comiques were capable of supporting more serious plots, even ending tragically, such as Cherubini’s Médée (1797), which prefigured the darker and more dramatic opéras comiques of the second half of the nineteenth century.

In 1714 a royal privilege was granted for the performance of a new genre with alternating spoken and sung passages, against strict competition from the Académie royale de musique (today the Opéra de Paris) which reserved the right to perform completely sung new works in French, and the ComédieFrançaise which retained exclusivity for spoken drama. Indeed, the directors of the Comédie-Française, jealous of the success of the OpéraComique troupes, managed several times in the 1720s to obtain legal rulings banning all fairground spectacles except puppet shows and tightrope Ferdinand Hérold In July 1807, the Opéra-Comique acts. It was only really in 1762, (1791–1833) is cited as one of the four Parisian with the merger of the Opéra‘grands théâtres’ by official Comique with the ComédieImperial decree, which also Italienne (which had been defined the genre as ‘any comedy or drama formerly associated with the Comédie-Française comprising songs, short airs and ensemble pieces against the Opéra-Comique), that put paid to this … the dialogue of these works must alternate long rivalry. Thereafter one united company was with singing’. But the fortunes of the Opéraallowed to flourish and develop. Comique during the Restoration period, under Thus, at its origins opéra comique was largely an increasingly old-regime-type monarchy, were text-based, with very little original or newly highly unstable. From 1828–1832, the Opéracomposed music. Arias from the Opéra repertoire, Comique was in financial crisis, with bankruptcies popular and folksong tunes were adapted to fit and directors and/or associates falling like the new texts. However, the first opéra comique dominoes. The troupe, then resident at the Salle with original music dates from 1753, and from Ventadour, was forced to move to a smaller this point onwards the comical stories typical cheaper house, the Salle de la Bourse, where they of the fairground troupes tended to be replaced remained until 1840. with more dramatic, entertaining and emotional

From the fairground to the heights of French art: opéra comique and Le Pré aux clercs

Ferdinand Hérold (1791–1833), a respected composer whose works included ballets for the Paris Opéra where he had been a repetiteur since October 1826, had his first opera, La Gioventù di Enrico Quinto, performed in Naples in 1815 whilst working as a pianist at the court

in Paris, from Méhul and Rossini, to Weber and Meyerbeer. Indeed, this sentimental love story with a happy ending is set against the historic backdrop of the French wars of religion in the sixteenth century, as was the near-contemporary opera, Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots.

The Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott first appeared in French translation in 1816, and their popularity soon swept across Europe. In 1827, Victor Hugo in 7 the famous preface to his historical drama Cromwell, incited artists 4 5 to resuscitate history by leafing through and interrogating its pages, to reproduce the reality of historical facts and social mores, to drink in historical colour. At the same 6 time, his contemporaries Alfred de Vigny and Prosper Mérimée were reinventing the French historical novel, Mérimée publishing his Chronique du règne de Charles IX in 1829. The fashion for Romanticised Theatres of the Opéra-Comique (engraving for the centenary of the first Salle Favart on neo-Gothic and Renaissance 28 April 1883): 1. Salle de la Foire St Laurent; 2. Hôtel de Bourgogne; 3. Salle Favart (1st); subjects incited both Eugène Scribe 4. Salle Feydeau; 5. Salle Ventadour; 6. Salle de la Bourse; 7. Salle Favart (2nd). (for Meyerbeer) and Eugène de Planard (for Hérold) to draw libretti from Mérimée’s Chronique, with Meyerbeer’s of Queen Caroline. Hérold, born into a family ‘grand opera’ foregrounding the bloody Saint of distinguished musicians and having followed Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) and the a prestigious apprenticeship and career path impossible love of a Catholic and Huguenot, while which took him via the Paris Conservatoire and de Planard for the Opéra-Comique concentrated the Prix de Rome, the Paris Opéra and Théâtre on the calmer period ten years later, during the des Italiens, began composing for the Opérareign of Henri III, with a story of an harmonious Comique in 1816. His greatest successes there idyll, threatened only by the absurd ritual of were Zampa (1831) (Wexford, 1993) and Le Pré the duel. De Planard sets his story in the stretch aux clercs (1832), the latter premiered just five of grasslands (‘le pré aux clercs’) on the left weeks before the forty-one year-old composer bank opposite the Louvre used by bourgeois succumbed to tuberculosis. Le Pré aux clercs was promenaders, relaxing students and querulous considered his masterpiece in opéra comique, men out for revenge. While certain critics of steering a careful path between the lighter and Mérimée’s novel were eager to read a critical more tragic veins of the genre, and representing allusion to the contemporary political regime in a successful synthesis of the traditions and France (the increasingly despotic, yet soon to fall, influences on his own writing that were present 1

From the fairground to the heights of French art: opéra comique and Le Pré aux clercs

De Planard’s and Hérold’s opéra comique was first performed to great acclaim in December 1832 at the Salle de la Bourse. The staging of the opera received careful attention: costumes and scenery were lavish and the John Daniecki as Zampa and Mary Mills as Camille, Zampa, Wexford Festival Opera 1993. theatre’s best singers were employed in the principal roles. However, the Opéra-Comique and Wexford Festival Opera to capricious Madame Casimir defected from the resuscitate and breathe life into this work. Le Pré role of Isabelle after only the first performance. aux clercs is the epitome of Restoration Parisian The role was filled by the Flemish singer Julie charm and gaiety set against a grand historical Dorus (the future Dorus-Gras), who was backdrop, and is typical of the highflown drama of graciously loaned to the Opéra-Comique by Louis the Romantic era. Véron, director of the Paris Opéra where Dorus was a member of the troupe. Already seriously ill Clair Rowden is Senior and incapable of taking a bow at the premiere, Lecturer and Deputy Head Hérold spent five days rehearsing with the of School in the School of virtuosic Dorus, but she remained ill at ease in the Music, Cardiff University. spoken dialogue and acting style of the OpéraShe has published widely on Comique. From 1832 onwards, Le Pré aux clercs Massenet’s operas, as well as never left the Opéra-Comique stage. It was on the press reception and iconography of opera performed to inaugurate the second Salle Favart in and dance in France during the long nineteenth 1840, attaining its one thousandth performance in century. She is the editor of an interdisciplinary 1871. A revival was staged in 1891 to mark the collection of essays entitled Performing Salome, centenary of Hérold’s birth, and by 1949, 1,608 Revealing Stories (Ashgate, 2013) and is currently performances of the work had been given at the preparing a book on opera and parody. Opéra-Comique. Indeed, it was a staple of Parisian operatic life for more than one hundred years, and it falls to the inspired programming of today’s

From the fairground to the heights of French art: opéra comique and Le Pré aux clercs

PHOTO BY AMELIA STEIN

Charles X standing in for Charles IX), it is merely used as a starting point for the opera, despite retaining the novel’s historical framework and certain characters such as the queen, Marguerite de Valois, to stimulate the imagination of the librettist and composer. In traditional fashion, de Planard places two couples of lovers at the centre and surrounds them with a spurned fiancé, an eccentric Italian (a Scapin/Scappino figure common to French comedies and to Italian commedia dell’arte), and a queen pulling everyone’s strings.

Defending the integrity of romantic opéra comique – Interview with Director Éric Ruf

Set designs by Éric Ruf for Wexford Festival Opera’s 2015 production of Le Pré aux clercs.

Do opéra comique and romantic drama display similar characteristics? There is an obvious parallel with the dramatic repertoire. Le Pré aux clercs is contemporaneous with the composition of Lucrèce Borgia, only two months apart: December 1832 for the opéra comique and February 1833 for the drama. Each reveals the writer’s desire to abandon impressive historical figures and to portray instead crude humanity and life’s vagaries and vicissitudes. It’s a form of theatre that should be taken seriously; that truly asserts its desire for beauty. One should be true to it: adopt the suspense, the ambush, the misunderstandings. Always subservient to the stage, Hérold’s score reveals the fantastic nature of this opéra comique, which was a popular complete spectacle, with its mixture of genres, tones and Shakespearean ambition. I want to exploit everything in the text: the great story, the chorus, the palace, the secondary roles, the sword fight … Which period does the staging represent, the action of the opera or the music? Modernising the space didn’t interest me. We preserved its historical reality and natural beauty so as not to blur the duplicity and the very ‘comic opera’ nature of certain situations and characters. Renaissance costumes are true to the characters and define them well.

What about your design? I looked for something neutral, which would place the focus on the characters. Hence the desire for a set design of trees, prompted by the places where the action takes place: the first act in the forest of Étampes, the last on the Pré aux clercs, the treelined Parisian promenade. How did you approach the spoken-sung convention of opéra comique? I really love this convention, and I accept it in the same way I accept in tragedy either the use of alexandrines or Shakespearean iambic pentameter. In addition to the quality of the music, its use within the opera is always relevant to the drama. It is necessary to help others to understand why we alternate between spoken and sung speech. Song at one point provides the opportunity for reflection. Elsewhere, when violence and the need for reaction are imminent, music serves as an outlet. Understanding each of these transitions allows us to appreciate the complementary nature of these two modes of expression in opéra comique. Interview by Agnès Terrier Translated by Tim Hicks

Defending the integrity of romantic opéra comique – Interview with Director Éric Ruf

ShortWorks

PHOTO © PAULA MALONE CARTY

ShortWork – Portraits de Manon Jules Massenet (1842–1912)

Portraits de Manon 22, 28 October, 3.30 p.m. 25 October, 11 a.m. WHITES HOTEL Sung in French Libretto by Georges Boyer Le Portrait de Manon was first performed on 8 May 1894 at the Opéra-Comique, Paris This production is made possible by the generous support of The Lord Magan of Castletown

Manon Lescaut, a young woman with an ardent and loving nature, as well as extravagant and luxurious tastes, who came to the moralist’s ‘bad end’, was the heroine of a short novel by l’Abbé Prévost, the seventh and final volume of Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality, which was banned in France when it was published in 1731. Nevertheless, the story became extremely popular and was the subject of operas by Massenet, Puccini, Auber and Hans Werner Henze, and of several films. The character of Manon was also mentioned in literary works by Dumas, Oscar Wilde, Stendahl, Foucault, James Joyce, Dorothy L. Sayers and many others, attesting to her hold on the public imagination.

in love with Aurore but she is neither wealthy nor of noble birth and Des Grieux forbids their marriage. Possibly he does not want Jean to be hurt in love as he was hurt by Manon. However, it turns out that Aurore is the niece of Des Grieux’s beloved Manon and so all ends happily. After the tragedy of Manon, Le Portrait de Manon is a charming and exhilarating sequel.

Massenet wrote Le Portrait de Manon in 1894 as a oneact opéra comique sequel or epilogue ten years after his superlatively successful 1884 opera Manon, which established him as the leading French opera composer of his generation.

Le Portrait de Manon

This ShortWorks production, Portraits de Manon, begins with Act Two Scene 3 of Manon, a pivotal scene in which the two lovers are forced to face the fragility of their situation. This scene is followed by Massenet’s own oneact opera sequel, Le Portrait de Manon. In Le Portrait de Manon, to a libretto by Georges Boyer, Massenet returned to the character of the Chevalier des Grieux, who is now an old man obsessed with memories of Manon, his lost love. Des Grieux’s nephew Jean is

Scene from Manon Chevalier des Grieux Stephen Anthony Brown Manon

Eunhee Kim

Chevalier des Grieux Tiberge

Ian Beadle Stephen Anthony Brown

Jean de Moncerf Aurore

Emma Watkinson Maria McGrann

Music Director Director

Marie-Ève Scarfone Rob Kearley

Lighting Designer Stage Manager

John Crudden Jennifer Llewellyn

Production Manager

Conor Mullan

Costume Supervisor

Frances White

Properties Design Coordinator Patricia Bonham Corcoran

Additional information on our ShortWork operas, including artists’ biographies and director’s notes, can be found in our ShortWorks Daytime Programme Book, available for purchase at each ShortWork venue and our Box Office. ShortWork – Portraits de Manon

ShortWork – Hansel and Gretel Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921)

Hansel and Gretel 23, 26, 29, 31 October, 3.30 p.m. WHITES HOTEL Sung in English Libretto by Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale Hansel and Gretel First performed on 23 December 1893 at the Hoftheater, Weimar This production is made possible by the generous support of The Lord Magan of Castletown

Humperdinck, whose music shows the influence of Wagner, for whom he worked from 1880 until shortly before Wagner’s death in 1884, wrote much vocal music, but his best-known and most popular work is Hänsel und Gretel, which grew out of four songs he composed in 1890 to words by his sister Adelheid Wette, who re-told (and modified) one of the tales collected and published in 1812 by the Grimm brothers. This was the story of a young brother and sister in the forest and their escape from the witch who intended to eat them. The story probably originated in the Great Famine (1315–1317) in Northern Europe, when desperation, caused by starvation and disease, led to child abandonment and cannibalism. Humperdinck developed Adelheid’s songs into a Singspiel, sixteen songs with piano accompaniment, and gave it to Hedwig Taxer at Christmas 1890 as an engagement present. He followed it up a year later with a draft of the full three-act opera as a Christmas present for her and completed the opera in September 1893, family and working life having restricted his time for composition. His friend Richard Strauss directed the first performance in Weimar on 23 December 1893. It was an immediate and outstanding success and spread throughout Europe: Mahler gave the first performance in Hamburg in September 1894 and Weingartner conducted it in Berlin in October in the presence of the Kaiser; Cosima Wagner directed it in Dessau in November and Vienna in December, attended by

Humperdinck, Brahms and Wolf. Performances in London and New York soon followed, in English as well as German versions, and in 1923 a performance at Covent Garden was the first complete opera to be broadcast from an opera house in Europe.

Hansel and Gretel Father Mother

Sheldon Baxter Kate Allen

Hansel

Anna Jeffers

Gretel

Emma Nash

Witch

Christina Gill

Sandman

Frances Israel

Dew Fairy

Rachel Croash

Music Director Children’s Chorus Director Director Lighting Designer Stage Manager

Janet Haney Elizabeth Drwal Jack Furness John Crudden Katie Thackeray

Production Manager

Conor Mullan

Costume Supervisor

Frances White

Properties Design Coordinator Patricia Bonham Corcoran

ShortWork – Hansel and Gretel

ShortWork – Tosca Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

Tosca 24, 27, 30 October, 3.30 p.m. 1 November, 11 a.m. WHITES HOTEL Sung in Italian Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa First performed on 14 January 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome This production is made possible by the generous support of The Lord Magan of Castletown

Puccini’s fifth opera, Tosca, was an immediate success with the public at its premiere in 1900 and has remained one of the most enduringly popular of all operas. Written four years after La Bohème and four years before Madama Butterfly, its tremendous vitality is a tribute to Puccini’s technical skill. He succeeded so well that the tragedy of the singer Floria Tosca, her republican lover, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, and the scheming, sadistic chief of the Rome police, Baron Scarpia, has remained vividly present in the collective imagination ever since. Victorien Sardou’s 1887 melodrama La Tosca, written for Sarah Bernhardt, was immensely popular and Puccini made great efforts to obtain the rights to make it into an opera libretto. His librettists, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, eventually succeeded in creating a libretto that satisfied Puccini.

attention of Scarpia, who lusts after Tosca and will do anything to make her his own, including destroying Cavaradossi. Puccini’s intention was to represent reality by putting music at the service of the drama. He did this so well, with such expressive economy and tension, that the dramatic finale is inevitable.

Three opening chords, which represent the vindictive character of Scarpia, are heard at the beginning, so the opening scenes in the church are underpinned by an atmosphere of political instability. Menace and fear are frighteningly normal and reflect the historical reality of the political background of Rome in June, 1800, when the Kingdom of Naples’ control of Rome was threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy. This instability is increased by the contrasting lyrical beauty of the arias and duets of Tosca and Cavaradossi. But their happiness is doomed. Cavaradossi helps Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, to hide, which brings him to the

Sciarrone

David Howes

Music Director

Greg Ritchey

Tosca Floria Tosca Mario Cavaradossi Baron Scarpia Cesare Angelotti A Sacristan Spoletta

Director

Eunhee Kim Alexandros Tsilogiannis Quentin Hayes Henry Grant Kerswell Jan Capinski ´ Raffaele D’Ascanio

Dafydd Hall Williams

Lighting Designer

John Crudden

Stage Manager

Éanna Whelan

Production Manager

Conor Mullan

Costume Supervisor

Frances White

Properties Design Coordinator Patricia Bonham Corcoran

Concerts, Recitals, Lectures

Recitals, Lectures 46 PHOTO BY Concerts, SEAN Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; RIORDAN

PHOTO: SEAN O’ RIORDAN

Lunchtime Recitals

Thursday 22 October Friday 23 Saturday 24 Tuesday 27 Wednesday 28 Thursday 29 Friday 30 Saturday 31

Jeff Gwaltney Annunziata Vestri Marie-Ève Munger Aubrey Allicock Magali Simard-Galdès/Dominique Côté Nozuko Teto Mariangela Sicilia Nico Darmanin

ST IBERIUS CHURCH 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 October 1.05 p.m. Tickets ¤15

The Lunchtime Recitals (approximately fifty minutes’ duration) are part of a long-established Wexford tradition. They offer a unique opportunity to hear some of the Festival’s principal artists perform in solo recitals in the beautiful and acoustically excellent eighteenth-century church of St Iberius in the centre of Wexford. Performers subject to change – please see notices at the Opera House Box Office and St Iberius Church during the Festival for the latest schedule and at Wexfordopera.com.

Lunchtime Recitals

PHOTO: MELISSA DOWNHILL

Dr Tom Walsh Lecture

JEROME HYNES THEATRE THE NATIONAL OPERA HOUSE Saturday 24 October 11 a.m. Tickets ¤10

OPERA: thriving hybrid of artistic collaboration, or constant battle of aspiration over experience? The 2015 Dr Tom Walsh Lecture will be given by Stephen Barlow, conductor of Koanga and Artistic Director of Buxton Festival. Opera is the fusion or, more loosely, the collision of music, lights, scenery and narrative drama and surely doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously as artistic activity by anyone interested in music or theatre. ‘Music expresses nothing’, wrote Stravinsky, pure in itself but bereft of meaning. So why and how did composers wrangle their art into operatic shape? Does music become the servant of the word? Can conductor and director be interested in the same thing? Stephen Barlow’s conducting career developed in the UK, where his long association with Glyndebourne began in 1977, and he made his international debut as an opera conductor in 1989 with Vancouver Opera. He is also a pianist and composer. He has recorded the complete songs of Delius with baritone Mark Stone, and his compositions include a Clarinet Concerto for Emma Johnson, Rainbow Bear for orchestra and narrator, which he recorded with his wife Joanna Lumley, and an opera, King, about Thomas Becket and King Henry II. Tea and coffee will be served from 10 a.m. before the Lecture. The Dr Tom Walsh Lectures were instituted to celebrate the memory of the Wexford GP, Dr Tom Walsh (1911-1988), who founded the Wexford Festival of Music and the Arts in 1951 and was its first Artistic Director (1951–1966). Kindly supported by Victoria Walsh-Hamer

Dr Tom Walsh Lecture

PHOTO: GER LAWLOR

Gala Concert

The Gala Concert is one of the highlights of the Wexford Festival Opera calendar. Featuring party pieces from members of the Festival Company, it is a very special opportunity to see and hear the stars of the opera stage display some of their many – sometimes surprising – talents. The annual Gala Concert is in the grand tradition of Wexford Festival Opera. Singers donate their services for the occasion and all proceeds go towards supporting the programmes of the Festival.

O’REILLY THEATRE THE NATIONAL OPERA HOUSE Sunday 25 October 9 p.m. Tickets from ¤50 Hosted by Name To Come

Presented with the support of

Gala Concert

PHOTO: KRISTIN SPEED

Tara Erraught in Recital

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;REILLY THEATRE THE NATIONAL OPERA HOUSE Monday 26 October 11 a.m. Tickets Â¤25

Tara Erraught (mezzo-soprano) and Henning Ruhe (piano) Tara Erraught, who was born in Dundalk, garners critical praise and enthusiastic audience acclaim wherever her increasingly busy international opera career takes her. A graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, she studies with Veronica Dunne and with Brigitte Fassbaender in Munich, where she makes her home. She has been a member of the opera studio at the Bavarian State Opera since 2008. Henning Ruhe, a native of Hamburg, received his advanced piano performance training under Arne Torger at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar. The winner of several national and international competitions, he has performed internationally in piano recitals, chamber music concerts and song recitals. In 2008 Ruhe was appointed Director of the Opernstudio, the young artist programme of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Programme to include songs by Liszt, Richard Strauss, Delius and Quilter, plus operatic arias. Detailed information is available in the programme book for the recital. Generously sponsored by Beverly Sperry in memory of her husband Martin Meehan

Tara Erraught in Recital

Jack Sullivan – Hitchcock’s Music

‘It may seem far-fetched to compare a dramatic talkie with opera, but there is something in common’, Hitchcock wrote in the 1930s. ‘It is through music’, he said, that we ‘express the unspoken’.

JEROME HYNES THEATRE THE NATIONAL OPERA HOUSE

In his highly acclaimed book, Hitchcock’s Music, hailed as a milestone in Hitchcock criticism, Jack Sullivan explored the essential role and power of music in Hitchcock’s films. Hitchcock used music to convey suspense, but he also knew that music can hint at more than it says and can suggest a state of mind at odds with a character’s appearance. He changed the way we think about film music.

Friday 30 October 11 a.m. Tickets ¤10

In Saboteur the blind pianist expresses a philosophy of music that comes close to Hitchcock’s. Welcoming Barry, the wrongman hero, into his house, the pianist plays Delius’s Summer Night on the River. Against languid arpeggios he talks about the ability of musical sound to create connectedness in a disconnected world, and like the blind Delius he sees with a vision deeper than sight. Music enables him to ‘see intangible things’ and to understand that Barry is innocent of the charges against him. Jack Sullivan is Professor of English and Director of American Studies at Rider University and Westminster Choir College. His books include Elegant Nightmares: the English Ghost Story from LeFanu to Blackwood; New World Symphonies: How American Culture Changed European Music, and Hitchcock’s Music. He has written for Opera, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Carnegie Hall’s Stagebill. He is currently writing a book on New Orleans jazz. Jack Sullivan – Hitchcock’s Music

PHOTO: FOPPE SCHUT

Nathalia Milstein – Piano Recital

Born in 1995 to a musical family, Nathalia Milstein began playing the piano at the age of four with her father, Sergei Milstein. She entered the Geneva Conservatory of Music in 2009, obtaining her diploma with honours in 2012, and is currently studying for her Master’s degree at the Geneva High School of Music with Nelson Goerner.

O’REILLY THEATRE THE NATIONAL OPERA HOUSE

In May 2015 Nathalia Milstein launched her international career by winning First Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition. One of the Competition’s youngest winners and the first female winner, her prize includes prestigious recital and concerto engagements in Ireland, Europe and North America.

Tickets ¤25

Programme to include works by Mozart, Brahms, Bartók and Ravel. Detailed information is available in the programme book for the recital.

Nathalia Milstein – Piano Recital

Saturday 31 October 11 a.m.

Artist Biographies

PHOTO © CLIVE BARDA/ARENAPAL

Artist Biographies

Artist Biographies Kate Allen

Aubrey Allicock

Mezzo-soprano, Ireland

Bass-baritone, USA

Koanga Hansel and Gretel

Koanga

previously at wfo:

Madeleine Audebert (Silent Night, Puts, 2014); Angelina [Cenerentola] (La Cenerentola, Rossini, 2014). previous engagements: Suzuki (Madama Butterfly, Puccini, Castleton Festival); Concepcion (L’Heure Espagnole, Ravel, Castleton Festival); Maddalena (Rigoletto, Verdi, Opera Theatre Company). forthcoming engagements: Recital (National Concert

Hall, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra).

previously at wfo: Oompa Loompa (The Golden Ticket, Ash & Sturrock, 2010). previous engagements: Argante (Rinaldo, Handel, Glyndebourne); Mamoud (The Death of Klinghoffer, Adams, The Metropolitan Opera); Angelotti (Tosca, Puccini, Seattle Opera). forthcoming engagements: Soloist (Requiem, Mozart,

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra); Escamillo (Carmen, Bizet, Komische Oper Berlin); Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart, Seattle Opera).

Awarded Wexford Festival Opera Emerging Artist, 2014.

Raffaele D’Ascanio

Stephen Barlow*

Tenor, Italy

Conductor, United Kingdom

Guglielmo Ratcliff Tosca

Koanga

previously at wfo:

Officier (Thérèse, Massenet, 2013); Tenor Ensemble (L’Elisir d’amore, Donizetti, 2013). previous engagements: Duca di Mantova (Rigoletto,

Verdi, Nordhausen Theatre, Germany); Ferrando (Così fan tutte, Mozart, Singapore Lyric Opera); Cecco (Il Mondo della Luna, Haydn, Forum Sinfonietta, Festival Sedière).

Conductor (Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss, Glyndebourne); Conductor (Turandot, Puccini, Royal Opera House); Conductor (Capriccio, Richard Strauss, San Francisco Opera). forthcoming engagements: Conductor

(La Cenerentola, Rossini, Stuttgart Staatsoper); Artistic Director/Conductor (Buxton Festival Opera).

Sheldon Baxter*

Stephen Anthony Brown*

Baritone, Canada

Tenor, United Kingdom

Le Pré aux clercs Hansel and Gretel

Guglielmo Ratcliff Portraits de Manon

previous engagements: Count

previous engagements: Tenor

Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart, European Music Academy); Germont (La Traviata, Verdi, European Music Academy); Maximilian (Candide, Bernstein, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra).

previous engagements:

Artist Biographies

Soloist (Gabriel, Purcell, The Globe Theatre, London); Spoletta (Tosca, Puccini, Lyric Opera, Dublin); Tenor Soloist (Between Worlds, Tansy Davies, English National Opera).

Gianluca Buratto

Jan Capinski* ´

Bass, Italy

Baritone, Poland

Guglielmo Ratcliff

Le Pré aux clercs Tosca

previously at wfo: Marco (Virginia, Mercadante, 2010); Colline (La Bohème, Puccini, 2010). previous engagements: Sir Giorgio (I Puritani, Bellini, Opera di Firenze, Florence); Basso (Mysterium, Rota, Pomeriggi Musicali, Milan); Caronte & Plutone (L’Orfeo, Monteverdi, Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, New York).

previous engagements: Armando (L’Assedio di Calais, Donizetti, English Touring Opera); Moralès (Carmen, Bizet, Mid Wales Opera); Father (Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck, Garsington Opera at West Green House). forthcoming engagements: (Dust Child, James

Garner, English Touring Opera).

forthcoming engagements: Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte,

Mozart, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège); Timur (Turandot, Puccini, Opéra de Montpellier); Jacopo Loredano (I due Foscari, Verdi, Hilversum).

Boyzie Cekwana*

Fabio Ceresa*

Choreographer, South Africa

Director, Italy

Koanga

Guglielmo Ratcliff

previous engagements: Choreographer (In case of Fire, run for the Elevator, Potsdam, Germany); Choreographer (Inkomati (dis)Cord, with Panaibra Canda, 2012); Choreographer (Influx Controls: I wanna be, wanna be, Zurich, Switzerland). forthcoming engagements:

Choreographer (Banana Republics – Here be Dragons, Hamburg, Germany); Choreographer (Ridiculous Indeed, with Moya Michael).

previous engagements: Director (I Puritani, Bellini, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Florence); Director (Madama Butterfly, Puccini, Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari); Director (I Puritani, Bellini, Teatro Regio, Turin). forthcoming engagements: Librettist

(Two Women [La Ciociara], Marco Tutino, San Francisco Opera); Director (Madama Butterfly, Puccini, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon).

Francesco Cilluffo*

Vivien Conacher

Conductor, Italy

Mezzo-soprano, Australia

Guglielmo Ratcliff

Koanga

previous engagements: Conductor (Il Campiello, Wolf-Ferrari, Opera di Firenze, Florence); Conductor (L’Elisir d’Amore, Donizetti, Teatro Regio, Parma); Conductor (Le Braci, Marco Tutino, Festival della Valle d’Itria, Martina Franca). forthcoming engagements: Conductor (Le Braci,

previous engagements: Rivka (Fiddler on the Roof, Bock, Grange Park Opera & BBC Proms); Filippyevna (Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky, Grange Park Opera [cover] & Bloomsbury Opera); Penelope [cover] (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, Monteverdi, Iford Arts Festival).

Marco Tutino, Opera di Firenze, Florence); Conductor (La Traviata, Verdi, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège).

*Wexford Festival Opera debut

Artist Biographies

Dominique Côté*

Rachel Croash

Baritone, Canada

Soprano, Ireland

Le Pré aux clercs

Koanga Hansel and Gretel

previous engagements: Lt Robert (The Daughter of the Regiment, Donizetti, Societé d’Art Lyrique du Royaume); Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus, J Strauss II, Grand Théâtre, Geneva); Frederic (Lakmé, Delibes, Opéra de Montréal). forthcoming engagements: Pausanius (Une Éducation

manquée, Chabrier, Opera Lafayette).

previously at wfo: Bridesmaid 1 (Trial

by Jury, Sullivan, 2014); Annina (La Traviata, Verdi, 2014). previous engagements: Valencienne (The Merry Widow, Lehár, Lyric Opera Productions); Lunchtime Concert (RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, NCH, Dublin); Frasquita (Carmen, Bizet, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, NCH, Dublin). forthcoming engagements: Susanna (Susanna’s

Secret, Wolf-Ferrari, Opera Theatre Company); Recital (Con Brio Sligo Music Series); Recital (Music for Galway Lunchtime Series).

Nico Darmanin*

Laurent Delvert*

Tenor, Malta

Revival Director, France

Le Pré aux clercs

previous engagements: Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini, Opera Holland Park); Ramiro (La Cenerentola, Rossini, Scottish Opera); Ottavio (Don Giovanni, Mozart, Vlaamse Opera). forthcoming engagements: Almaviva (Il Barbiere

di Siviglia, Rossini, Welsh National Opera).

forthcoming engagements:

Asst Director (Le Syndrome de L’Écossais, Isabelle Le Nouvel, Paris); Asst Director (Les Damnés, Visconti, Festival d’Avignon, Comédie-Française).

Norman Garrett*

Eleanor Garside

Baritone, USA

Soprano, United Kingdom

Koanga

previous engagements: Jake (Porgy and Bess, Gershwin, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Papageno (The Magic Flute, Mozart, Washington National Opera); Riolobo (Florencia en el Amazonas, Daniel Catán, Washington National Opera). forthcoming engagements: Mandarin (Turandot,

Puccini, Cincinnati Opera); Escamillo (Carmen, Bizet, Lubbock Symphony); Marchese d’Obigny (La Traviata), Verdi, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra).

previous engagements: Assistant Director (Les Mousquetaires aux Couvents raconté aux enfants, Opéra-Comique); Asst Director/ Revival Director (La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart, Paris & Saint-Étienne); Asst Director (Lucrèce Borgia, Hugo, La Compagnie Jean-Louis Benoît).

Artist Biographies

previous engagements: First Niece [cover] (Peter Grimes, Britten, Grange Park Opera); Chorus (Fortunio, Dialogues des Carmélites, Queen of Spades, La Bohème, Samson et Dalila, Grange Park Opera); Soprano Soloist (Messiah, Handel, Salford Choral Society).

Michael Gieleta

Simon Chalford Gilkes*

Director, United Kingdom

Tenor, Australia

Koanga

Guglielmo Ratcliff

previously at wfo: Director (Maria, Statkowski, 2011); Director (Hubicka, � Smetana, 2010).

previous engagements:

previous engagements: Director (The Impresario, Mozart & Le Rossignol, Stravinsky, Santa Fe Opera); Director (La Rondine, Puccini, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis). forthcoming engagements: Director (The Prince of

Players, Carlisle Floyd, Houston Grand Opera).

Peasant Leader (Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky, Grange Park Opera); Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni, Mozart, Opus Opera); Grimoaldo [cover] (Rodelinda, Handel, Scottish Opera). forthcoming engagements:

Tenor Soloist (Messiah, Handel, Queensland Symphony Orchestra); Principal Artist (Ricercar, Present Tense, Present Tense).

Errol Girdlestone

Andrea Grant

Chorus Master, United Kingdom

Head of Music Staff, Répétiteur, Music Director, Canada

Koanga Guglielmo Ratcliff Le Pré aux clercs previously at wfo: Chorus Master/

Conductor, 2014 and 2013. previous engagements:

Conductor (R. Strauss, Menuhin Festival, Gstaad); Singer (Roger Marsh, Hilliard Ensemble); Composer/Conductor (In Paradisum, Errol Girdlestone, Ristretto Summer Academy, France). forthcoming engagements:

Conductor (Handel, Monaco); (Bach, Châteauneuf de Grasse); (Schnittke, Ristretto Summer Academy).

Koanga previously at wfo: (Silent Night, Puts; Il Tabarro, Puccini, 2014); (A Village Romeo and Juliet, Delius; The Magic Flute, Mozart, 2013). previous engagements: (Emmeline, Picker, O. T. St Louis); (Postcard from Morocco, Argento, Univ. Toronto); (The Vinedressers, Stokes, Highlands Opera Studio). forthcoming engagements:

(The Medium/ The Telephone, Menotti, Univ. Toronto); (Paul Bunyan, Britten, Univ. Toronto); (Shalimar the Clown, Perla, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis).

Jeff Gwaltney*

Janet Haney

Tenor, USA

Répétiteur, Music Director, Great Britain

Koanga previous engagements: Erik (Der

Fliegende Holländer, Wagner, Scottish Opera); Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West, Puccini, Opera Holland Park); Lieutenant Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, Puccini, Raymond Gubbay Organisation/ Royal Albert Hall). forthcoming engagements: Canio (I Pagliacci,

Leoncavallo, Opera Carolina); Don José (Carmen, Bizet, Edmonton Opera).

Koanga Hansel and Gretel previously at wfo:

(Salomé, Mariotte; Trial by Jury, Sullivan, 2014); (Thérèse/La Navarraise, Massenet; The Sleeping Queen, Balfe, 2013). previous engagements: (Albert Herring, Britten,

RCM); (Un Ballo in maschera, Verdi, Dorset Opera); (L’Assedio di Calais, Donizetti, English Touring Opera). forthcoming engagements:

(Opera scenes, Söngskolinn in Reykavik); (Hänsel und Gretel, Humperdinck, RCM).

*Wexford Festival Opera debut

Artist Biographies

Quentin Hayes

David Howes

Baritone, United Kingdom

Baritone, Ireland

Guglielmo Ratcliff Tosca

Le Pré aux clercs Tosca

previously at wfo: Manz (A Village Romeo and Juliet, Delius, 2012); Metifio (L’Arlesiana, Cilèa, 2012); Father Palmer (Silent Night, Puts, 2014); Michele (Il Tabarro, Puccini, 2014). previous engagements: Ford (Falstaff, Verdi, English

National Opera); Ping (Turandot, Puccini, Royal Opera House); Rigoletto (Rigoletto, Verdi, Luxembourg Festival).

previously at wfo: French Soldier 1 (Silent Night, Puts, 2014); Gentleman of the Jury (Trial by Jury, Sullivan, 2014). previous engagements: Ceprano (Rigoletto, Verdi, Opera Theatre Company); Peintre (Louise, Charpentier, Buxton Festival Opera).

forthcoming engagements: Soloist (The Dream

of Gerontius, Elgar, Winchester and Gloucester Cathedrals); Lieder Recital (Wrocław, Poland).

Eric Huchet*

Maria Hughes*

Tenor, France

Soprano, Ireland

Le Pré aux clercs

Koanga

previous engagements: Torquemada (L’Heure Espagnole, Ravel, Angers-Nantes Opéra); Spoletta (Tosca, Puccini, Opéra National de Paris); Alfred (Die Fledermaus, J. Strauss II, Opéra de Tours et de Reims). forthcoming engagements: Antoum (Turandot,

previous engagements:

Forester’s Wife/Owl (The Cunning Little Vixen, Janácek, � British Youth Opera); Mercédès (Carmen, Bizet, Opera Theatre Company); Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw, Britten, DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama).

Puccini, Opéra National de Montpellier); Prologue/ Quint (The Turn of the Screw, Britten, Opéra National de Bordeaux).

Frances Israel*

Rob Kearley

Soprano, England

Assistant Director, Director, United Kingdom

Koanga Hansel and Gretel previous engagements:

Martha Sowerby (The Secret Garden, Stephen McNeff, Banff Arts Centre, Canada); Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte (Workshops), Mozart, British Youth Opera); Marina (The Last King of Scotland, Stephen McNeff, The Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House).

Le Pré aux clercs Portraits de Manon previous engagements: Director (Faust, Gounod, Opera North & Birgitta Festival, Tallinn); Associate Director (The Passenger, Weinberg, Chicago Lyric Opera); Director/ Asst Dir. (Die Zauberflöte, Mozart, Bregenz Festival). forthcoming engagements: Revival Dir. (The

Passenger, Weinberg, Michigan Opera & Florida Grand Opera); Assoc. Dir. (Madame Butterfly, Puccini, Göteborg Opera); Assoc. Dir. (The Ring Cycle, Wagner, Lyric Opera of Chicago).

Artist Biographies

Felix Kemp*

Henry Grant Kerswell*

Baritone, United Kingdom

Bass, United Kingdom

Le Pré aux clercs

Guglielmo Ratcliff Tosca

previous engagements: Zaretsky [cover] and Chorus (Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky, Grange Park Opera); Chorus (Fiddler on the Roof, Peter Grimes, Queen of Spades, Grange Park Opera).

previous engagements: Dr Bartolo (The Barber of Seville, Rossini, OperaUp Close); Maestro Spinelloccio (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini, Opera Holland Park); Sarastro (The Magic Flute, Mozart, Opera Project). forthcoming engagements: Victorian (Alice’s

Adventures in Wonderland, Will Todd, Opera Holland Park); Dr Bartolo (The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart, OperaUp Close).

Tomislav Lavoie*

Glyslein Lefever*

Bass-baritone, Canada

Choreographer, Chile

Le Pré aux clercs

previous engagements: Wagner (Faust, Gounod, Dutch National Opera); Herald/Apollo (Alceste, Gluck, Opéra National de Paris); Leporello (Don Giovanni, Mozart, Opéra de Tours). forthcoming engagements: Orest’s Tutor (Elektra, R.

Strauss, Opéra de Montréal); Ubalde (Armide, Lully, Potsdam Festival, Germany); Père St-Michel (Les Feluettes, Kevin March, Pacific Opera Victoria).

previous engagements:

Choreographer (Les Mousquetaires au Couvent, Louis Varney, Opéra-Comique); Choreographer (Peer Gynt, Ibsen, ComédieFrançaise); Choreographer (La Double Inconstance, Marivaux, Comédie-Française). forthcoming engagements: Choreographer (Roméo

et Juliette, Shakespeare, Comédie-Française); Choreographer (Gospel sur la Colline, Benjamin Falieras, Folies Bergère); Choreographer (Les Mousquetaires aux Couvent, Louis Varney, Opéra de Toulon).

Marie Lenormand*

James Macnamara

Mezzo-soprano, France

Set Designer, South Africa

Le Pré aux clercs

Koanga

previous engagements: Mignon (Mignon, Thomas, Opéra Comique, Paris); La Périchole (La Périchole, Offenbach, New York City Opera); The Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen, Janácek, � New York Philharmonic). forthcoming engagements: Hansel (Hansel and

Gretel, Humperdinck, Angers Nantes Opera, France); (Pierrot Lunaire, Schoenberg, Tour with Musica Nigella Ensemble, France); Phèdre (La belle-mère amoureuse, parody of Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, Auditorium Opéra Bastille).

*Wexford Festival Opera debut

previously at wfo: Set Designer (Maria, Statkowski, 2011); Set Designer (Hubicka, � Smetana, 2010). previous engagements: Set Designer (The Kiss, Smetana, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Set Designer (Maria, Statkowski, Opera Bałtyca); Set Designer (The Impresario, Mozart & Le Rossignol, Stravinsky, Santa Fe Opera).

Artist Biographies

Marie-Ève Munger

Laura Murphy

Soprano, Canada

Mezzo-soprano, Ireland

Le Pré aux clercs

Koanga

previously at wfo: Rosa (Don Bucefalo, Cagnoni, 2014). previous engagements: Fire/

Nightingale/Princess (L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Ravel, Chicago Symphony Orchestra); Vierte Magd (Elektra, R. Strauss, Teatro alla Scala/Aixen-Provence); Lakmé (Lakmé, Delibes, Opéra-Théâtre de Saint Étienne). forthcoming engagements: Juliette (Roméo et

Juliette, Gounod, Virginia Opera/Opera Carolina/ Toledo Opera); Naga (Madame White Snake, Zhou Long, Beth Morrison Projects).

previous engagements: Third Lady (The Magic Flute, Mozart, NI Opera); Jenny’s Girl (The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Weill, Opera Theatre Company/Rough Magic); Nancy (Albert Herring, Britten, Royal Irish Academy of Music). forthcoming engagements: Nicklausse (Les Contes

d’Hoffmann, Offenbach, Hans Eisler Hochschule für Musik).

Rory Musgrave

Seán O’ Riordan*

Baritone, Ireland

Projection Designer, Ireland

Guglielmo Ratcliff

Koanga

previous engagements: Count Gil (Susanna’s Secret, Wolf-Ferrari, Opera Theatre Company); Junius (The Rape of Lucretia, Britten, Irish Youth Opera); Second Soldier/Cappadocian (Salome, R. Strauss, Northern Ireland Opera).

previously at wfo: Projection Designer (Silent Night, Kevin Puts, 2014); Projection Designer (Cristina, regina di Svezia, Foroni, 2013); Behind the scenes videos, production photography, projections (2011–2014).

forthcoming engagements: Opera Singer (The Dead,

James Joyce, adptd Tom Swift, The Performance Corporation); Count Gil (Susanna’s Secret, WolfFerrari, National Tour, Opera Theatre Company).

Riccardo Olivier*

Giuseppe Palella*

Choreographer, Italy

Costume Designer, Italy

Guglielmo Ratcliff

previous engagements:

previous engagements: Costume Designer (I Puritani, Bellini, Teatro del Maggio Musicale di Firenze/Teatro Regio di Torino).

Choreographer (Medea in Corinto, Mayr; I Puritani, Bellini; Armida, Traetta; Fattoria Vittadini). forthcoming engagements:

Alfredo Casella (Donna Serpente, Casella, Vittadini); Manager (Le Braci, Tutino, Vittadini); Choreographer (Urban Raids, Verdi/Bach/Weill, Vittadini).

Artist Biographies

forthcoming engagements: Costume Designer

(I Pagliacci, Leoncavallo, Teatro A.Rendano, Cosenza).

Jennifer Parker*

Sarah Richmond*

Mezzo-soprano, England

Mezzo-soprano, United Kingdom

Koanga previous engagements:

Iolanthe (Iolanthe, Sullivan, International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival); Valencienne (The Merry Widow, Lehár, Royal Northern College of Music); Chorus (Lakmé, Aida, L’Amore dei Tre Re, Opera Holland Park). forthcoming engagements:

Suzanne (Le Mari à la porte, Offenbach, Manchester Opera Ensemble).

Guglielmo Ratcliff previous engagements: Mercédès (Carmen, Bizet, North West Opera); Second Lady (The Magic Flute, Mozart, NI Opera/Nevill Holt); Bianca/ Gabriella (La Rondine, Puccini, Iford Arts). forthcoming engagements: Third

Lady and Second Lady [cover] (The Magic Flute, Mozart, Pavilion Opera)

Gregory Ritchey

Sarah Roberts*

Répétiteur, Music Director, USA

Costume Designer South Africa

Le Pré aux clercs Tosca previously at wfo: Assistant Conductor (Silent Night, Puts, 2014).

Koanga

previous engagements: Conductor (La Fille du Régiment, Donizetti, Palm Beach Opera); Conductor (Suor Angelica /Gianni Schicchi, Puccini, Amalfi Coast Music Festival).

previous engagements: Costume Designer (Sister Act, non-replica SA production); Production Designer (West Side Story, Kwa Zulu Natal Playhouse); Production Designer (Ilembe [The Axe], Sibikwa Theatre Company, Kwa Zulu Natal Playhouse).

forthcoming engagements: Conductor (Waterfront

forthcoming engagements:

Concert, Palm Beach Opera); Pianist (Recital, IlluminArts, Miami).

Production Designer (Sophiatown, thirtieth anniversary production); Trustee (National Children’s Theatre Trust, Johannesburg).

Christopher Robertson

Éric Ruf*

Baritone, Spain

Director, France

Koanga

Le Pré aux clercs

previously at wfo: Baldassarre (L’Arlesiana, Cilèa, 2012). previous engagements: Mr Redburn (Billy Budd, Britten, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa); Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde, Wagner, Greek National Opera, Athens); Hubbard (Doctor Atomic, Adams, Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville). forthcoming engagements: Concierto (Excerpts

from Die Meistersinger, Wagner; Falstaff, Verdi; Così fan tutte, Mozart, Teatro Arriaga, Bilbao); Recital (Winterreise, Schubert, Madrid).

*Wexford Festival Opera debut

previous engagements: Director & Set Designer (Peer Gynt, Ibsen, Comédie-Française); Set Designer (La Source, Ballet de Jean-Guillaume Bart, Opéra de Paris); Set Designer (Fortunio, Messager, Opéra-Comique). forthcoming engagements:

Director & Set Designer (Roméo et Juliette, Shakespeare, Comédie-Française); Set Designer (Mitridate, Mozart, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées); Director & Set Designer (Pelléas et Mélisande, Debussy, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées).

Artist Biographies

Tiziano Santi

Carmen Santoro

Set Designer, Italy

Répétiteur, Italy

Guglielmo Ratcliff

previously at wfo: Set Designer (Salomé, Mariotte, 2014); Set Designer (Gianni di Parigi, Donizetti, 2011). previous engagements: Set Designer (La Gioconda, Ponchielli, Theater St Gallen); Set Designer (Il Campiello, Wolf-Ferrari, Opera di Firenze); Set Designer (Nabucco, Verdi, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino). forthcoming engagements:

Set Designer (Madama Butterfly, Puccini, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino ); Set Designer (Salome, R. Strauss, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova); Set Designer (L’Elisir d’amore, Donizetti, Teatro Comunale di Bologna).

previous engagements: Répétiteur (Capuleti e Montecchi, Bellini, Opernhaus Zurich); Répétiteur (Don Carlo, Verdi, Bolshoi Theatre); Répétiteur (Medea in Corinto, Simone Mayr, Festival della Valle d’Itria). forthcoming engagements:

Répétiteur (Il Viaggio a Reims, Rossini, Opernhaus Zurich); Guest Professor (Vocal Coach for Italian repertoire, Royal College of Music, London).

Marie-Ève Scarfone*

Mariangela Sicilia

Répétiteur, Music Director, Canada

Soprano, Italy

Le Pré aux clercs Portraits de Manon previous engagements: Musical

Director (L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Ravel, Opéra de Québec); Official Pianist (Montreal International Music Competition); Répétiteur (Various, Opéra de Montréal). forthcoming engagements: Vocal Coach (McGill

University); Répétiteur (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal); Répétiteur (Opéra de Montréal).

Guglielmo Ratcliff previously at wfo: Vivetta (L’Arlesiana, Cilèa, 2012). previous engagements: Térésa (Benvenuto Cellini, Berlioz, Dutch National Opera and Ballet, Amsterdam); Jemmy (Guillaume Tell, Rossini, Teatro Communale di Bologna); Isabella (L’Inganno Felice, Rossini, Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro). forthcoming engagements: Liù (Turandot, Puccini,

Opéra de Montpellier); Giulia (La Scala di Seta, Rossini, Opéra Royal de Wallonie); Micaëla (Carmen, Bizet, Teatro Regio, Turin).

Magali Simard-Galdès*

Ian Sommerville*

Soprano, Canada

Lighting Designer, United Kingdom

Le Pré aux Clercs previous engagements: Le Feu/

previously at wfo: Répétiteur (Don Bucefalo, Cagnoni 2014); Répétiteur (L’Arlesiana, Cilèa, 2012); Répétiteur (Gianni di Parigi, Donizetti, 2011).

Koanga Guglielmo Ratcliff Le Pré aux clercs

Le Rossignol (L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Ravel, Opera on the Avalon); Young Artist (Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal); Young Emerging Artist (Chamber Music Festival ‘Concerts aux Îles du Bic’).

previous engagements: Head of Lighting (Opera North); Technical Director/Lighting Designer (The Walt Disney Company, Hong Kong); Freelance Scenographer/Lighting Designer.

forthcoming engagements: Young Artist (Atelier

forthcoming engagements: Technical Director/

lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal); Soloist (Concert arias, Mozart, Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire).

Lighting Designer (The Walt Disney Company, Hong Kong); Designer/Producer (Private opera and social events).

Artist Biographies

David Stout

Nozuko Teto*

Baritone, England

Soprano, South Africa

Guglielmo Ratcliff

Koanga

previously at wfo: Axel Oxenstjerna (Cristina, regina di Svezia, Foroni, 2013); The Dark Fiddler (A Village Romeo and Juliet, Delius, 2012). previous engagements: Don Pasquale (Don Pasquale, Donizetti, Longborough Festival Opera); Selby de Selby (The Virtues of Things, Matt Rogers, ROH Linbury); Fritz Kothner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wagner, ENO). forthcoming engagements: Figaro (The Marriage of

Figaro, Mozart, WNO); Rodrigo (Don Carlos, Verdi, Grange Park Opera); Gratiano (The Merchant of Venice, André Tchaikowsky, WNO).

previous engagements: Contessa d’Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart, Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, Italy); Mimì (La Bohème, Puccini, ‘Toti dal Monte’ 2013, Italy); Suor Angelica (Suor Angelica, Puccini, Cape Town Opera). forthcoming engagements: Corporate performances,

workshops, masterclasses and concerts in South Africa, sharing her experience and empowering the youth; ‘ploughing back’ to her country after three years in Italy and before she returns to Europe.

Jean-Luc Tingaud

Alexandros Tsilogiannis

Conductor, France

Tenor, Greece

Le Pré aux clercs

Guglielmo Ratcliff Tosca

previously at wfo: Conductor (Le Roi malgré lui, Chabrier, 2012); Conductor (Pénélope, Fauré, 2005); Conductor (Manon Lescaut,

Auber, 2002). previous engagements: Conductor (The Pearl Fishers,

Bizet, English National Opera); Conductor (Roméo et Juliette, Gounod, Arena di Verona); Conductor (two CDs for Naxos: Dukas and Bizet, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra). forthcoming engagements: Conductor (CD for Naxos, d’Indy, Royal Scottish National Orchestra); Conductor (UK concerts, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).

previously at wfo: Luigi (Il Tabarro, Puccini, 2014); Kronprinz (Silent Night, Puts, 2014). previous engagements: Il Duca (Rigoletto, Verdi, Opera Nomade); Gastone (La Traviata, Verdi, Greek National Opera). forthcoming engagements: Ferrando (Così fan tutte,

Mozart, Opera Nomade); Remendado (Carmen, Bizet, Greek National Opera). Awarded Wexford Festival Opera Emerging Artist, 2014.

Annunziata Vestri

Angelo Villari*

Mezzo-soprano, Italy

Tenor, Italy

Guglielmo Ratcliff

previously at wfo: Rosa Mamai (L’Arlesiana, Cilèa, 2012). previous engagements: Carmen (Carmen, Bizet, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa); Amneris (Aida, Verdi, Opernfestspiele in St Margarethen); Madelon (Andrea Chénier, Giordano, Teatro San Carlo, Naples). forthcoming engagements: Tisbe (La Cenerentola,

Rossini, Teatro dell’Opera, Rome); Meg (Falstaff, Verdi, Teatro San Carlo, Naples); La Badessa (Suor Angelica, Rossini, Teatro San Carlo, Naples).

*Wexford Festival Opera debut

previous engagements: Altidòr (La Donna Serpente, Casella, Festival della Valle d’Itria, Martina Franca); Maurizio, Conte di Sassonia (Adriana Lecouvreur, Cilèa, As.Li.Co Circuit, Italy – Como, Pavia, Cremona); Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, Puccini, Teatro Regio, Parma). forthcoming engagements: Pinkerton (Madama

Butterfly, Puccini, Teatro Massimo, Palermo).

Artist Biographies

Emma Watkinson

Dafydd Hall Williams

Mezzo-soprano, United Kingdom

Assistant Director, Director, Wales

Koanga Portraits de Manon

Koanga Tosca

previously at wfo: Herodias’ Page (Salomé, Mariotte, 2014); Mezzo Ensemble (L’Elisir d’amore, Donizetti, 2013). previous engagements: Marcella (Il Furioso all’isola di San Domingo, Donizetti, English Touring Opera); Poppet (Paul Bunyan, Britten, English Touring Opera); Dido (Dido and Aeneas, Purcell, Westminster Opera). forthcoming engagements: Siebel (Faust, Gounod,

Winterbourne Opera); Annio (La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart, Chilmark Opera).

previously at wfo: Director (Il Tabarro, Puccini, 2014); Assistant Director (Don Bucefalo, Cagnoni, 2014). previous engagements: Staff Director (La Bohème & The Siege of Calais/The Wild Man of the West Indies, Puccini/Donizetti, English Touring Opera); Director (The Hidden Valley, Richard Barnard, Tête à Tête Festival); Assistant Director (La Finta Giardiniera, Mozart, Buxton Festival Opera). forthcoming engagements: Director (Opera Scenes,

Guildhall School of Music and Drama).

Matthew Wright Baritone, United Kingdom

Guglielmo Ratcliff previously at wfo: French Sentry (Silent Night, Puts, 2014); Juryman (Trial by Jury, Sullivan, 2014). previous engagements: Betto (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini, Opera Bohemia); Benoît/ Alcindoro [cover] (La Bohème, Puccini, Glyndebourne Festival Opera); Notary (Don Pasquale, Donizetti, Glyndebourne Touring Opera).

Salomé, Antoine Mariotte, Wexford Festival Opera 2014. photo

Artist Biographies

*Wexford Festival Opera debut

PHOTO © PAT REDMOND

Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera

1st violins

flutes

trombones

Fionnuala Hunt, Concertmaster Anita Vedres, Co-principal Lynda O’Connor, Co-principal Roisín Walters, Co-principal Anne-Marie Twomey Katie O’Connor Lidia Jewloszewicz-Clarke Deirdre Reddy Feilimidh Nunan Rachel Grimes

Ríona O’Duinnín, Principal Vourneen Ryan Marie Comiskey

Ross Lyness, Principal Karl Ronan Paul Frost

piccolo

bass trombone

Marie Comiskey

Paul Frost

oboes

tuba

Rachael Clegg, Principal Rebecca Halliday Ruth Berresford

Mike Levis, Principal

2nd violins

cor anglais

Paul O’Hanlon, Principal Nicola Cleary, Co-principal Aoife Dowdall Lara Sullivan Rachel Du Siobhan Doyle Robert Mahon Lucy Perkins violas

Beth McNinch, Principal Triona Milne, Co-principal Carla Vedres Margaret Lynch Karen Dervan Catriona Lightfoot

Ruth Berresford clarinets

Jessie Grimes, Principal John Forde Conor Sheil bass clarinet

Conor Sheil bassoons

Ates Kirkan, Principal Sinead Frost John Hearne Cliona Warren contrabassoon

Cliona Warren

cellos

horns

William Schofield, Principal Gerald Peregrine, Co-principal Delia Lynch Jane Hughes Sokol Koka

Jocelyn Lightfoot, Principal Joseph Ryan Peter Ryan Tom Kane Kate Hainsworth, Assistant

double basses

trumpets

Joe Csibi, Principal Maeve Sheil, Co-principal Paul Stephens Sarah Halpin

Dan Newell, Principal David Collins Christopher Dowdall

timpani

Noel Eccles, Principal percussion

Bernard Reilly, Principal Caitríona Frost Chris Stynes harps

Dianne Marshall, Principal Anne-Marie Papin Labazordière celeste

Andrea Grant banjos

James Nash Jon Reville orchestra manager

Joe Csibi assistant orchestra manager

Carla Vedres orchestra technical supervisor

Chris Stynes librarian

Sarah Burn

Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera

PHOTOS © CLIVE BARDA/ARENAPAL

Chorus of Wexford Festival Opera

CHORUS MASTER & CONDUCTOR – Errol Girdlestone

sopranos

mezzo-sopranos

tenors

basses

Rachel Croash Llio Evans Eleanor Garside Maria Hughes Frances Israel Maria McGrann Emma Nash

Vivien Conacher Christina M Gill Anna Jeffers Laura Murphy Jennifer Parker Sarah Richmond Emma Watkinson

Raffaele D’Ascanio Stephen Anthony Brown William Johnston Davies Simon Chalford Gilkes Matthew Howard Peter O’Donohue Jon Valender Dominic Walsh Michael Solomon Williams

Sheldon Baxter Ian Beadle Jan Capi´ńnski David Howes Felix Kemp Henry Grant Kerswell Rory Musgrave Alistair Ollerenshaw Jon Stainsby Matthew Wright

chorus manager

chorus supervisor

chorus répétiteur

Elenor Bowers-Jolley

Sheldon Baxter

Janet Haney

Chorus of Wexford Festival Opera

Wexford Festival Opera Tours

exford Festival Opera Tours, in association with the National Opera House, are organised by Nicholas Furlong on behalf of the Wexford Historical Society. Led by expert guides to interesting and intriguing sites, they are open to everyone. There is no charge, but we ask all drivers to help by offering seats to visitors. The tours leave the Talbot Hotel car park at 10.30 a.m. sharp and are scheduled to return to Wexford at 1 p.m. Thursday 22 October The ancient parish of Kilmore and its unique custom of placing funeral crosses at sites of historical significance, Grange churchyard and the early Christian site at Kilcowan. Led by Brian Matthews, President of the Wexford Historical Society. Friday 23 October Great Island and its mediaeval strategic importance, Kilmokea House and the smallest High Cross in Ireland. With author and local historian, Bernard Browne. Saturday 24 October The Society of Friends – the Quakers’ benign presence in South Wexford. Forest, Taghmon, Rathanuisce, Killurin and Bregorteen, of the Holmes and Penn families. With Gregory Walsh, Editor of the Bannow Historical Journal. Monday 26 October Ardcavan’s early promontory site, Wexford’s reclaimed land ten feet below high water level, the mystery of Bergerin Island and the National Bird Sanctuary. With former history teacher, John McCormack. Tuesday 27 October Johnstown Castle, its awardwinning Folk and Agricultural Museum and the castle environs. With Peter Miller, Chairman of the Irish Agricultural Museum. Wednesday 28 October A walking tour along the beach and shoreline in the fishing village of Kilmore Quay, including a 600 million-year-old rocky outcrop unique in Ireland, a raised beach and St Patrick’s Bridge. With naturalist Jim Hurley. Thursday 29 October Monksgrange House on the eastern slope of the Blackstairs Mountains, home of the Richards family since the mideighteenth century and associated with the rebel leader John Kelly of Killanne. Hosted by the

present owners, Jeremy and Rosie Hill, and led by librarian and local historian, Jarlath Glynn, Chairman of Wexford Historical Society. Friday 30 October The amazing story of Rathangan parish church, the Devereux fortress of Ballymagir, the direct lineage of the Devereux family, and the village of Tomhaggard. With Nicholas Furlong. Saturday 31 October The coaching inns and characterful taverns in the historic port of Wexford. With historian and editor of the Wexford Historical Society Journal, Celestine Murphy. A walking tour.

