Final rehearsals ahead of the Wexford Opera Festival, which will feature a German and two Italian works.
Dress rehearsals were taking place all this week in the Theatre Royal in High Street, in advance of the Wexford Opera Festival opening night.
Three operas will each be performed four times during the twelve day event which has been running since 1951.
Russian opera singer Sergei Leiferkus is in the title role of Heinrich Marschner's German Romantic opera 'Hans Heiling'. Artistic director Elaine Padmore says the work features,
A man possessed by strange visions so that is a very thrilling dramatic opera.
Programming the festival Elaine Padmore has chosen three strongly contrasting operas. 'Linda di Chamounix' a work by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti makes an appearance this year, as does a production of 'La Vedova Scaltra' ('The Cunning Widow') by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. She is sure that audiences will enjoy this,
Sparkling Venetian comedy.
Wexford offers a festival with opera at its heart, but has extended the programme to include extra events such as art exhibitions and singing pub competitions, so that there is something for everyone. At £15 and £20 a ticket the festival organisers have done their best to keep prices as low as possible. Wexford Opera Festival chairman Jim Golden explains,
Opera is the most expensive art form in the world.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 21 October 1983. The reporter is Michael Ryan.
