The yellow bellies and pike-men were out in force in Dublin this week for the launch of the Wexford Festival Opera. "I'm a yellow belly and a pike-man from way back," said John Herron, the Australian ambassador, whose father grew up in Enniscorthy. Herron and his wife, Jan Herron, have been in Ireland since January.
Wexford native Brendan Howlin, Labour Party spokesman for enterprise and employment, caught up with old friends at the lunch. His brother, Ted, who is festival chairman, said "we have achieved 100 per cent occupancy in the last seven years".
Wexford woman Rita Doyle boasted she has worked with the festival for 34 years, including her role as founding manager of the Wexford Festival Singers. This is the festival's 52nd year.
Kathleen Watkins and her friend, Hilda Tierney, are planning a wicked trip to the festival.
Another native of the county, soprano Sinéad Campbell, will make her début on the festival stage this year in the opening opera, Die Drei Pintos, singing the role of Inez.
The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, was also in attendance.
Jerome Hynes, the festival's chief executive, made a plea that "funding must increase or the festival will be damaged". Last year, 33,000 seats were sold during the three-week October festival. Hynes cited the great value of tickets at the festival, such as the lunchtime recitals when guests can, for €10, enjoy lunch and one of the festival's principal artists singing up to eight pieces of music. But, he said, it is the rare operas that continue to draw the high numbers. The trio of rareties this year, according to Luigi Ferrari, the festival's artistic director for the ninth year, are von Weber & Mahler's Die Drei Pintos, Granados's María Des Carmen and Weinberger's Svanda Dudák.
The programme was launched in the Arrol Suite of the Guinness Storehouse by the Tánaiste, Mary Harney, who said the festival "is a very fine example of cultural entrepreneurship".
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