Wexford Historical Society presents the Dr George Hadden Memorial Lecture Social conditions in Wexford before the 1916 Rising presented by Catriona Crowe, RIA. Thursday 29 October at 8 p.m. in St Michael’s Centre, Green Street, Wexford. Catriona Crowe, a member of the Royal Irish Academy, is Head of Special Projects at the National Archives of Ireland, Manager of the Irish Census Online Project and Chairperson of the Irish Theatre Institute.

National Opera House Tours Friday 23, Monday 26, Wednesday 28, Friday 30 October – 9.30 a.m. Tickets ¤5 / ¤4 for groups of 10+ During the 2015 Festival there will be guided tours of the National Opera House on four mornings. Find out more about the award-winning architecture of the National Opera House and sample the exceptional acoustics of its two diverse performance spaces, the O’Reilly Theatre and the Jerome Hynes Theatre. Tours commence at 9.30 a.m. from the Box Office, National Opera House. Booking closes fifteen minutes before the tour start time. No admission without a valid ticket. Children under sixteen years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

To book tours, contact the Box Office on +353 53 912 2144 Wexford Festival Opera Tours

For the Love of Wexford by Joyce Kennedy

usic critics are very privileged people: they are paid to travel the world to hear operas in a variety of theatres in different countries. They meet many of the artists, some of whom become lifelong friends. There are opera houses in most of the major cities in Europe and the USA, but as so-called country-house opera festivals have established themselves at a high standard, opera-lovers can choose to stay in the UK during the summer, going from one festival to another. When I first started going to operas with my music critic husband, Michael Kennedy, the choice was not as wide: London had two major opera companies; Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera had very limited seasons and Opera North had not yet been formed. The only major opera festival in England was Glyndebourne, but it was expensive and it was not easy to get tickets. However, in October, in the south-east corner of Ireland, there was the Wexford Festival, from which there was always a BBC live broadcast – cut off mid-aria if it overran its allotted time. It was listening to Puccini’s thus-guillotined Edgar, and the publication of Bernard Levin’s Conducted Tours, with its hilarious description of the 1979 Wexford La Vestale, that made Michael and me decide it was time we visited Wexford. I had a ‘professional’ curiosity about this festival for I was an anaesthetist and GP, as was Dr Tom Walsh who had founded the festival in 1951. So in 1980 we crossed the Irish Sea for our introduction to Wexford. The first surprise was the theatre itself. Called, paradoxically, the Theatre Royal, it was in a narrow cobbled street (optimistically named High Street), wedged in the middle of a row of terraced houses, the residents of which rarely bothered to lock their doors, and keys could be seen hanging out of letter boxes on pieces of string. We collected our tickets from the box office, manned by the then festival chairman, Jim Golden, who greeted us warmly and continued to do so until his death in 2013. We went to look at the auditorium, and collapsed hysterically into our seats – it was minute. The theatre seated about four hundred people and the stage was the size of

For the Love of Wexford

I Gioielli della Madonna, Wolf-Ferrari, Wexford Festival Opera 1981. wexford festival opera archive

/ john ironside

a pocket handkerchief. The opening night opera was Wolf-Ferrari’s I gioielli della Madonna and at one point I counted over one hundred people on that stage! The chorus consisted mainly of local people but the leading roles were sung by rising artists: Marie Slorach, Nuala Willis and Carlo Desideri were in the cast, directed by the young Graham Vick, and the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Colman Pearce. The next night Lesley Garrett sang the title role in Mozart’s Zaide (conductor Nicholas Cleobury) and the third opera was Verdi’s early comedy Un Giorno di Regno, with a star cast headed by Sesto Bruscantini (also the producer), Ugo Benelli and Donald Maxwell, conducted by James Judd. But Wexford is more than three unknown operas. The audience was the most elegant and glamorously dressed that we had ever encountered. There were more boutiques and shoe shops than I’d ever seen in one high street. The shops were decorated with musical themes, the pubs held singing competitions, and trying to buy anything in a store was an experience: first, you were quizzed about your family history; then you had to look at photographs “taken by my mother at rehearsal”; next, you were firmly advised which opera not to see and only after that would you get served. There were two major hotels in Wexford, the Talbot and Whites; visitors were loyal to one or the other and were welcomed back each year as old friends. The taxi driver

Zaide, Mozart, Wexford Festival Opera 1981. wexford festival opera archive

/ john ironside

we used that first year, father of a Talbot Hotel receptionist, still drives us on our annual visit. On one journey, one of our friends asked, “Wasn’t that a red light you just went through?” to which came the reply, “It was only a little bit red, sir”. Until his death in 1988, on Sunday mornings senior critics were invited to take a drink at the home of Dr Tom (he was the only person I ever heard actually use the expression, “at all, at all”). We were looked after by his daughter, Victoria, and have, over the years, watched her daughter grow into a lovely young lady. In those days critics saw the three operas on consecutive opening nights and then rushed back to England ready for the next trip, maybe to Europe or the States. After Michael retired as a full-time critic, we and our friends decided to make a holiday of our visit to Wexford. We moved our base from the Talbot to Kelly’s in Rosslare, a family-run hotel situated on the beach, and we loved it from the start. It has an art collection to be coveted, and a staff who have worked there for years – each year, as we arrive, it’s like coming home. Many traditions have grown up at Wexford Festival. A much-loved, now deceased, press officer, Sue Graham-Dickson, always invited critics to lunch at the Lobster Pot, a pub in nearby Carne run by Anne and Ciaran Hearne, with food to die for. Michael and I inherited this tradition and have hosted a lunch party there every year. Maybe the greatest achievement is the new

Un Giorno di Regno, Verdi, Wexford Festival Opera 1981. wexford festival opera archive

/ john ironside

theatre: a beautiful building, custom-built and opened in 2008, the interior in walnut and pale blue leather, with all-modern facilities for the artists and the audience. It was built on the site of the old Theatre Royal (where else?), still in the narrow cobbled High Street, and it still looks as if it is in the middle of a row of terraced houses. For me, the most valued thing that has come out of our annual visits is the growth of enduring friendships. I was touched when, at my husband’s funeral early this year, I was greeted and hugged by the press officer, and two ex-chairmen of Wexford Festival – they had flown into Manchester that morning and were returning to Ireland that afternoon. This, I found myself thinking, this is why we love the Wexford Festival. Joyce Kennedy (Joyce Bourne) has written and edited a number of books on opera, including Opera: The Great Artists, Composers and their Masterworks; Who Married Figaro? A Book of Opera Characters and A Dictionary of Opera Characters. Her husband was the distinguished author and music critic, Michael Kennedy, CBE (19 February, 1926 - 31 December, 2014). Joyce and Michael worked together when he edited the Oxford Dictionary of Music and when she edited Who’s Who in Opera.

For the Love of Wexford

From the Doge’s Throne to the Festival Archive by Kevin Lewis

ong-time Festival Volunteer Kevin Lewis traces the history of his involvement with the Festival, from childhood fascination with the romantic elegance of the opera-goers, to chorus member, usher and author of two authoritative books on Wexford Festival Opera, Memories of Wexford Festival Opera (1984) and What the Doctor Ordered (2008). He has also been responsible, as Archive Assistant, for organising and maintaining the invaluable records of the Festival.

‘Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?’ So enquires the famous song by the Beatles. Well, 2015 sees Wexford Festival Opera celebrate its own sixty-fourth birthday, and the answer from patrons and benefactors continues to be a resounding ‘Yes’ to both questions. Sixty-four years of operatic history began when a casual remark made by Sir Compton Mackenzie fell on the very receptive ears of the Festival founder, Dr Tom Walsh. On entering the National Opera House in Wexford’s High Street, visitors to the Upper Circle will notice a plaque on the wall at the top of the stairwell commemorating the Wexford Gramophone Society and its connection with the origins of this renowned festival. The Society today continues the tradition of its predecessor, the Wexford Opera Study Circle, which was formed in 1950 by Dr Walsh to foster the enjoyment of opera. In the spring of 1951 the Opera Study Circle was addressed by a friend of Dr Walsh, the English-born Scottish author, lecturer and editor of Gramophone magazine, Sir Compton Mackenzie. He suggested to the group that rather than listen to recordings of opera it should devote its energies to the staging of live opera performances. Dr Tom, excited by the possibility, became preoccupied with the development of the Wexford Festival of Music and the Arts, which was to involve the whole town. As a result, he was unable to give time to the Opera Study Circle and suggested the members should continue with their own Gramophone Society. Thus the Wexford Gramophone Society was born in 1951 and it continues to meet regularly in the

From the Doge’s Throne to the Festival Archive

The Kiss, Smetana, Wexford Festival Opera 1984. Kevin Lewis, a chorister (centre), with Roger Howell as Tomes ( foreground). wexford festival opera archive / john ironside

Talbot Hotel. My own association with ‘the opera’ began in childhood. I lived in High Street, two doors from the Theatre Royal. As a youngster I pressed my nose to the window during those October nights, mesmerised by the romance and elegance of the opera-goers filing past our house. In 1967 I made my Wexford Festival stage debut as an eleven-year-old page-boy in Rossini’s Otello. My involvement has continued over the intervening forty-eight years in a number of ways, initially as a volunteer backstage worker as ‘assistant’ to the stage manager. Before the advent of a tannoy system my task was to physically run around the various dressing rooms calling, ‘Five minutes to curtain!’ or ‘Beginners on stage please!’ and such like. I also helped out in the wardrobe department under the direction of Wardrobe Mistress, Dorrie Pettit. For a number of years I was a member of the local volunteer chorus and performed in over twenty operas. I continue to serve as a frontof-house usher welcoming our patrons annually to Wexford and showing them to their seats. It was my great pleasure in 2013 to be appointed Archive Assistant at Wexford County Archive, looking after and maintaining the archive of Wexford Festival Opera. This has been the culmination of a long association with the Festival. Never did I imagine back in 1967, when along with my three fellow pageboys I helped push the Doge’s throne onto the stage, that forty-odd years later I would be sifting through the biographies, photos and contracts of these artistes and filing them away for posterity.

photo: sean o’ riordan

Otello, Rossini, Wexford Festival Opera 1967. Baritone Terence Sharpe as the Doge of Venice with Kevin Lewis, pageboy ( front left). photo: denis o’connor collection

Perhaps not many visitors or indeed locals are aware of the existence of this jewel of operatic history housed in the Wexford County Archive at its premises in Ardcavan. This unique collection of files includes a multitude of material ranging from artists’ biographies and contracts, to programme books, music scores, libretti, scrapbooks, opera recordings, publicity posters, press cuttings, minutes of meetings and a superb collection of photographs, together with some very fine private deposits by many Festival admirers. The archive was established in 1991 with the collaboration of Wexford Festival Opera, Wexford County Library and Fás. It was officially opened by President Mary Robinson on 24 October 1991. It can be accessed and viewed with permission from the CEO of Wexford Festival and by appointment with the County Archivist, Gráinne Doran. The archive is a detailed record into the history and development of Wexford Festival Opera from its inception in 1951 to the present time.

I think the following quote by Scottish author Sara Sheridan, a strong supporter of libraries and archives, describes it well: ‘Our archives are treasure-troves – a testament to many lives lived and the complexity of the way we move forward. They contain clues to the real concerns of day-to-day life that brings the past alive.’ I am proud and honoured to have been a part of it all. Wexford-born Kevin Lewis has been a voluntary worker at WFO for over forty years and has published two books related to the Festival. He has been a member of Wexford Gramophone Society for over twenty years and has given many recitals to the group. As a watercolour artist he has exhibited during Wexford Festivals.

From the Doge’s Throne to the Festival Archive

The Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera – Reflections on the First Ten Years by Fionnuala Hunt

photo

This Orchestra is such a gift for Irish musicians, having this opportunity to work at a high level with top-class conductors and singers. Over the last decade Wexford has enabled the Orchestra to develop and grow together, pushing the boundaries towards higher standards and helping the Orchestra to flourish. The Festival is more than the three main stage operas; players from the orchestra have performed an important role in orchestral and chamber music concerts, as well as educational outreach projects during the Festival period.

The National Opera House is a gem, an architectural triumph, with a wonderful acoustic, making the musicians’ lives much easier than it was in the fondly remembered, though cramped, Theatre Royal. Each time we return, there is an appreciation for the building itself, the space we play in; a real sense of place and belonging. There’s no place, no festival, like Wexford. Fionnuala Hunt, one of Ireland’s most distinguished violinists, has a busy career as a performer and teacher and has been Concertmaster of the Orchestra of WFO since its formation in 2006. Her recordings include Bach’s double Violin Concerto with Nigel Kennedy and a CD of her own arrangements and performances of tango music, Tangos and Dances.

The Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera – Reflections on the First Ten Years

photo: amelia stein

f I had to select one outstanding memory from my time as Concertmaster at Wexford, it would be last year’s European premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night. From the first rehearsal I knew there was something very special about this opera and I was not disappointed; every performance was an absolute joy to perform.

THE DELIUS TRUST We are very pleased to support this new production of Koanga which follows Wexford’s award-winning 2012 staging of A Village Romeo and Juliet. The Delius Trust’s substantial sponsorship this year is made in memory of Robert Threlfall (1918-2014).

Recent sponsorship by the Trust has included performances of major works by Delius in Germany, France, Italy, USA, Russia and Japan as well as throughout the British Isles. The Trust funded the editing and publication of The Collected Edition of the Works of Frederick Delius edited by Sir Thomas Beecham, Dr Eric Fenby, Robert Threlfall and Norman Del Mar For availability see website Other publications include: A Catalogue of the Compositions of Frederick Delius and A Supplementary Catalogue by Robert Threlfall Delius: a Life in Letters by Lionel Carley Volume 1, 1862–1908/Volume 2, 1909–1934

Trustees: David Lloyd-Jones Hon. DMus Martin William FSA Help Musicians UK (Representative: John Axon) Secretary: Helen Faulkner 7-11 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JS Telephone: 020 7239 9143 Email: Delius.Trust@helpmusicians.org.uk Website: www.delius.org.uk Registered Charity: 207324

Newgrange, Co. Meath

Let YOUR JOURNEY begin in Ireland’s Ancient East Come and explore the dramatic history of Ireland’s Ancient East as you uncover 5,000 years of history. And the magic is, it’s right here on your doorstep.

Delivering the Succeed in Ireland initiative

Use your contacts to create

jobs for Wexford

And earn a reward of up to €150,000

Do you know someone working abroad in a company that is considering expansion?

Put them in touch with ConnectIreland. Gerry Grady (inset) introduced an American business acquaintance to ConnectIreland. Now UCT are creating 17 jobs in Ardcavan Business Park. It was only by chance that Gerry learnt of their plans to expand.

“I heard UCT might be planning something for Europe and I knew some people in the US organisation so I rang them up.”

Gerry (second left) is congratulated by Minister of State, Paul Kehoe, TD (centre); Joanna Murphy, ConnectIreland; and Tony Larkin, Wexford County Council for helping to create jobs in Wexford

“United Chemical Technologies is looking forward to expanding our European business segment. Wexford is the perfect location for this development due to its innovative workforce and committed business environment.” UCT president Bethany Magrann

Log on to www.connectwexford.com to become a connector The Community Action Plan, delivered in association with Wexford County Council, is supported by the Government through the Local Diaspora Engagement Fund

Elavon are proud to sponsor the Wexford Festival Opera.

Elavon is a card payments specialist owned by U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest bank in the United States. We provide card payment services to more than a million customers globally and more than 32,000 in Ireland for almost 15 years. We are delighted to continue our support of this wonderful event and wish everyone an enjoyable time. For more information visit www.elavon.ie. Elavon Financial Services Limited | Registered in Ireland â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Number 418442. Registered Office: Block E, 1st Floor, Cherrywood Business Park, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Elavon Financial Services Limited, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

PHOTO ÂŠ CLIVE BARDA/ARENAPAL

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

PHOTO © CLIVE BARDA/ARENAPAL

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

hilanthropy lies at the heart of Wexford Festival Opera. Founded by a group of dedicated volunteers who gave freely of their time and talents, the Festival has grown to be a leader in national and international opera. Today a new generation of philanthropists continues to support the Festival, thus enabling forgotten and undeservedly neglected works to be brought to life. The Festival supports emerging national and international operatic talent and enriches Ireland’s cultural life.

How to Support Us There are many ways in which you can support Wexford Festival Opera: • Become a Friend: — Prelude Friends – ¤80 — Ensemble Friends – ¤185 — Aria Friends – ¤500 — Teatro Friends – ¤1,000 — Bravura Friends – ¤2,000 • Endow a Seat – ¤850 • Become an Orchestra Chair Sponsor – ¤1,500 • Become a Cast Sponsor – ¤5,000 • Become an Artistic Sponsor – from ¤5,000 to ¤10,000 • Become a ShortWork Producer – ¤10,000 • Join us at the American Friends’ New York Dinner Gala: — Seats for $500 — Tables from $10,000 to $35,000 • Join the President’s Circle – gifts of ¤25,000, ¤50,000, ¤100,000 and beyond, which can transform a production, a season and the future of Wexford Festival Opera

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

To support Wexford Festival Opera as a Friend or as a Cast or Artistic Sponsor, please contact Anna Bates, Membership Development Executive: anna@wexfordopera.com, or visit Wexfordopera.com/friends To learn more about major gifts and to take advantage of the numerous corporate giving opportunities, please contact David McLoughlin, Chief Executive: dml@wexfordopera.com For further information on all the ways you can support your opera festival, please visit Wexfordopera.com/support

Tax relief on international and Irish donations Donors can avail of tax relief on their gifts via our UK Trust and through our charitable arms in the USA and Canada. Wexford Festival Opera can claim a tax refund on gifts made to our Irish Trust, thus increasing the value of your gift.

