The acclaimed Ring cycle by Wagner is to be staged in Limerick and in Birmingham in August.
Many leading Wagnerian singers, including Janice Baird, USA and Germany, Suzanne Murphy from Limerick, Frode Olsen from Norway, Cork soprano Cara O'Sullivan, Canadian Alan Woodrow and Robin Legatte from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, will be performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland under the baton of Russian conductor Alexander Anissimov.
This will be the second complete performance of the marathon Ring cycle in Ireland, and will be held at the University of Limerick Concert Hall. The first was held at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, in 1913.
The NYOI has adopted Limerick as its home. According to concert hall director Mr Michael Murphy, this "has led to other orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Dutch Youth Orchestra performing in the city".
He suggested the Ring cycle would be "by far the most exciting cultural event to take place in Ireland this year and perhaps this decade. It will enhance the status of Limerick as a centre of significant artistic activity. University Concert Hall are doing everything possible to ensure that the festival is a fantastic success for Limerick and Ireland".
The vast production - consisting of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung - will cost an estimated €530,000 to stage and will involve more than 15 hours of music. Critic Mr Ian Fox said the people of Limerick should "be proud and honoured that the Wagner Ring festival is taking place in Limerick. We are all extremely jealous in Dublin."
He said 12 of the top Irish opera singers would be performing and that the Wexford Opera Festival would not have such a large collection of top-class singers in any given year of the festival.
Orchestra conductor Mr Anissimov said that in the past five years he had done some of his most important creative work in Ireland.
"I have realised some of my most precious dreams conducting here. To conduct Wagner's Ring has been one of the dreams of my life and I am glad that this dream will come true in Ireland."
The hall can accommodate some 4,000 people. The festival will be held on Monday, August 5th, Tuesday, 6th, Thursday, 8th and Saturday, 10th. It will be performed the following week at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting.