Wexford Festival Opera facts for kids
The Wexford Festival Opera (which is called Féile Ceoldráma Loch Garman in Irish) is a special event where people perform operas. It happens every year in the town of Wexford, located in the southeast of Ireland. The festival usually takes place in October and November.
This exciting festival started in 1951. A man named Tom Walsh and his friends, who loved opera, began it. They made the festival popular very quickly. They did this by choosing to perform operas that were unusual and rare. Usually, they would put on three different operas during the festival. This idea of performing unique operas has continued throughout the festival's history. Many different artistic directors have led the festival over the years. From the very beginning, the festival also helped new and young singers. Many of these singers were from Ireland, but new international stars also got their first big chance to perform here.
In the 1960s, the festival started to include operas from countries like the Czech Republic and Russia. By the 1970s, under director Thomson Smillie, there was a focus on operas by Jules Massenet. After that, they started to feature more Italian operas. However, they also included newer operas by composers like Benjamin Britten and Carlisle Floyd. Elaine Padmore was the artistic director for 12 years. During her time, even more international singers made their first appearances. This was also when the festival started making commercial recordings and broadcasting shows on the radio.
Since 2005, David Agler has been the artistic director. He helped create a brand new opera house. This new building has much better facilities. It was built right where the old theatre used to be.
A New Home for Opera
The festival's long-time home, the Theatre Royal, was taken down. This was a big and brave decision. In its place, the amazing National Opera House was built on the very same spot. The first opera in this new building opened on October 16, 2008.
The Wexford Opera House gives the festival a modern place to perform. It has much more space than the old theatre. The main stage, called the O'Reilly Theatre, can seat 771 people. There is also a second, very flexible theatre called the Jerome Hynes Theatre. It can seat up to 176 people. The building was designed by Keith Williams Architects with the Office of Public Works. Experts from Arup designed the sound and structure of the building.
In 2006, the Theatre Royal was closed for construction. Because of this, the festival was smaller that year. It took place in the Dún Mhuire Hall on Wexford's South Main Street. Only two operas were performed over two weeks, instead of the usual three operas over three weeks. In 2007, the festival happened in the summer. They used a temporary theatre built in the grounds of Johnstown Castle. This is a large, old house about 5 kilometers from the town center.
The National Opera House was officially opened on September 5, 2008. The Taoiseach (Ireland's Prime Minister), Brian Cowen, attended the ceremony. After the opening, the popular Irish TV show The Late Late Show was broadcast live from the O'Reilly Theatre.