Support Wexford through Shares Launched in 2014, this initiative enables donors to support the Festival by gifting shares. Our partnership with Davy Stockbrokers enables shares of any value to be donated and converted to support the Festival in accordance with the donor’s wishes. For more information on this tax-efficient way to support Wexford Festival Opera, please contact Chief Executive David McLoughlin (+353 53 916 3521 or email dml@wexfordopera.com), who will discuss with you in confidence all share donation options.

Cast and Artistic Sponsorship

ponsoring a singer or member of our artistic team through our Cast and Artistic Sponsorship Programme is a significant way of supporting Wexford Festival Opera. It is an excellent opportunity to become involved in the budding career of a young performer, to meet them and take a personal interest in their careers. This sponsorship provides vital support at a critical juncture of a performer’s career and has led to many lasting friendships between artist and sponsor. It allows Wexford Festival Opera to maintain its artistic integrity by enabling the Artistic Director to engage gifted opera singers, designers, directors and conductors, and it is an opportunity for opera lovers to appreciate the world of opera from a performer’s perspective. If you are interested in sponsoring a Festival artist the Artistic Director will be pleased to discuss with you an artist with whom you can enjoy a rewarding relationship. You will receive accreditation in the Festival Programme, complimentary Festival tickets, an official photograph with the artist and a lunch or dinner engagement. For further information about Cast or Artistic Sponsorship at the 2016 Festival please contact Anna Bates: +353 53 916 3525 or email anna@wexfordopera.com.

2015 Cast and Artistic Sponsorship Frank and Ursula Keane (Sponsoring Nozuko Teto) This year Frank and Ursula sponsor South African soprano Nozuko Teto, who will perform the role of Palmyra in Delius’s Koanga. As long-standing supporters of the Festival, Frank and Ursula have attended almost every year since 1972. They sponsored two singers last year and look forward to following their future careers.

Judith Lawless and Kevin Egan (Sponsoring Aubrey Allicock) Judith and Kevin sponsor Aubrey Allicock, US bassbaritone, who will perform the roles of Uncle Joe and Rangwan in Koanga. Judith is a member of the Wexford Festival Opera National Development Council; a keen supporter of the Festival and a Bravura Friend. Judith and Kevin are sponsoring their first singer.

Anonymous Donor (Sponsoring Alexandros Tsilogiannis) Alexandros will perform the role of Lesley in Guglielmo Ratcliff.

Anonymous Donor (Sponsoring Dafydd Hall Williams) Dafydd Hall Williams is the Director of this year’s ShortWorks production of Tosca and Assistant Director of Koanga.

Cast and Artistic Sponsorship

Peter and Nancy Thompson

Mark Villamar and Esther Milsted

(Sponsoring Francesco Cilluffo)

(Sponsoring Jeff Gwaltney)

Peter and Nancy sponsor Francesco Cilluffo, Conductor of Guglielmo Ratcliff. Peter and Nancy live in Hong Kong and have been coming to Wexford for the last eighteen years. During the last few years they have supported the Cast Sponsorship Programme at the Festival and have generously supported our Emerging Artists' Fund. Peter and Nancy wish to make their gift to the Festival this year in honour of their great friend, the late Jerome Hynes, Chief Executive of Wexford Festival Opera from 1988 to 2005, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his untimely death.

Michael and Giancarla Alen-Buckley (Sponsoring Magali Simard-Galdès) Michael and Giancarla sponsor Canadian soprano Magali Simard-Galdès, who will perform the role of Nicette in Le Pré aux clercs.

Brian and Susan Dickie

Anonymous Donor (Sponsoring Nico Darmanin) Nico Darmanin, tenor, will perform the role of Baron de Mergy in Le Pré aux clercs.

Malcolm Herring (Sponsoring Norman Garrett) Malcolm, a long-time Festival attender, sponsors baritone Norman Garrett in the title role in Koanga.

Vickie Love

(Sponsoring Mariangela Sicilia)

(Sponsoring Annunziata Vestri)

Brian and Susan sponsor Italian soprano Mariangela Sicilia, who will perform the role of Maria in Guglielmo Ratcliff.

Vickie sponsors the Italian mezzo-soprano Annunziata Vestri in her return to Wexford to perform the role of Margherita in Guglielmo Ratcliff.

Mike and Kathy Gallagher (Sponsoring Marie-Ève Munger) Mike and Kathy sponsor Canadian soprano Marie-Ève Munger who will perform the role of Isabelle de Montal in Le Pré aux clercs, following her highly acclaimed performance as Rosa in last year’s production of Don Bucefalo.

Mark and Esther, who travel from the United States each year to attend the Festival, are sponsoring American tenor Jeff Gwaltney, who will perform the role of Simon Perez in Koanga.

Cast and Artistic Sponsorship

Noreen Doyle (Sponsoring Kate Allen) Noreen sponsors the up-andcoming Irish mezzo-soprano Kate Allen, who returns to Wexford this year to perform the role of Clotilda in Delius’s Koanga. Kate received the Aria Friends’ Bursary in 2014.

PHOTO © CLIVE BARDA/ARENAPAL

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera The President’s Circle & The 1951 Society

The President’s Circle Leadership gifts to The President’s Circle help fund the Festival’s ambitious artistic programme. Gifts may be directed towards specific performances and activities central to our artistic mission, including: • • • • •

Main Stage Opera Productions Festival ShortWorks Productions The Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera The Chorus of Wexford Festival Opera Festival Education and Community Access Projects • Any other donor-advised performance, project or activity The Lord Magan of Castletown, a long-time supporter of the Festival, is leading the campaign and working in conjunction with Wexford Opera’s development team and the National Development Council. For further information on The President’s Circle, please contact David McLoughlin (+353 53 916 3521, or email dml@wexfordopera.com)

The 1951 Society Giving through legacies Supporting Wexford Festival Opera through a legacy gift is an ideal way to support in a transformative way something close to your heart, which your generosity will help to sustain for many years to come. We were honoured to receive a number of legacy gifts in the past year and would like to extend our most sincere thanks to the individuals involved and their families. If you are interested in legacy-giving we will work with you discreetly to ensure your bequest is directed to benefit a project of your choice and that it is recognised in the manner you request. We can also arrange for you to speak to a solicitor who specialises in wills and estates if you require independent advice. To discuss your legacy plan for Wexford Festival Opera, please contact David McLoughlin in confidence at +353 53 912 3521 or email dml@wexfordopera.com.

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

Central Park, New York City.

Wexford Festival Opera’s Development Structure The American Friends of Wexford Opera: involving key international stakeholders in a proactive fundraising and advisory board in North America. The National Development Council: an Irishbased committee advising, assisting and guiding Wexford Festival Opera in implementing its development strategy and achieving its voluntary income targets. The Wexford Festival UK Trust: leading the development of Wexford’s philanthropic leadership amongst current and potential UK-based donors, corporations, trusts and foundations.

The American Friends of Wexford Opera Following the successful Second Annual Wexford Opera New York Dinner Gala in September 2014, the Third Annual Wexford Opera New York Dinner Gala will take place in early 2016,

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

presented by the American Friends of Wexford Opera and its honorary patron Loretta Brennan Glucksman. This initiative has created a new and sustainable source of annual funding for the Festival, which will enable it to continue making its unique contribution to the international opera world and to Ireland’s cultural, economic and community life. The proceeds from the 2014 Gala went directly to support last year’s European premiere of Silent Night. The many performers, creative personnel and technicians from North America and around the world who participated in last year’s season gratefully acknowledged the American Friends’ support for the production of this opera. We are also immensely grateful to all the members of our American Friends’ Committee and to The American Ireland Fund for their steadfast commitment. For further information on the American Friends of Wexford Opera, or to support its next New York Dinner Gala, please contact David McLoughlin, Chief Executive: dml@wexfordopera.com.

The National Development Council Formed in 2014, this select group, under the Chairmanship of Terry Neill, acts in an advisory and ambassadorial capacity. It provides advice, contacts, introductions and support through members’ own individual and corporate giving. Such philanthropic leadership in Ireland, in all voluntary income areas, is key in ensuring that Wexford Festival Opera continues to thrive.

Terry Neill (Chairman) Formerly: worldwide Managing Partner with Accenture/ Andersen Consulting, director of Bank of Ireland Group, CRH plc, Governor of the London Business School, chairman of Co-operation Ireland (GB) and Camarata Ireland. Currently: Board member of the Trinity Foundation and UBM plc. Terry and his wife Marjorie are Bravura Friends of Wexford Festival Opera and are also major gift donors, sponsoring one of the Festival’s main stage performances again in 2015.

Michael M Collins SC Formerly: Chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland. Currently: Fellow of the International Society of Barristers; Adjunct Professor of Law at UCD; director of the Dublin Theatre Festival and the Irish Film Institute, Ensemble Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

Jim Donnelly Currently: Chairman of leading advertising agency DDFH&B Group, an owner-managed Irish agency part of WPP, one of the world’s foremost agency networks.

Mary Finan Formerly: Chair of WHPR (and co-founder), the RTÉ Authority, and the ESRI; President of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, board member of the DDDA and Opera Ireland. Currently: board member of the Gate Theatre, Ensemble Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

Eithne Healy Formerly: Chair of Opera Theatre Company, the Dublin Theatre Festival and the Abbey Theatre; Board member of the Arts Council, the National Museum, COTHÚ, Temple Bar Cultural Trust, the Millennium Committee and the Centenary Celebration of James Joyce Committee. Currently: Life Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

John Healy Formerly: CEO and President of The Atlantic Philanthropies. Currently: Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Non-profit Management at Trinity College Dublin, Trustee of the Trinity Foundation, board member of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, Chair of Alliance Publishing Trust, Aria Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

Trevor Jacobs Formerly: Director of Arks Advertising Agency, lecturer in DIT (MSc in Advertising) and President of Trinity Business Alumni. Currently: Bravura Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

David Lane Formerly: Managing Director (Western Europe) of Genworth Financial, General Manager Ireland of Transamerica Insurance Finance Company. Currently: Managing Director, Ireland of Ecclesiastical Insurance, one of Wexford Festival Opera’s leading corporate sponsors.

Declan Lynch Formerly: senior director with J.M. Huber, GE Capital, IBM and Novell. Currently: Chief Executive of Elavon Financial Services, a leading corporate production sponsor of Wexford Festival Opera.

Dr Oran McGrath Formerly: Chief Executive of Medentech, Chairman of the Fondomonte Group of Companies and Wexford Creamery. Currently: Executive and Founding Chairman of the investment management company, Incapt, Co‑founding Director of Dilosk.

John Reynolds Formerly: Chief Executive of KBC Bank Ireland, President of the Irish Banking Federation. Currently: independent non-executive director, chair of the audit committee of Computershare Investor Services Ireland, non-executive director of Business in the Community, Ensemble Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

Prof Sarah Rogers Formerly: leading consultant dermatologist. Currently: Associate Professor of Medicine in UCD, BA degree student in Latin and Classical Civilisation in Trinity College, Ensemble Friend of Wexford Festival Opera.

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

photo

Wexford Festival Foundation As the Wexford Festival Foundation has completed its task of raising the private funding for the redevelopment of the Opera House, the Board and Executive wish to record their deep gratitude to all Foundation members and to the following donors for their commitment, generosity, support and dedication, and in particular to the late Liam Healy for his astute and unswerving leadership: Liam and Eithne Healy Michael & Giancarla Alen-Buckley Lewis & Loretta Brennan Glucksman Sir David Davies The Desmond Family Independent News & Media plc Frank A & Ursula Keane Carmel Naughton Tony & Chryss O’Reilly Peter D Sutherland SC Wexford County & Borough Councils Dame Vivien Duffield DBE The Clore Duffield Foundation Bill Kelly John & Patricia Mellon Danone Nutricia BNY Mellon PwC

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

Philip & Paula Stafford The American Ireland Fund Dr Michael & Ruth West Wexford Creamery Wexford Festival Trust UK Ltd Tony & Breda Wright Wexford Festival Foundation also acknowledges additional individual and corporate donations vital to its capital fundraising endeavours. For a full list of donors please visit Wexfordopera.com/foundation

New Sponsors We extend a warm welcome to our new corporate sponsors for 2015: Visa, PwC, Gas Networks Ireland, Waterford Airport, Volvo and Eset Reflex. The commitment of these leading corporations to support our work provides an outstanding example of the myriad possibilities which arise through corporate investment in the arts. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to all our funders, sponsors and partners for their continued confidence in, and endorsement of, our Festival. To discuss the many corporate sponsorship and philanthropic opportunities and initiatives offered by Wexford Festival Opera, please contact David McLoughlin, Chief Executive: dml@wexfordopera.com.

2014 PwC Emerging Young Artist Award: Rory Musgrave (back) and Rachel Croash ( front), with Jean Delaney (Partner, PwC), and David McLoughlin (CEO, WFO). photo: patrick browne

PwC Emerging Young Artist Award PwC and Wexford Festival Opera have created the Emerging Young Artist Award to provide opportunities for two outstanding young opera singers at Wexford to develop their talent and further their careers with a bursary. The first two recipients of the Award are Dublin soprano Rachel Croash and Connemara baritone Rory Musgrave, who were selected on their past performances at the Festival and their development as artists. They gained Masters degrees in Music Performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where Rachel studied with Mary Brennan and Dearbhla Collins, and Rory with Philip O’Reilly. In 2014 both were members of the WFO Chorus; Rory received the Gerard Arnhold Bursary and Rachel also had roles in the Trial by Jury and La Traviata ShortWorks. This year Rachel appears in Koanga and Hansel and Gretel, and Rory is in Guglielmo Ratcliff.

Aria Friends’ Bursary Throughout the Festival the Aria Friends of Wexford Festival Opera have the opportunity to nominate the artist they wish to see awarded the 2015 Aria Friends of Wexford Festival Opera Bursary. The winner of the Bursary will be announced by the Artistic Director on the closing night of the 2015 Festival.

2014 recipients of the Gerard Arnhold Award, Johane Ansell (left) and Rory Musgrave (right), with Keith Hatchick (centre), Secretary of the Wexford Festival UK Trust. photo: patrick browne

Gerard Arnhold Award (donated by Anthony Arnhold in memory of his father) This award, generously donated by Anthony Arnhold in memory of his father, will be announced by the Artistic Director on the closing night of the 2015 Festival. Gerard Arnhold, a long-time patron and supporter of Wexford Festival Opera, died in 2010 after a long and fulfilling life. Wexford Festival Opera is most grateful to Anthony, his wife Mayca and the Arnhold family for providing this award. The 2014 recipients of the Gerard Arnhold Award were Johane Ansell and Rory Musgrave.

European Friends Since the formation of the European Friends of Wexford Opera in Brussels in 2013, members have enjoyed visits to Paris (2014) and to Berlin in 2015. Soprano Jennifer Davis, accompanied by Jamison Livsey, gave a recital for the European Friends at the Embassy of Ireland in Berlin, kindly hosted by the Ambassador of Ireland to Germany, Michael Collins. The European Friends’ initiative is aimed at increasing our Friends’ membership base and developing our audience and profile in continental Europe. For further information please contact Anna Bates: +353 53 916 3525 or email anna@wexfordopera.com.

The 2014 Aria Friends’ Bursary was awarded to Kate Allen.

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

photo: ros kavanagh

Education and Community Initiatives We are very grateful to Freddie and Michael Linnett and to The Ireland Funds, through their Promising Ireland Campaign, for their continued very generous support of Wexford Festival Opera’s community partnership and education projects: • Based on the Festival’s commitment to make a distinctive contribution to arts education, Wexford Festival Opera will once again this year make available over 1,200 free tickets for dress rehearsal performances of the Festival ShortWorks to secondary school students in the Wexford region • Principal players of the Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera will again this year engage in a programme of playing in care homes and giving education workshops in schools in Wexford town and county These initiatives form part of our commitment to making the Festival easily accessible to students and younger people, with a distinct focus on the promotion of cultural awareness and understanding. Bringing the Festival and its work to this group will assist in the development of the next generation of leaders in the Festival community.

Friends’ Membership For more than sixty years Wexford Festival Opera has flourished, and this is due in large measure to the generous support of our Friends. The commitment of our Friends to the development of Wexford Festival Opera’s repertoire is vital to its success. Your energy and enthusiasm inspire us to continue to deliver excellence on the global opera

Supporting Wexford Festival Opera

stage. By becoming a Friend of Wexford Festival Opera you can play a vital part in the development of opera in Ireland and safeguard the future of Wexford as an international opera festival. Membership opportunities include: • Prelude Friends – ¤80 Under-35s and full-time students • Ensemble Friends – ¤185 Festival supporter • Aria Friends – ¤500 Supporting young singers • Teatro Friends – ¤1,000 Festival supporter and seat endower • Bravura Friends – ¤2,000 Production supporter Visit our website Wexfordopera.com/friends or see our Friends’ Membership Brochure for more information about the different benefits on offer. To become a Friend, or to renew your Friends’ subscription, please do so online or contact Anna Bates, Membership Development Executive: +353 53 916 3525 or email anna@wexfordopera.com.

Seat Endowments Endow a seat in the O’Reilly Theatre, the main auditorium of the National Opera House, with a plaque in your own name or that of a loved one. Typically, seats are endowed in memory of a life well lived or as the perfect, enduring gift. If you would like to endow a seat please contact Anna Bates: +353 53 9163525 or email anna@wexfordopera.com. To view a full record of dedications to the Seat Endowment Programme at the National Opera House, visit Wexfordopera.com/support/endow‑a-seat

Friends of the Festival

e would like to thank all of our Friends for the extraordinary support they have shown towards Wexford Festival Opera

in 2015.

Life Friends Eithne Healy, in recognition of her exceptional support and friendship, and that of her late husband, Liam.

Bravura Friends Apex Associates City Limited, Mrs Jackie Bolger, Mrs Ann Corcoran, Mr Brian Dickie, Mrs Kate Dugdale, Mike & Kathy Gallagher, Mr John Haines, Mr Malcolm Herring, Mr Harry Hyman, Mr Trevor Jacobs, Mrs Geraldine Karlsson, Mr & Mrs Frank A & Ursula Keane, Ms Judith Lawless & Mr Kevin Egan, Mrs Patricia Mellon, Mr & Mrs Terence & Marjorie Neill, Mr & Mrs James & Sylvia O’Connor, Mr Patrick HP O’Sullivan, Miss Eileen Partington, John Schlesinger & Margaret Rowe, Mr & Mrs Max & Joy Ulfane, Mr Mark Villamar & Ms Esther Milstead, Mr & Mrs Michael & Ruth West, Christopher C. Wright. This year’s production of Le Pré aux clercs has been made possible with the generous support of the Bravura Friends of Wexford Festival Opera

Teatro Friends Mr & Mrs Ate & Jannie Atema, Mr & Mrs Des & Aine Dunne, Mr & Mrs Patrick & Sara Kickham, Mr James McCormick.

