Additional Casting Information Announced For 68th Wexford Festival Opera
By: Stephi Wild Jul. 16, 2019
As the 68th Festival approaches in just 12 short weeks, additional casting information has been announced as well as a cast change.
The role of Admento in Dorilla in Tempe by Antonio Vivaldi will now be sung by Spanish Tenor Juan Sancho. In addition, casting details of the popular daytime ShortWork opera productions have also been announced. The ShortWork operas have become a main feature of the daytime programme. Intimately staged with piano accompaniment and lasting approximately 90 minutes, the ShortWork operas are presented in the nearby Clayton Whites Hotel and offer audiences the opportunity to enjoy a one-act opera performed by cast members of the evening operas.
The three daytime ShortWork operas are:
Le Docteur Miracle (Doctor Miracle) by Georges Bizet
23, 26, 31 Oct - 3.30 p.m.
Clayton Whites Hotel|Tickets €30
Cast/Creative Team:
Laurette - Lizzie Holmes
Veronique - Kasia Balejko
Dr Miracle - Guy Elliott
Le Podestat - Simon Mechlinski
Music Director - Andrew Synnott
Stage Director - Roberto Recchia
Stage & Costume Designer - Luca Dalbosco
Lighting Designer - Johann Fitzpatrick
Bizet was just 18 when he composed the comic operette, Le Docteur Miracle, for a competition organised by Jaques Offenbach. Based on a libretto by Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy which was a French adaptation of a play St Patrick's Day, by Irish playwright Richard Sheridan, the opera revolves around a young man's attempt to win the hand of the mayor's daughter. This charming and lively opera contains echoes of Rossini and gives a foretaste of Bizet's most famous opera Carmen.
Cendrillon (Cinderella) by Pauline Viardot
24, 29 Oct and 1 Nov - 3.30 p.m.
Clayton Whites Hotel|Tickets €30
Cast/Creative Team:
Le Baron de Pictordu - Ben Watkins
Marie, called Cendrillon - Isolde Roxby
Armelinde - Cecilia Gaetani
Maguelonne - Rachel Goode
La Fée (Fairy Godmother) - Kelli-Ann Masterson
Le Prince Charmant - Richard Shaffrey
Le Comte Barigoule - Mark Bonney
Music Director - Jessica Hall
Stage Director - Davide Garattini Raimondi
Stage & Costume Designer - Luca Dalbosco
Lighting Designer - Johann Fitzpatrick
This particular take on the 'Cinderella' story may not be performed as often as the other operatic adaptations by Massenet, Rossini and Isouard, but the plot remains relatively faithful to Perrault's original fairy tale, albeit in a more light-hearted style. The evil stepmother is replaced with a clumsy, bumbling stepfather and the Fairy Godmother attends the party and entertains the guests.
L'inganno felice by Gioachino Rossini
25, 30 Oct and 2 Nov - 3.30 p.m.
Clayton Whites Hotel|Tickets €30
Cast/Creative Team:
Isabella - Rebecca Hardwick
Duca Bertrando - Huw Ynyr
Batone - Thomas Hopkinson
Tarabotto - Peter Brooks
Ormondo - Henry Kerswell
Music Director - Giorgio D'alonzo
Stage Director - Ella Marchment
Stage & Costume Designer - Luca Dalbosco
Lighting Designer - Johann Fitzpatrick
Rossini was only 19 when this opera premiered in Venice and yet it was already his fourth opera. L'inganno felice (The Fortunate Deception) belongs to the comic-serious genre and centres around the rescue of a wronged, innocent heroine. It was probably the most rewarding of Rossini's early works judging from its popularity with the public at its premiere in 1812.
Tickets are selling quickly and can be purchased online 24/7 at www.wexfordopera.com , in person at the National Opera House or by calling the box-office on +353 (0)53 912 2144 or 1-850-4-OPERA Monday-Saturday, 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
The 68th Wexford Festival Opera will run for 13 consecutive days beginning Tuesday, 22 October through Sunday, 3 November 2019. Come and experience the many 'Hidden Gems' that Wexford Festival Opera has to offer.
Keep up to date on all the latest information on www.wexfordopera.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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