Italian-born Rosetta Cucchi has been involved with the festival since 1995

RTÉ ConTempo Quartet play in Sligo and Galway. Plus: ‘Banished’ in Kilmainham Gaol

Plus: Don’t miss soprano Claudia Boyle’s showstopper in The Tales of Hoffmann

Irish National Opera’s Offenbach showcases the talents of Claudia Boyle and John Molloy

Jean-Christophe Spinosi conducts the ICO; Claudia Boyle in ‘The Tales of Hoffman’

The new Irish National Opera is too risk-averse, while Wexford Festival's rare opera is not so rare anymore. And both need to engage with Ireland’s musical diaspora

‘Medea’ misses the mark while ‘Risurrezione’ goes down a storm

St Vincent plays Olympia while Josephine K and the Algorithms comes to Abbey Theatre

Wexford Festival Opera begins while ‘Eithne’ is presented in a concert performance

‘Acis and Galatea’ has had its action propped up in a very Irish setting

This year the festival expands across 18 days, starting October 19th

A performance of JS Bach’s Mass in B Minor was the real highlight of the arts festival’s first weekend

The pianist, just 22, delivers an unconventional programme with awe-inspiring confidence

OTC says it was ‘the victim of political decisions’ but it’s now back on the road with bigger ambitions than ever

Early music was on the agenda at two concerts, while OTC’s ‘Carmen’ was defiantly contemporary