Aria Friends Mr David Agler, Mr & Mrs Thomas & Monica Agler, Mr & Mrs Ate & Jannie Atema, Mr James & Lady Emma Barnard, Mr John Berns, Mr Anthony Boswood, Mr Roger Bramble, Mr Flannan Browne, Mr & Mrs David & Dorothy Byers, Ms Breda Cashe, Mrs Heather Clarke, Mr Paul Cleary, Mr & Mrs Pearse & Mary Colbert, Mr Eoin Colfer, Mr & Mrs Michael & Jane Collins, Mr & Mrs Eamonn Conlon, Mr & Mrs Thomas & Margaret Crotty, Ms Jean Delaney, Prof Patrick & Dr Grace Dowling, Mr Roger Epsztajn, Ms Barbara FitzGerald, Mr & Mrs Maurice & Maire Foley, Mr Peter Gerrard, Mr & Mrs Alan & Caroline Gillespie, Dr James A Glazier, Mr Gareth Hadley, Mr & Mrs Martin

& Angela Hanrahan, Mr Keith Hatchick, Mr & Mrs John & Yvonne Healy, Mr Dennis Hearn, Mr & Mrs Paul & Angela Hennessy, Mrs Hilary Henry, Dr Heinz Hockmann & Ms Marcia MacHarg, Mr & Mrs Stephen & Leila Hodge, Sir Derek Johns, Mr & Mrs Brian & Peggy Joyce, Mr & Mrs Paul & Joyce Kelly, Mr Timothy King, Mr Lyndon MacCann, Ms Helen McGovern, Dr Oran McGrath, Ms Maeve Mahony, Mrs Jean M Marsden, Mr & Mrs David & Kathy Mere, Ms Claudine Murphy, Mr & Mrs Con & Eimear Murphy, Mrs Julie Neuberger, Mr Eddie O’Connor, Ms Emer O’Kelly, Mr & Mrs Finbarr & Mary O’Neill, Mr Alan Sainer, Rev John‑Paul Sheridan, Mr Philip Smyth, Mrs Beverly Sperry‑Meehan, Ms Vina Spiehler, Mr Michael Steen, Mr Billy Sweetman, Mr & Mrs Peter & Nancy Thompson, Mr Bradley Vernatter, Countess (Ulrike) Walderdorff – Artramon Farm, Kevin G Walsh PC, Mrs Rachelle Wilmott, Dr Ernest Zillekins. The Aria Friends generously support the Aria Friends of Wexford Festival Opera Bursary and the Chorus of Wexford Festival Opera.

Ensemble Friends A Dr Ken Abraham, The Ahern Family, Dr John & Mrs Pamela Aldrich, Mr Rodger Alexander, Mr Patrick Allen, Mr Patrick Annesley, Mrs Patricia Archer, Mr Gabriel Armin, Ms Majella Asple, Mr & Mrs Leslie & Marie Auchincloss. B Ms Catherine Bainbridge, Ms Karen Banks, Mrs Isla Baring Tait Trust, Mr Donal Barrington, Mr Desmond Barry, Prof Terry Barry, Drs Joseph & Siobháin Barry, Mr & Mrs Paul & Janet Batchelor, Prof Ray Bates, Mr & Mrs Dick & Leonie Bates, Mrs Valerie Beatty, Mr Michael Bennett, Mr & Mrs William & Ann Bennett, Ms Paula Best, Mr David Bewers, Dr Thomas & Dame Beulah Bewley, Mr Jean‑Jacques Beyer‑Weiss, Mr Alan Bigley, Mses Caroline & Jane Blunden, Mr Matthew Boggan, Mr E John Bourke, Mr Martin P Bourke, Mrs Mary Bowe, Ms Diane Boylan, Dr Margaret Brady, Jane & Derek Brauders, Mr Malcolm Bremner, Mrs Mary Breslin, Mr Stephen Brier, Mrs Maria Broderick,

Friends of the Festival

Misses Caroline Brodie, Mr & Mrs Bernard & Elizabeth Browne, Mrs Maureen Browne, Mr John Browne, Mr Mark Edward Browne, Mr David Buchler, Ms Jane Buckley, Mr Noel Buckley, Mrs Rosemary Buckley, Mrs Aileen Bunyan, Dr Anita Bunyan, Ms Mary Bunyan, Mr Derek Burke, Mr David Burn, Mrs Noreen Butler, Mr Daniel Byrne, Dr Joan Byrne, Ms Joyce Byrne, Dr Michael & Patricia Byrne, Ms Louise Byrne, Mrs Valerie F Byrne‑Cook. C Mr & Mrs Dermot & Fionnuala Cahillane, Ms Jennifer Caldwell, Dr Una Callaghan, Prof Bruce Campbell, Ms Margaret Cannon, Dr Sylvia Carlisle, Mr Peter Carpenter, Ms Deirdre Carroll, Dr Jim Carson, Mrs Mary Casey, Mr François Casier, Mr & Ms Renato & Lanna Castellano, Mrs Mary Caulfield, Mr Patrick Caulfield, Mr & Mrs Ann & David Charles, Mr Mark Charnock, Mr Paul Cheeseright, Mrs Frances M Chisholm, Mr & Mrs Sean & Eileen Clancy, Ms Elizabeth Clancy, Mr Tom Clancy, Mrs Noreen Clarke, J D Clarkson & P R Morris, Mr & Mrs P Clifton Brown, Ellen & Mary Cody, Mr John Coleman, Mr & Mrs Michael & Jane Collins, Mr Trevor Collins, Mr & Mrs Louis & Cara Collum, Right Rev Dr Paul Colton, Mr Seamus Concannon, Mr Phil Coney, Ms Marian Conneely, Ms Anne Cooke, Marianne Jackman, Mr Andrew R Cooper, Ms Sybil Cope, Ms Yvonne Copeland, Mr Bernard Corbally, Ms Sally Corcoran, Prof Christopher Cordess, Ms Antoinette Corrigan, Mr Massimo Corsini, Ms Pat Cosgrave, Finola Costello, Ms Barbara Costigan, Mr Jerome Cotter, Dr Paule Cotter McGrath, Mr Antony Cotton, Ms Suzanne Creagh, Ms Marion Creely, Mr Jeremy Crouch, Mr & Mrs Richard & Una Crowe, Mr Ciaran Culleton, Mrs Joy Cunningham, Angela & Helen Cunningham, Dr & Mrs David & Ann Marie Curtis, Ms Mary Rose Curtis, Dr Tom Curtis, Mr Andy Cusack. D Emer Daly, Mrs Ursula Daly, Mrs Caroline Daszewska, Ms Deirdre D’Auria, Ms Elizabeth Davies, Mrs Sally Davis, Mr Colin Davis, Alan Davis & Kevin Jenkins, Ms Françoise Davison, Mr Bruce Dawson, Comtess Henri de Crouy‑Chanel, Mrs Mary H De Garmo, Mr Michael de Navarro, Lord Marcus Decies,

Friends of the Festival

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H Ms Dympna Hackett, Ms Mary Jo Hanlon & Mr Malachy McDaniel‑Stone, The Hanton/ Mulcahy Family, Mr James Harpur, Mr Stewart Harrington, Mr Charles Harriss, Mr & Mrs Robert & Avril Harvey, Mrs Margaret Hassett, Ms Moira Hayes, Mr & Mrs Ciaran & Anne Hearne, Mrs Miriam Hederman‑O’Brien, Ms Maura Hegarty, Mr John Hegarty, Ms Louise Hennen, Declan & Joan Hickey, Ms Pamela Jean Hickey, Mr Aidan Hicks, Mr Alan Hoaksey, Mr David HS Hobbs, Mr John A Hockin, Mr Robin Hodgson, Mr Noel Horgan, Mr Michael Horgan, Mr & Mrs Michael & Joan Houlihan, Ms Jennifer Howard, Mrs Jacqueline Howe, Mr Brendan Howlin, Mr &owlin, Mr & Mrs Bob & Soo Kyoung Huddie, Dr M P Hughes, Ms Sheila Hunt, Mr Gerard Hurl, Dr Mary Hurley, Mr & Mrs Derry & Gemma Hussey, Mr & Mrs James & Dympna Hutchinson, Mrs Alma Hynes. I Dr Peter & Mrs J M Iredale. J Mr Gerald H Jarvis, Mrs Irene Patricia Jeffares, Ms Marilyn Jeffcoat, Mrs Mary Jennings, Ms Jenny Josselyn. K Mr Kyran W S Kane, Ms Rosario Kealy, Pauline Keena & Susan Windholz, Ms Ada Kelly, Ms Avril P Kelly, Prof Deirdre Kelly, Ms Máire Kelly, Mary Kelly, Mr Eamon Kennedy, Mr Courtney Kenny, Mr & Mrs John & Mary Kenny, Mr & Mrs David & Lynda Kenny, Mr John Keogan, Mr Ramon W P Kerrigan, Dr Lisbet Kickham, Dr Edward King, Mr Nicholas H King, Mr Brian Kingham, Ms Morette Kinsella, Mr Peter Knowles, Mrs Catherine Kullmann, Dr Iain M Kyles. L Mr Eamonn Lacey, Andrea & Benno Laggner, Mr & Mrs Eamon & Heather Lalor, Michael Lambarth, Ms Vivian Lambert, Ms Daphne Lane, Mr Robert Laporte, Ms Carole Lavelle, Ms Barbara Law, Mrs & Mr Laura & Ger Lawlor, Cyril & Philomena Leach, Mrs Róisín Leahy, Ms Maura Leavy, Ms Miriam Leech & Mr Paul D Walsh, Ms Genevieve Leloup, Mr & Mrs Colm & Marroussia Lennon, Ms Clare Leonard (Lett),

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Friends of the Festival

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N Mr & Mrs Robert & Mary Neill, Mary P Neylon‑Cody, Dr Mealla Ní Ghiobúin, Mr Tommy Nielsen, Mr Robert Niven Baird, Ms Marie Nolan, Mr Jeremiah Nolan, Dr Patricia Norman.

Q Mr & Mrs Colm & Mary Quigley, Ms Margaret Quigley, Dr Kevin & Marian Quinn.

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Friends of the Festival

R Mr P J Radcliff, Ms Philomena Rafferty, Dr Eleanor Rashleigh‑Belcher, Mr Peter Raven, Rea Group, Dr & Prof Barry & Bairbre Redmond, Mr Philip Regan, Mr Michael Francis Reid, Mrs Gillian Reynolds, Mr & Mrs John & Sinead Reynolds, Ms Trish Robinson, Prof Sarah Rogers, Diane Roscoe, Mr Lionel Rosenblatt, Mrs Barbara Ross, The Earl of Rosse, Mr David Rowe, Mr & Mrs Jim & Frances Ruane, Mrs Jean Ruddock, Mrs M J Rumney, Dr Angela Ryan,Mr Jim Ryan, Mr Noel Ryan, Mr & Mrs Richie & Mairead Ryan, Simon Ryan & Anne Leech, Mr Timothy RG Ryland. S Mr & Mrs Jurgen & Helga Sassmannshausen, Ms Linda Scales & Michael Durack, Mrs Noeline Scales, Mrs Eithne Scallan, Mr Wolfgang Schmid, Mr Aubrey Schrader, Mr & Mrs Joe & Selina Scott, Mr & Mrs James & Angela Sellick, Mr & Mrs John & Helen Shackleton, Mr & Mrs David & Virginia Shankland, Ms Ricky Shannon, LJ Shaughnessy, Dr Sheila Sheerin, Mary Sherry Archer, Mr & Mrs John & Nancy Sherwood, Mr Nigel Silby, Mr & Mrs David & Mairead Sinnott, Ms Geraldine Skinner, Ms Anna Skrine, Mr & Mrs Martin & Shirley Slocock, Mr John MA Sly, Mrs Helen Smith, Mr Jim Smith, Mr Michael D Smith, Dr Anthony Smoker, Dr Beatrice Sofaer‑Bennett, Mr Richard Southwell QC, Mr & Mrs Trevor & Sheila Spalding, Ms Barbara Spark, Mr John Hamilton Sparks, Dr Reggie Spelman, Mr Stephan Spurr, Mr Derek Stabbins, Mr & Mrs Jonathan & Gillian Staunton, Ms Carol Ann Stearns, Ms Dianne Steele, Mr Philip Stopford, Ms Gillian Stormonth‑Darling, Mr & Mrs Brendan & Siobhan Supple, Ms Joyce Byrne & Mr Edward Sweeney, Mr John Dean Symon.

T Ms Peta Taaffe, Pru Tatham, Mrs Barbara Taylor, Mr Simon Taylor, Mrs Alison Thorman, Mr & Mrs Eamon & Niamh Tierney, Ms Mary Tierney, Mr Peter Steward Tilley, Ms Margaret Tinsley, Ms Anne Tobin & Mr Tom Schnittger, Mr Kieran Tobin, Mr Colm Tóibín, Mr Henry Toner QC, Mr Volka Tosta, Dr Carol L Tsuyuke, Mrs Mary J Tubridy, Ms Mary Tucker, Mr John D Turley KC*HS, Mr Jonathan Turner, Mrs Curzon Tussaud, Mr & Mrs Brendan & Patricia Twomey, Mr James Tyrrell, Ms Sheila Tyrrell. U Mr Michael Udal, Mrs Eileen Underwood. V Mr & Mrs Francis & Janet Valentine, Mr Michael Veale, Prof Graham Venables, Mr Emilio Venturi. W Ms Anne Wallace, Mrs Anne M Walsh, Mr Anthony J Walsh, Mr Graham Walsh, Dr Martin Walsh, Ms Maureen Walsh, Ms Winnefride Walsh, Victoria Walsh‑Hamer, Mrs Caroline Ward, Mr Stanley Warren, Ken Watters & Robin Wilkinson, Mr Michael Waugh, Mrs Diana Warwick, Ms Brenda Weir, Mrs Anne Wetzel, Mr William Wilks, Mr John Whelan, Mr & Mrs Conor & Jean Whelan, Mr & Mrs Enda & Maura Whelan, Mr & Mrs Pat & Jacqui Whelan, Mr Paul White, Ms Eithne White, Ms Eleanor White, Dr Mark Whitty, Mr & Mrs Simon & Pearl Willbourn, Mrs Marie Williams, Mrs Valerie Willoughby, Dr Paul D Wilson, Ms Louise Wilson & Mr Paul Kennan, Mr & Mrs Leslie & Alma Wolfson, Ms Anne Marie Woods, Mr & Mrs J & E Woods, Mr & Mrs Nicholas & Fiona Woolf, Mr Laurence JF Wrenne, Mrs Bernie Wright, Dr Peter Wykes, Mr Gordon Wyllie.

Prelude Friends Mr Andrew Aldrich, Louise Beegan, Mr Garrett Browne, Ms Daisy Butterworth, Ms Lorraine Cahill, Mr Eoghan Carrick, Mrs Anne Carroll, Ms Emer Collins, Ms Emily Collins, Ms Anne Connolly, Ms Sybil Cope, Mr & Mrs Harry & Angelique Corry, Mr James Crockett, Ms Meabh Croft, Mr Ian Cullen, Ms Yvonne Doyle, Mr Matthew Dillon, Mr David Duffin,Mr Mark Furlong, Ms Clara Hamer, Miss Anna Hayes, Mr Ben Hennessy, Mr Bill Hennessy, Ms Anna Hickey, Mr Eanna Horan, Mr Jamie Horan, Mr Ciaran Hore, Mr Kevin Hore, Mr Feargal Hynes, Dr Elizabeth Kappos, Mr Daniel Kavanagh, Ms Emma Kehoe, Ms Elaine Kennedy, Mr James Kolasinski, Mr Tom Lane, Ms Saramai Leech, Ms Rachel MacCann, Ms Rebecca MacCann, Mr Amhlaoibh Mac Giolla, Mr Andy Mahoney, Mr Mark Mahoney, Ms Claire Maloney, Mr Ruben Marcus, Mr Paul McKane, Mr Robert Modler, Ms Lucy Moylan, Mr Gerard M Mulhall, Ms Mary Mullen, Ms Christina Murphy, Ms Jill Murphy, Mr Odhrán Murphy, Ms Noirin Ni Earcain, Ms Emma Nolan, Ms Miriam O’Connor, Mr Robert O’Farrell, Ms Frances O’Hara, Emma O’Leary, Róisín & Sinéad O’Reilly, Mr Seamus Redmond, Miss Lydia Rooney, Mr Conor Ryan, Thomas Ryan, Karma El Shawa, Ms Harriet Smyth, Dr Robert Szymanek, Mr Danny Trappe, Mr James Warren, Ms Amy Watchorn, Mrs Aoife Whelan.

Y Mr Nicholas Yarr, Mr & Mrs Ivor & Ann Young. Z Ms Charlotte Zimmerman, Mrs Sybella Zisman.

Friends of the Festival

Thank You The people of Wexford

Denis Darcy

Keith Hatchick

Canadian Opera Company

Tom Enright – Chief Executive, Wexford County Council

Tim Hicks

Catriona Cannon – Collections, Royal Opera House Gillian Carew Garda Peter Cassin HE Dominick Chilcott – Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ireland HE Michael Collins – Ambassador of Ireland to Germany Domitilla Corsini – Casa Musicale Sonzogno

Helen Faulkner – The Delius Trust Fireworks Subcommittee of Wexford Borough District Council Ian Fox Ann Fuller and Sandra Price – Dublin International Piano Competition Loretta Brennan Glucksman

Mairead Hurley – Head of Vocal, Opera and Drama Studies, DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama Joyce Kennedy Sylvia L’Écuyer David Lemon Kevin Lewis – Wexford County Archive Lowneys Patricia Mellon

PHOTO © PAULA MALONE CARTY

Thank You

HE Daniel Mulhall – Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom Shane Naughton Feargal Ó Coigligh – Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht Seamus O’Flaherty Mark Redmond – American Chamber of Commerce Ireland Dr Clair Rowden

Philip Stafford Léonidas Strapatsakis – Comédie-Française Simon Taylor – National Concert Hall, Dublin Eimear Thomas Dr Fulvio Venturi Victoria Walsh-Hamer Edward Yusko & Conor Killeen, Kay Capital

Royal National Theatre, UK

Thank You

Repertoire by Year 1951–2015 1951

1966

1977

The Rose of Castile – Balfe

Fra Diavolo – Auber Lucrezia Borgia – Donizetti

Hérodiade – Massenet Orfeo ed Euridice – Gluck Triple Bill: Il maestro di cappella – Cimarosa La serva e l’ussero – Ricci La serva padrona – Pergolesi

1952 L’elisir d’amore – Donizetti

1967

1953

Otello – Rossini Roméo et Juliette – Gounod

Don Pasquale – Donizetti

1954 La sonnambula – Bellini

1955 Der Wildschütz – Lortzing Manon Lescaut – Puccini

1956 La Cenerentola – Rossini Martha – Flotow

La clemenza di Tito – Mozart La Jolie Fille de Perth – Bizet L’equivoco stravagante – Rossini

1969 L’infedeltà delusa – Haydn Luisa Miller – Verdi

1970

La figlia del reggimento – Donizetti L’Italiana in Algeri – Rossini

Albert Herring – Britten Lakmé – Delibes L’inganno felice – Rossini Il giovedì grasso – Donizetti

1958

1971

Anna Bolena – Donizetti I due Foscari – Verdi

Les Pêcheurs de perles – Bizet La rondine – Puccini Il re pastore – Mozart

1957

1959 La gazza ladra – Rossini Aroldo – Verdi

1960 Theatre closed for reconstruction

1961 Ernani – Verdi Mireille – Gounod

1962 L’amico Fritz – Mascagni I puritani – Bellini

1963 Don Pasquale – Donizetti La Gioconda – Ponchielli The Siege of Rochelle – Balfe

1964 Lucia di Lammermoor – Donizetti Il Conte Ory – Rossini Much Ado About Nothing – Stanford

1965 Don Quichotte – Massenet La traviata – Verdi La finta giardiniera – Mozart

1968

Repertoire by Year 1951–2015

1972 Oberon – Weber Il pirata – Bellini Kát’a Kabanová – Janá�cek

1973 Ivan Susanin – Glinka The Gambler – Prokofiev L’ajo nell’imbarazzo – Donizetti

1974 Medea in Corinto – Mayr Thaïs – Massenet Der Barbier von Bagdad – Cornelius

1975 Eritrea – Cavalli Le Roi d’Ys – Lalo La pietra del paragone – Rossini

1976 Giovanna d’Arco – Verdi The Merry Wives of Windsor – Nicolai The Turn of the Screw – Britten

1978 Tiefland – d’Albert Il mondo della luna – Haydn The Two Widows – Smetana

1979 L’amore dei tre re – Montemezzi La vestale – Spontini Crispino e la comare – Ricci Brothers

1980 Edgar – Puccini Orlando – Handel Of Mice and Men – Floyd

1981 I gioielli della Madonna – WolfFerrari Zaide – Mozart Un giorno di regno – Verdi

1982 Sakùntala – Alfano L’isola disabitata – Haydn Grisélidis – Massenet

1983 Hans Heiling – Marschner La vedova scaltra – Wolf-Ferrari Linda di Chamounix – Donizetti

1984 Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame – Massenet Le astuzie femminili – Cimarosa The Kiss – Smetana

1985 La Wally – Catalani Ariodante – Handel The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny – Weill

1986 Königskinder – Humperdinck Tancredi – Rossini Mignon – Thomas

1987

1997

2008

La straniera – Bellini La cena delle beffe – Giordano Cendrillon – Massenet

Elena da Feltre – Mercadante Rusalka – Dargomïzhsky La fiamma – Respighi

Snegurochka – Rimsky-Korsakov The Mines of Sulphur – Bennett Tutti in maschera – Pedrotti

1988

1998

2009

The Devil and Kate – Dvo�rák Elisa e Claudio – Mercadante Double Bill: Don Giovanni Tenorio – Gazzaniga Turandot – Busoni

Fosca – Gomes Šarlatán – Haas I cavalieri di Ekebù – Zandonai

The Ghosts of Versailles – Corigliano Double Bill: Une Éducation manquée – Chabrier La Cambiale di matrimonio – Rossini Maria Padilla – Donizetti

1989 Der Templer und die Jüdin – Marschner Mitridate, re di Ponto – Mozart The Duenna – Prokofiev

1990 Zazà – Leoncavallo The Rising of the Moon – Maw La Dame blanche – Boieldieu

1991 L’assedio di Calais – Donizetti La Rencontre imprévue – Gluck Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung – Goetz

1992 Il piccolo Marat – Mascagni Gli equivoci – Storace Der Vampyr – Marschner

1993 Cherevichki – Tchaikovsky Il barbiere di Siviglia – Paisiello Zampa – Hérold

1994 The Demon – Rubinstein La bohème – Leoncavallo Das Liebesverbot – Wagner

1995 Saffo – Pacini Mayskaya noch’ – RimskyKorsakov Iris – Mascagni

1996 Parisina – Donizetti L’Étoile du Nord – Meyerbeer Šárka – Fibich

1999 Die Königin von Saba – Goldmark Straszny dwór – Moniuszko Siberia – Giordano

2000 Orleanskaya deva – Tchaikovsky Si j’étais roi – Adam Conchita – Zandonai

2001 Alessandro Stradella – Flotow Jakobín – Dvo�rák Sapho – Massenet

2002 Il giuramento – Mercadante Mirandolina – Martin�u Manon Lescaut – Auber

2003 Die Drei Pintos – Weber/Mahler María del Carmen – Granados Švanda dudák – Weinberger

2004 La vestale – Mercadante Eva – Foerster Prinzessin Brambilla – Braunfels

2005 Maria di Rohan – Donizetti Pénélope – Fauré Susannah – Floyd

2006 Don Gregorio – Donizetti Transformations – Susa

2007 Der Silbersee – Weill Double Bill: Pulcinella – Stravinsky Arlecchino – Busoni Rusalka – Dvo�rák

2010 Virginia – Mercadante The Golden Ticket – Ash & Sturrock Hubi�cka – Smetana

2011 La Cour de Célimène – Thomas Maria – Statkowski Gianni di Parigi – Donizetti

2012 L’Arlesiana – Cilèa Le Roi malgré lui – Chabrier A Village Romeo and Juliet – Delius

2013 Il Cappello di paglia di Firenze – Rota Double Bill: Thérèse – Massenet La Navarraise – Massenet Cristina, regina di Svezia – Foroni

2014 Salomé – Mariotte Don Bucefalo – Cagnoni Silent Night – Puts

2015 Koanga – Delius Guglielmo Ratcliff – Mascagni Le Pré aux clercs – Hérold

Repertoire by Year 1951–2015

Repertoire by Composer 1951–2015 Adam

Cimarosa

Gazzaniga

Si j’étais roi – 2000

Il maestro di cappella – 1977 Le astuzie femminili – 1984

Don Giovanni Tenorio – 1988

Tiefland – 1978

Corigliano

Alfano

The Ghosts of Versailles – 2009

La cena delle beffe – 1987 Siberia – 1999

Sakùntala – 1982

Cornelius

Glinka

Ash & Sturrock

Der Barbier von Bagdad – 1974

Ivan Susanin – 1973

The Golden Ticket – 2010

Dargomïzhsky

Gluck

Auber

Rusalka – 1997

Fra Diavolo – 1966 Manon Lescaut – 2002

Delibes

Orfeo ed Euridice – 1977 La Rencontre imprévue – 1991

Lakmé – 1970

Goetz

Balfe

Delius

The Rose of Castile – 1951 The Siege of Rochelle – 1963

A Village Romeo and Juliet – 2012 Koanga – 2015

Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung – 1991

Bellini

Donizetti

Die Königin von Saba – 1999

La sonnambula – 1954 I puritani – 1962 Il pirata – 1972 La straniera – 1987

Gomes

Prinzessin Brambilla – 2004

L’elisir d’amore – 1952 Don Pasquale – 1953 & 1963 La figlia del reggimento – 1957 Anna Bolena – 1958 Lucia di Lammermoor – 1964 Lucrezia Borgia – 1966 Il giovedì grasso – 1970 L’ajo nell’imbarazzo – 1973 Linda di Chamounix – 1983 L’assedio di Calais – 1991 Parisina – 1996 Maria di Rohan – 2005 Don Gregorio – 2006 Maria Padilla – 2009 Gianni di Parigi – 2011

Britten

Dvo�rák

L’infedeltà delusa – 1969 Il mondo della luna – 1978 L’isola disabitata – 1982

d’Albert

Bennett The Mines of Sulphur – 2008

Bizet La Jolie Fille de Perth – 1968 Les Pêcheurs de perles – 1971

Boieldieu La Dame blanche – 1990

Braunfels

Albert Herring – 1970 The Turn of the Screw – 1976

Busoni

The Devil and Kate – 1988 Jakobín – 2001 Rusalka – 2007

Goldmark

Fosca – 1998

Gounod Mireille – 1961 Roméo et Juliette – 1967

Granados María del Carmen – 2003

Haas Šarlatán – 1998

Handel Orlando – 1980 Ariodante – 1985

Haydn

Hérold

Turandot – 1988 Arlecchino – 2007

Fauré Pénélope – 2005

Zampa – 1993 Le Pré aux clercs – 2015

Cagnoni

Fibich

Humperdinck

Don Bucefalo – 2014

Šárka – 1996

Königskinder – 1986

Flotow

Janá�cek Kát’a Kabanová – 1972

Cavalli

Martha – 1956 Alessandro Stradella – 2001

Lalo

Eritrea – 1975

Floyd

Le Roi d’Ys – 1975

Chabrier

Of Mice and Men – 1980 Susannah – 2005

Leoncavallo

Catalani La Wally – 1985

Une Éducation manquée – 2009 Le Roi malgré lui – 2012

Foerster

Zazà – 1990 La bohème – 1994

Cilèa

Eva – 2004

Lortzing

L’Arlesiana – 2012

Foroni

Der Wildschütz – 1955

Cristina, regina di Svezia – 2013

100

Giordano

Repertoire by Composer 1951–2015

Mariotte

Paisiello

Spontini

Salomé – 2014

Il barbiere di Siviglia – 1993

La vestale – 1979

Marschner

Pedrotti

Stanford

Hans Heiling – 1983 Der Templer und die Jüdin – 1989 Der Vampyr – 1992

Tutti in maschera – 2008

Much Ado About Nothing – 1964

Pergolesi

Statkowski

La serva padrona – 1977

Maria – 2011

Ponchielli

Storace

La Gioconda – 1963

Gli equivoci – 1992

Prokofiev

Stravinsky

The Gambler – 1973 The Duenna – 1989

Pulcinella – 2007

Puccini

Transformations – 2006

Manon Lescaut – 1955 La rondine – 1971 Edgar – 1980

Tchaikovsky

Martin�u Mirandolina – 2002

Mascagni Il piccolo Marat – 1992 Iris – 1995 Guglielmo Ratcliff – 2015

Massenet Don Quichotte – 1965 Thaïs – 1974 Hérodiade – 1977 Grisélidis – 1982 Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame – 1984 Cendrillon – 1987 Sapho – 2001 Thérèse – 2013 La Navarraise – 2013

Maw The Rising of the Moon – 1990

Mayr Medea in Corinto – 1974

Mercadante Elisa e Claudio – 1988 Elena da Feltre – 1997 Il giuramento – 2002 La vestale – 2004 Virginia – 2010

Meyerbeer L’Étoile du Nord – 1996

Moniuszko Straszny dwór – 1999

Montemezzi L’amore dei tre re – 1979

Mozart La finta giardiniera – 1965 La clemenza di Tito – 1968 Il re pastore – 1971 Zaide – 1981 Mitridate, re di Ponto – 1989

Nicolai The Merry Wives of Windsor – 1976

Pacini

Puts Silent Night – 2014

Respighi

Susa

Cherevichki – 1993 Orleanskaya deva – 2000

Thomas Mignon – 1986 La Cour de Célimène – 2011

La fiamma – 1997

Verdi

Ricci

I due Foscari – 1958 Aroldo – 1959 Ernani – 1961 La traviata – 1965 Luisa Miller – 1969 Giovanna d’Arco – 1976 Un giorno di regno – 1981

La serva e l’ussero – 1977

Ricci Brothers Crispino e la comare – 1979

Rimsky-Korsakov Mayskaya noch’ – 1995 Snegurochka – 2008

Rossini La Cenerentola – 1956 L’Italiana in Algeri – 1957 La gazza ladra – 1959 Il Conte Ory – 1964 Otello – 1967 L’equivoco stravagante – 1968 L’inganno felice – 1970 La pietra del paragone – 1975 Tancredi – 1986 La Cambiale di matrimonio – 2009

Rota Il Cappello di paglia di Firenze – 2013

Rubinstein The Demon – 1994

Smetana The Two Widows – 1978 The Kiss – 1984 Hubi�cka– 2010

Wagner Das Liebesverbot – 1994

Weber Oberon – 1972

Weber/Mahler Die Drei Pintos – 2003

Weill The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny – 1985 Der Silbersee – 2007

Weinberger Švanda dudák – 2003

Wolf-Ferrari I gioielli della Madonna – 1981 La vedova scaltra – 1983

Zandonai I cavalieri di Ekebù – 1998 Conchita – 2000

Saffo – 1995 Repertoire by Composer 1951–2015

101

Personnel

David Agler

David McLoughlin

Artistic Director

Chief Executive

artistic administration

Rosetta Cucchi Associate to the Artistic Director

Fiona Grant Phyllis McCarthy Terry White Stage Door

Nora Cosgrave Director of Artistic Administration

development

Giuliano Guernieri Company Manager

Anna Bates Membership Development Executive

Nicky Kehoe Assistant Company Manager Anne Thomas Accommodation Coordinator Andrea Grant Head of Music Staff Joe Csibi Orchestra Manager Elenor Bowers-Jolley Chorus Manager Sheldon Baxter Chorus Supervisor operations & finance

Aisling White Head of Operations Denise Kavanagh Financial Controller Caroline Whelan Accounting Administrator Nicky Pender Facilities Assistant Cathy Hogan Box Office Manager Geraldine O'Rourke Anne Wilde Box Office Michael Lonergan Duty Manager

Christina Cahill Membership Assistant

Personnel

Errol Girdlestone Chorus Master Andrea Grant Janet Haney Greg Ritchey Carmen Santoro Marie-Ève Scarfone Répétiteurs production

Anne-Marie O’Brien Development Assistant

David Stuttard Technical Director

Ruth Gallagher Development Intern

Ray Bingle Production Administrator

marketing & communications

Tracy Ryan Marketing Manager Elizabeth Rose-Browne Media Relations Manager Gerry Lundberg Public Relations ROI Media Consultants

Ian Smith Production Assistant stage management

Colin Murphy Erin Shepherd Theresa Tsang Stage Managers

Claudine Murphy Press Office Liaison

Alison Best Tommy Keatley David Putman Chris Tuffin Clive Welsh Assistant Stage Managers

Sarah Burn Publications Editor

Evie McGuinness* Intern

Joanna Townsend London Press Officer

Miles Linklater (24pt Helvetica) Graphic Designer Clive Barda Festival Photographer Highwind Films Video Production Sarah Codd Cecilia Molumby Marketing and PR Interns

* in partnership with The Lir (National Academy of Dramatic Art, Trinity College, Dublin)

102

music

crew

wardrobe

properties

Nic Rée Technical Crew Manager

Jeni Roddy Head of Wardrobe

Maggie Nottage Head of Properties

Conor Mullan ShortWorks Production Manager

Anne Reck Wardrobe Mistress

Martin Cahill Caoimhe Dunn Props Assistants

Sean Wright Master Carpenter Johnny Sherrard Assistant Master Carpenter Graeme Doyle Flyman Max Tolland Assistant Flyman Paul Allen Steve Anderson Stephen Barry Eddie Milbourne John Michael Murphy Steve Wilson Stage Technicians Peter Boyle Scenic Carpenter Every Event Additional Technical Crew

Tiziana Magris Costume Supervisor, Guglielmo Ratcliff Barbara McCarthy Costume Supervisor, Le Pré aux clercs

James Doyle** Paul Kerney** Interns

Miriam Donohoe Sine McEllin Rachel Perry Stitchers

surtitles

Elaine McFarland Dyer

Chris Stynes Technical Supervisor

Orlagh Tracey** Wardrobe Intern

Damien O’Rourke Orchestra Porter

Elizabeth Drwal orchestra technical staff

Lauren Murphy** Design Costume Intern wigs & makeup

Carole Dunne Head of Wigs & Makeup

Didier Barreau Chief Electrician

Claire McCaffrey Maria McLarnon Steffi Metzner Wigs & Makeup Assistants

Paul Hyland Deputy Chief Electrician

Clíona Campbell** Intern

electrics

David Redmond Scenic Artist

Eoin McNinch Board Operator Pip Walsh Danny Cunningham Stage Electricians Olchan Kirwan Audiovisual/Sound Technician

** in partnership with IADT (Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology)

Personnel

103

Volunteers backstage and technical

cloakroom

Manager: Vivian Crofton

Managers: Liz D’Arcy, Anne Fitzharris

Lorraine Byrne, Anne Cunningham, John Kirwan, Dave Martin, Frank Reck, Terry White bar

Manager: Steve Kelly Assisted by: Susan Eustace, Marie Hayes Philip Broaders, Marian Campbell, Caitriona Collins, Grainne Cooney, Maria Corcoran, Anne Marie Curtis, Rita Cussen, Breda Devoy, Margaret Donnelly, Carmel Dowdall, Mary Doyle, Dara Fitzpatrick, Frank Foley, Lorraine Foley, Colette Gilligan, Carol Goodison, Graham Grant, Judi Grey, Margaret Gurhy, Sandra Harris, Bernadette Honohan, Michael Kavanagh, Lorna Kearney, Jason Kehoe, Cian Kelly, Orlaith Kelly, Sheila Kissane, Conor Larkin, Catriona Lawlor, Fintan Lawlor, Lolo Lazaro, Frances Madders, Gertrude Madders, Jordan McGrath, Liz McGuinness, Elaine McMahon, Bobby Modler, Carmel Monahan, Marianne Moran, Tom Murphy, Vivian Murphy, Zarha Murphy, Fergal O’Brien, Kathleen O’Callaghan, Ciaran O’Flaherty, Gerry O’Neill, Mary O’Neill, Susan O’Neill, Philomena Payne, Celine Pons, Edna Rothwell, Helen Scahill, Selina Scott, Angie Thompson, Amanda Usher, Floriane Valdayron, Eileen Wickham

104

Volunteers

Eimear Bell, Patricia Bent, Crona Carew, Antonette Carley, Bea Claydon, Susan Crosbie, Ruth Deignan, Sandra Dempsey, Yvonne Doris, Desmond Fegan, Eithne Fitzpatrick, Sindy Jones, Kathy Kane, Caoimhe Kenneally, Jane Kenneally, Mary Kerr, Odile le Bolloch, Fiona McCoole, Antoinette Mitchell, Eileen Murphy, Kay O’Reardon, Helen O’Riordan, Colin Polden, Grainne Ryan, Ann Sills, Clare Storan, Niamh Tierney, Marie Tobin, Mary Tynan, Siobhan Tynan, Helen White drivers

Manager: David Lynch Nick Bowie, Michael Connolly, Thomas Conway, Brian Dempsey, Colm Dunne, Denise Fanning, Martin Flynn, Ray Heffernan, Simon Hussey, Ger Keeling, Mary Kuhn, Terry McCabe, Michael McGinley, Pat Morrin, Joe Murphy, John Rackard, David Sherwood, Eamon Tierney, Mary Waddell, KC Whelan, Joe Ryan front of house

Manager: Albert Lacey Assisted by: Paul Cleary, Edel Fitzmaurice, Padraic Larkin, Kevin Lewis, John McCormack, John Mullins, Tony O’Brien, David Sinnott Tom Banville, Ann Barrett, Vincent Brady, Antoinette Broaders, Joe Campbell, Pat Carberry, Robbie Connolly, Margo Coombe, Brian Coulter,

David Curtis, Françoise Davison, Philippe D’Helft, Kieran Donohoe, Eamonn Dundon, Seamus Flood, Paddy Foley, John Furlong, Leah Furlong, Mary Furlong, John Galvin, Lorraine Galvin, Oliver Gargan, Patricia Gilhooley, Gordon Gray, Gerard Hartigan, Olga Hussey, Peter Hussey, Simon Hussey, Fergal Hynes, Tony Hynes, Denise Kehoe, Sylvia Kehoe, Uwe Kuhn, Philip Lacey, Frank Lally, Claire Larkin, Bernie Lloyd, Phil Lynch, David Maguire, Luke Maguire, Colette Mahon, James Maloney, Brian Matthews, Brian McGonagle, Eamonn Murphy, Mary Murphy, Conall O’Brien, Frank O’Brien, Cathal O’Gara (Jnr), Senan O’Reilly, Eileen Paget, Colin Polden, Judy Pomeray, Philip Quigley, Jack Quinn, Pat Reck, Michael Redmond, Jim Reidy, Liam Riordan, Joe Ryan, Joe Scott, Dom Stafford, Billy Sweetman, Derek Thomas, Michael Ward, Ian Wardlaw, Michelle Winters green room

