The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (formerly the Lismore Opera Festival and Lismore Music Festival) is a classical music and

opera festival This is an inclusive list of opera festivals and summer opera seasons, and music festivals which have opera productions. This list may have some overlap with list of early music festivals. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition, ...

held annually in

Lismore, County Waterford Lismore () is a historic town in County Waterford, in the province of Munster, Ireland. Originally associated with Saint Mochuda of Lismore, who founded Lismore Abbey in the 7th century, the town developed around the medieval Lismore Castle. As ...

, Ireland. Founded in 2010 by Jennifer O'Connell and artistic director Dieter Kaegi, the festival was re-launched as the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in February 2018. Previous events have consisted of three opera nights performed in

Lismore Castle Lismore Castle ( ga, Caisleán an Lios Mhóir) is a castle located in the town of Lismore, County Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. It belonged to the Earls of Desmond, and subsequently to the Cavendish family from 1753. It is currently the ...

's stable yard. Concerts and recitals have also been staged in Lismore and in historic homes located along the banks of the

Blackwater River A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black te ...

downstream to the parish of

Cappoquin Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin (), is a town in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 national secondary road and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90-degree be ...

. These venues have included Salterbridge House,

Cappoquin House Cappoquin House also known as Belmont is an 18th-century classical-style mansion overlooking the town of Cappoquin in County Waterford, Ireland. The house is the seat of the Keane Baronets of Belmont and of Cappoquin. Previous castle It is ...

, Tourin House, Dromore Yard and

Lismore Cathedral St. Moluag's Cathedral is located on the Scottish island of Lismore just off the coast of Oban. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, the present-day parish church of 1749 stands on the site of the choir of the ab ...

. In 2012, Irish President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

inaugurated the festival's annual school's access programme. Marco Zambelli was the conductor of the festival for several years, except in 2016, when Killian Farrell conducted ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'', and in 2019 when Darren Hargan conducted ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's ...

''. The 2019 festival presented two operas for the first time, with 15 performances in total, including a solo recital by

Giovanni Bellucci Giovanni Bellucci (born Rome, 31 August 1965) is an Italian pianist. After having inadvertently discovered the piano, when he was already fourteen, he started studying at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome under the direction of Franco Medori. ...

. While the 2020 event was cancelled as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival's organisers ran outdoor concerts for residential care home residents. By March 2021, this concert series was described as "the largest arts and health intervention supported in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland" and had included 350 live classical music concerts involving artists like

Anthony Kearns Anthony Kearns (born 17 August 1971, in Kiltealy, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an internationally acclaimed tenor, record producer, and a member of The Irish Tenors. Early life Anthony Kearns is one of six children in a music ...

, Des Keogh,

Celine Byrne Celine Byrne (born 3 May 1980 in Kildare) is an Irish soprano. Career She first saw opera live at Milan's La Scala when she worked there as an au pair after leaving school. She then decided she wanted to be an opera singer and upon her return ...

and

Iarla Ó Lionáird Iarla Ó Lionáird (born ) is an Irish singer and record producer. He sings in the traditional Sean-nós singing, sean-nós style. He was a member of the Afro Celt Sound System and is a member of the Irish-American supergroup (music), supergroup ...

. The 2021 program was also modified due to COVID-19 restrictions, and included a number of free open air recitals in Lismore,

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. The 2022 event included a free open air concert in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dái ...

, as well as concerts from

Maurice Steger Maurice Steger (born 1971 in Winterthur, Switzerland) is a Swiss recorder player and conductor, mostly in Baroque music. Career Maurice Steger is a frequent guest soloist with leading Baroque ensembles such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Ber ...

, and

Irish Baroque Orchestra The Irish Baroque Orchestra is an early music ensemble based in Ireland. Irish Baroque Orchestra is Ireland’s only professional period instrument orchestra. It was established in 1996 by Mark Duley and Thérèse Timoney. The artistic director ...

Past productions

* 2010 ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' by Georges Bizet * 2011 ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * 2012 ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini * 2013 ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * 2014 ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * 2015 ''

La Cenerentola ' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini * 2016 ''

'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * 2017 ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' (opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera premiere ...

'' by Gaetano Donizetti (with tenor

) * 2018 ''

L'italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini * 2019 ''

'' by Gaetano Donizetti and ''

The Sleeping Queen ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' by Michael William Balfe *2021 ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...

'' by Giacomo Puccini *2022

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

by Christoph Willibald Gluck

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Opera festivals Classical music festivals in Ireland Music festivals established in 2010 Music festivals in Ireland Lismore, County Waterford 2010 establishments in Ireland