The 53rd Wexford Festival Opera opened last night at the Theatre Royal with a production of Saveria Mercadante's La Vestale, writes Deirdre Falvey.
The 375-seater was packed for the opening performance of the last festival to be programmed by outgoing artistic director, Luigi Ferrari. About 140 opera lovers - corporate guests and individuals - travelled yesterday afternoon from Dublin on the annual opera train.
Those at the theatre for the opening included Eithne Healy, chairwoman of the Abbey, and her husband Liam Healy, Bernadette Greevy of Dublin's Anna Livia Opera Festival, and Mary Cloake, director of the Arts Council.
The festival - three operas in rep, opera scenes and surrounding events from public concerts to exhibitions - opened with a 20-minute firework display to a soundtrack of popular opera, from Nessum Dorma to Carmina Burana.
Moored fishing boats lined Wexford's quays and hundreds of locals and visitors thronged to the quays and the bridge for the display: young and old, children on shoulders and in buggies, many people photographing the fireworks on camera mobile phones.
Before the fireworks, the speeches from the outdoor stage included one from the chairwoman of the Arts Council, Olive Braiden, who opened the "friendly, welcoming and intimate" festival, which specialises in producing rarely-performed opera.
The Musicians' Union of Ireland protested peacefully outside the theatre about the failure of the festival to use Irish musicians, with placards reading "A slight at the opera". The festival's use of the Kracow Philharmonic Orchestra rather than Irish musicians, and the dearth of Irish singers on stage, has been a long-running issue for the festival.
The leaflets handed out by the protesters commented that it was "particularly galling . . . that the Irish Government - apparently unconditionally - grants substantial sums of taxpayers' money to the festival".
Hopes that the issue - which dates back to a dispute between RTE and the festival - might be resolved had been raised since the appointment of the American David Agler as festival director. Agler announces next year's festival programme at the weekend. There were no incidents or accidents on stage last night, unlike the last time La Vestale was performed.
- Wexford Festival Opera continues until October 31st. La Vestale will be reviewed tomorrow. Eva and Prinzessin Brambaile will be reviewed on Monday.