Manager: Liz Foley Kate Bolger, Brenda Byrne, Irene Carty, Moria Coffey, Angela Cunningham, Helen Cunningham, Joan Doyle, Eamonn Foley, Mary Fox, Ann Garthland, Margot Gaul, Sandra Harris, Marion Hillis, Lorraine Hynes, Verona McEvoy, Mary McGillick, Mary Morris, Susan O’Neill, Helen Redmond, Christine Roche, Kitty Roche, May Sadler, Liza Seavers, Kathy Shortle, Catherine Watchorn, Catherine Whelan

Programmes Volunteer Nuala Byrne and Press Office Liaison Claudine Murphy were named as the recipients of the annual Wexford Festival Opera/Ecclesiastical Volunteers Award in 2014. photo: patrick browne

friends’ hospitality

recitals

theatre tours

Manager: Alma Hynes

Manager: Elizabeth Murphy

Manager: Rosemary Hayes

Ann Barrett, Pauline Breen, Caroline Carson, Brian Coulter, Eithne Coulter, Anne Marie Curtis, Eileen Doyle, Mary Doyle, Eithne Fitzpatrick, Colette Furlong, Anne Gubbins, Mary Horan, Sarah Howlin, Ted Howlin, Marie Hussey, Peter Hussey, Bernie Lloyd, Phil Lynch, Catherine Malone, Sandra Mathews, Pat Moore, Clare Murphy, Louise Murphy, Betty O’Brien, Annie Ó Lionáin, Eileen Paget, Selina Scott, Dairine Sheridan, David Sinnott, Mairead Sinnott, Kate Whitty, Marie Williams

Assisted by: Phil Lynch

Françoise Davison, Helen Doyle, Mary Grant, Peter Hussey, Phil Lynch, Brian Matthews, Sibylle Schmidt, Billy Sweetman,

programmes

Manager: Laura Nolan Mags Bolger, Nuala Byrne, Catherine Carmody, Ruth Chapman, Joanne Crofton, Christiane Deller, Breda Devoy, Una Doherty, Mary Doyle, Mary G Doyle, Olivia Dunne, Belle Fitzgerald, Statia Fortune, Irene Furlong, Robert Gerrard, Eilis Hayes, Cora Kavanagh, Ann Logan, Mary Lynch, Barbara Mantripp, Tom Molloy, Kay Nixon, Clare Nolan, Helena O’Brien, Anne Roche, Gabrielle Roche, Ethna Ryan, Eleanor Ryan, Hilda Stafford, Eleanor White

Ann Barrett, Nora Byrne, Joe Campbell, Marian Campbell, Finola Costello, Mary Cotter, Susan Crampton, Françoise Davison, Eamonn Dundon, Mary Furlong, Helen Gaynor, Anne Gubbins, Lynda Harmon, Brigid Ann Hayes, Bernadette Honohan, Evelyn Howell, Michael Kavanagh, Bernie Lloyd, Ann Logan, Bernadette Lovett, Karen Lynott, Moira Martin, Mary McGuigan, Niall McGuigan, Ann McMorris, Marjorie Mulligan, Mary Nolan, Pauline Norrison, Betty O’Brien, Helena O’Brien, Ann O’Neill, Susan O’Neill, Michael O’Reilly, Anne O’Sullivan, Elizabeth O’Sullivan, Eileen Paget, Colin Polden, Madeline Prendergast, Michelle Roche, Patty Roche, Ethna Ryan, Sibylle Schmidt, Daniela Simmons, Kate Whitty, Marie Williams, Ann Young

wardrobe

Manager: Marie Brady Helena Baker, Manon Cooke, Caron Creed, Lisa Gallagher, Grace Hall, Dolores Kavanagh, Michelle O’Kennedy, Anne Reck, Sinead Reck, Jacinta Roche, Bride Tynan, Frances White, Erin Wilson

Proud sponsors of the Volunteer Awards

Volunteers

105

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Proudly supports the 2015 Wexford Festival Opera. We applaud the Wexford Festival Opera team who have succeeded in delivering one of the most remarkable cultural events in the world. This accomplishment is a tribute to the vision and efforts of the people of Wexford. The tradition of opera in Wexford started back in 1951 & has gone on to become an institution of excellence on the world stage. At Wexford Creamery, we depend on the passion of our team to produce the very best from our local dairy suppliers. Knowing that our award-winning products are enjoyed both at home and abroad brings us great satisfaction and sharpens our determination to grow and share our successes. Our very best to all involved in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s productions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you have all earned a standing ovation.

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Nathalia Milstein Piano Recital Winner of First Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition held in May, 2015. Don’t miss her début recital at the National Opera House

O’REILLY THEATRE THE NATIONAL OPERA HOUSE Saturday 31 October, 2015 –11 a.m. Tickets ¤25 –Wexfordopera.com +353 912 2144/1850 4 OPERA

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The

BarBer Seville

A new production, sung in Italian with English surtitles national Opera house Wexford 16th April 2016

Bord Gáis Energy theatre dublin 20th, 22nd, 23rd April 2016

www.nationaloperahouse.ie 053 912 2144

www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie 0818 719 377

rossini’s comic masterpiece featuring star Irish mezzo-soprano tara Erraught in her eagerly awaited Irish opera debut. Cast also featuring: Gavan Ring Graeme Danby John Molloy Mary O’Sullivan Brendan Collins Director: Michael Barker-Caven Set and Costume Design: Jamie Vartan Lighting Design: Sinéad Wallace Chorus of Wide Open Opera, Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera Conducted by Fergus Sheil

Award winning Irish Opera Company Wide Open Opera, fresh from triumphant world premiere tour of The Last Hotel at Edinburgh International Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, brings this new production of The Barber of Seville to Ireland’s two premiere opera venues, the first opera production to be seen in both places. Previous WOO productions at BGET include Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (2012) and John Adams: Nixon in China (2014)

AN UNLIMITED 2% OF YOUR MORTGAGE BACK AS CASH. Now that’s a mortgage with a difference.

Talk to Andrew Owen, Manager, Wexford Branch 07662 31751 bankofireland.com/mortgages Cashback offer available on mortgages drawn down between 3rd June 2015 and 31st December 2015. The Bank reserves the right to seek refund of the payment from the customer if the mortgage is paid back within 5 years. Not applicable with the 1% stamp duty offer. Lending criteria and terms and conditions apply, and security and insurance are required. Maximum mortgage is generally 3.5 times gross annual income and 80% of the property value (90% of the property value up to €220,000 for First Time Buyers, 70% of the full property value for Buy to Let) but these limits may vary. A typical variable rate mortgage of €100,000 over 20 years costs €623.20 per month at Annual Percentage Rate (APR) 4.4%. A 1% interest rate rise will increase this repayment by €54.35 per month (APR 5.4%). Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank trading as Bank of Ireland Mortgages and The Mortgage Store is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Join the Friends of the National Concert Hall Make yourself at home, at the home of music in Ireland. Our doors are open to new members, and we look forward to welcoming you in. Join us today! Friends of the National Concert Hall enjoy exclusive beneﬁts, such as: • Ticket discounts and advance notice of events • Priority booking and dedicated Friends booking line • Receptions, special events and music appreciation courses • Bespoke cultural tours at home and abroad • A vibrant community of like-minded individuals with a shared love of music and culture. Membership starts at just ¤115 annually. Gift memberships are available – give the gift of music and friendship. Join now by calling the Friends Booking Line on 01 408 6777 or see www.nch.ie.

International Orchestral Series 15/16

Great Artists Series 15/16

Piano Masters Series 15/16

Friday 28 August 2015 Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Litton, conductor Alina Ibragimova, violin

Wed 25 November 2015 Nikolaj Znaider, violin Robert Kulek, piano

Thurs 29 Oct 2015 Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

Tuesday 29 September 2015 Basel Symphony Orchestra Dennis Russell Davies, conductor Alice Sara Ott, piano Thursday 5 November 2015 Swedish Chamber Orchestra Thomas Dausgaard, conductor Christian Ihle Hadland, piano Saturday 12 December 2015 Helsinki Philharmonic John Storgårds, conductor Guest violinist Winner of the Sibelius Violin Competition 2015 Tuesday 31 May 2016 Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra Hervé Niquet, conductor Barry Douglas, piano

Monday 29 February 2016 Christian Gerhaher, baritone Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Lorenzo Coppola, clarinet d’amour Gottfried von der Goltz, director

Thursday 4 February 2016 Jeremy Denk, piano Thursday 21 April 2016 Yundi, piano International Choral Series 15/16

Saturday 12 March 2016 Gala Concert with Angela Gheorghiu, soprano RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Saturday 10 October 2015 The Sixteen Harry Christophers, conductor

Wednesday 4 May 2016 Maxim Vengerov, violin Roustem Saitkoulov, piano

Saturday 23 January 2016 Chamber Choir Ireland Irish Baroque Orchestra Matthew Halls, conductor Tuesday 12 April 2016 Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki, conductor

Tickets from ¤22.50 www.nch.ie 01 417 0000

8â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24 July 2016 buxtonfestival.co.uk A summertime celebration of opera, music & books in the hills of the beautiful Peak District

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I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI Bellini

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TAMERLANO Handel

10, 14, 17 (matinee) & 21 July

We provide products tailored to support the nutritional needs of older babies and toddlers through our Aptamil Follow On and Growing Up milk, manufactured in Ireland (Rocklands, Wexford and Macroom, Cork) We are proud to support the Wexford Festival Opera and to be a part of the Wexford community. IMPORTANT NOTICE Breastfeeding is best for your baby. Use Aptamil Follow On milk as part of a mixed diet from 6 months. It is not a breastmilk substitute. Use on the advice of your healthcare professional.

2 0 16 S E A S O N 3 J U N E – 17 J U LY

EUGENE ONEGIN

L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI

Conductor Douglas Boyd Director Michael Boyd Designer Tom Piper

Conductor David Parry Director William Tuckett Designer George Souglides

IDOMENEO

THE CREATION

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Conductor Tobias Ringborg Director Tim Albery Designer Hannah Clark

Gioachino Rossini

Joseph Haydn Conductor Douglas Boyd Choreographer/Director Mark Baldwin Designer/Director Pablo Bronstein In collaboration with Rambert

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The Performance Corporation and Breda Cashe in association with The Project Arts Centre present

THE DEAD A new opera based on the story by

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2015

21st October – 1st November

• • • • •

Luxurious Guestrooms Pre-Opera Dining in our Oyster Lane Restaurant Post-Opera Gallery Menu Extensive Bar Food Menu in our Ballast Bank Bar & Grill with Live Music Wexford’s Renowned Art Exhibitions, Antiques & Book Fairs

Discover Opera in France After an extensive refurbishment, the Théâtre national de l’Opéra Comique will reopen its doors in Paris for a New Season in 2017! Until the first season of the new project is revealed in 2016, Opéra Comique schedules 18 months of touring along with novel and original events in the Salle Favart and everywhere in Paris, such as an installation of the famous artist Christian Boltanski that will reveal the construction site, a commission of an opera produced for Internet only, a giant outdoor lyrical karaoke…

The Opéra Comique on Tour Les Mousquetaires au couvent Opéra de Toulon Provence Méditerranée 27, 29, 31 December 2015

Les Fêtes vénitiennes

Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse 23, 25, 26, 28 February 2016

Lakmé

Opéra Grand Avignon 20, 22 March 2016

Stay connected to be informed of all upcoming events.

Pelléas et Mélisande

www.opera-comique.com

Limoges Opéra 11, 13 November 2016

Celebrating our presentation of Le Pré aux clercs, a co-production of Opéra-Comique, Wexford Festival Opera and Palazzetto Bru Zane (Centre de musique romantique française), in partnership with Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian

Traditional Pub | Stylish Bistro | Piano Bar | Rooftop Restaurant | Outdoor Terrace

Discover the ďŹ nest Selection of local seasonal Produce in the Bistro, Rooftop Restaurant and Bar * LU N CH FRO M NO O N * PRE-OPERA FROM 5PM * Ultimate destination for food and live entertainment in Wexford Thomas Moore Tavern is conveniently located 2mins from the Wexford Opera House Thomas Moore Tavern, Cornmarket, Wexford. Tel. +353 (0)53 9174 688 Email. info@thomasmooretavern.ie www.thomasmooretavern.ie /ThomasMooreTavern @ThomasMooreTave Thomas Moore Tavern is proud to be an oďŹ&#x192;cial sponsor of the 64th Wexford Festival Opera.

Wexford Festival Opera and Hubangel partner to deliver great offers from local merchants during festival 2015

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THE VERONICA DUNNE INTERNATIONAL SINGING COMPETITION is delighted with its new partnership with WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA and wishes them every success for this exciting season! THE 8TH VERONICA DUNNE INTERNATIONAL SINGING COMPETITION Dublin, Ireland â&#x20AC;˘ January 22 - 28 2016 Preliminary Rounds, Exam Hall,Trinity College Dublin Friday 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January

Semi-Finals, National Concert Hall, Dublin Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 January

Final, National Concert Hall, Dublin Thursday 28 January at 8.00pm Previous prizewinners of the prestigious Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition include Pumeza Matshikiza, Sarah-Jane Brandon, Tara Erraught and Nadine Sierra. Its mission is to find and nurture operatic talent and help young singers climb the ladder to an international career.

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ound off your opera experience at Artramon. autumn game hunting on Artramon Estate. We offer the Countess Walderdorffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grade I listed manor house with ideal opportunity for your individual holiday. its three suites, two double rooms, and a single room is To find out more, please contact our booking office in only 6 km from the Wexford Opera House. Germany: We will make your ticket arrangements for you and even ARTRAMON FARM provide you with a free shuttle service to the Opera and Castlebridge, Co. Wexford, Rep. of Ireland back for evening performances. Phone: +49 (0)4532 21500 Ireland and Artramon-Farm, Castlebridge, are worth a www.artramon.com, E-mail: info@artramon.com visit in any season. Enjoy the unique Curracloe Beach, the exquisite Golf courses, the sea bass fishing and the We look forward to your visit.

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AIB is proud to back the Opera Festival.

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Carne, Co. Wexford, Ireland Phone: 053-9131110 Fax: 053-9131401

64th WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA

21 October - 1 November 2015

The National Opera House, High Street, Wexford, Ireland Tel: +353 53 912 2144 | Nationaloperahouse.ie

Wining and Dining

Pre-Opera Suppers at The National Opera House Relax and enjoy a meal in the MacKenzie Room on the third floor of the National Opera House before the performance. The popular Pre-Opera Suppers are served on each performance evening during the Festival, at 6 p.m.

Champagne and Canapés Treat yourself to a little luxury! We offer a Champagne and Canapés interval reception in the Mackenzie Room at the National Opera House every night during the Festival. Tickets cost ¤25

On Sunday 25 October the suppers will be served after the 5 p.m. performance, and on Sunday 1 November they will be served at 2 p.m. before the performance. Supper is ¤40 To make a booking contact Michael O’Keeffe, Conference and Banqueting Manager, Ferrycarrig Hotel, Wexford: michaelokeeffe@ferrycarrighotel.com or phone +353 53 915 3664

Book now by calling the box office on 1850 4 OPERA (+353 53 912 2144)

65th Festival

26 October – 6 November 2016

Herculanum Félicien David (1810–1876)

26, 29 October / 1, 4 November

Vanessa

Samuel Barber (1910–1981)

27, 30 October / 2, 5 November

Maria de Rudenz Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848)

28, 31 October / 3, 6 November

More Information at WexfordOpera.com

Join the Conversation #WexfordOpera

Festival Calendar 64th Wexford Festival Opera Wednesday, 21 October – Sunday, 1 November 2015

Wednesday 21 October

Saturday 24 October

Opening Ceremony

8 p.m.

10.30 p.m.

11 a.m.

Dr Tom Walsh Lecture

KOANGA

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

Friends’ Party

3.30 p.m.

TOSCA

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

8 p.m.

KOANGA

10.30 p.m.

Thursday 22 October

Friends’ Party

Sunday 25 October PORTRAITS DE MANON

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

Friends’ Lunch

12 noon

3.30 p.m.

PORTRAITS DE MANON

Immaculate Conception,

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

8 p.m.

GUGLIELMO RATCLIFF

2 p.m.

Friday 23 October

11 a.m.

Friends’ Welcome Reception

11 a.m.

Festival Mass, Church of the

Rowe Street

4 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

5 p.m.

GUGLIELMO RATCLIFF

9 p.m.

Gala Concert

Monday 26 October (bank holiday) Friends’ Welcome Reception

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

10 a.m.

3.30 p.m.

HANSEL AND GRETEL

11 a.m.

Tara Erraught Recital

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

1 p.m.

Friends’ Lunch

8 p.m.

LE PRÉ AUX CLERCS

3.30 p.m.

HANSEL AND GRETEL

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

8 p.m.

LE PRÉ AUX CLERCS

Programme design by Miles Linklater www. 24pt-helvetica.com | Editor: Sarah Burn

158

Festival Calendar

Tuesday 27 October

Friday 30 October

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

3.30 p.m.

TOSCA

Hitchcock’s Music

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

8 p.m.

KOANGA

3.30 p.m.

TOSCA

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

8 p.m.

KOANGA

Wednesday 28 October

11 a.m.

Jack Sullivan –

Saturday 31 October

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

3.30 p.m.

PORTRAITS DE MANON

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

5.15 p.m.

Friends’ Buffet

3.30 p.m.

HANSEL AND GRETEL

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

8 p.m.

GUGLIELMO RATCLIFF

8 p.m.

GUGLIELMO RATCLIFF

11 a.m.

10.30 p.m.

Thursday 29 October

Piano Recital

Friends’ Party

Sunday 1 November

Friends’ Welcome Reception

11 a.m.

Friends’ Welcome Reception

1.05 p.m.

Lunchtime Recital

11 a.m.

TOSCA

3.30 p.m.

HANSEL AND GRETEL

11 a.m.

Festival Service,

7 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

St Iberius Church

8 p.m.

LE PRÉ AUX CLERCS

4 p.m.

Pre-Opera Talk

5 p.m.

LE PRÉ AUX CLERCS

11 a.m.

Festival Calendar

159

Index of Advertisers Abbey Theatre

Kelly’s Resort Hotel & Spa

141

AIB 149

The Lobster Pot

153

Artramon Farm

Monart 78

144

The Arts Council

Inside Front Cover

131

Bank of Ireland

115

National Concert Hall

116, 117

Buxton Festival

118

National Opera House

154

Cístín Eile

133

New Ross Piano Festival

133

Opera Theatre Company

112, 120

Connect Ireland Corcoran’s Menswear

152

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Crown Bar

146

PwC 110

130

Danone 119

Royal Moscow Ballet

Datapac 147

RTÉ Lyric FM

The Delius Trust

Shoe Style International

152

Simon Lambert & Sons

138

DoneDeal 132

Talbot Hotel

135

Ecclesiastical 77

The Dead

129

Elavon 76

Thomas Moore Tavern

139

Embassy of France

136

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

145

Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition

142

ESET Reflex

109

Fáilte Ireland

Ferrycarrig Hotel

Tommy Fleming

151

Garsington Opera

121

Gas Networks Ireland

107

Diana Donnelly

73 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127

Greenacres Hook Peninsula

Back Cover 134

Hubangel 140

160

Mount Juliet

Independent News & Media

108

Institute of Technology Carlow

150

Italian Institute of Culture

143

Index of Advertisers

137 79

Visa 113 Volvo 106 Waterford Airport Waterford Castle

134 Inside Back Cover

Wexford County Council

156

Wexford Creamery

111

Wexford Festival Opera

157

Whites of Wexford

128

Wide Open Opera

114

Woodfit 153 Wright Insurance Brokers

148

All the Fine Things www.greenacres.ie | T: +353 53 9122975