“As autumn pilgrimmages go, it’s hard to beat Wexford Festival Opera, where I traveled last October for a long weekend of seldomheard operas. Wexford is a welcoming little town on the southeastern coast of Ireland, the kind of place one is always eager to return to and sorry to leave behind.”
- Opera News, Jan., ’05

“Fortunately at the Abbey Theatre there is no conflict between being true to tradition and being innovative. The Abbey’s tradition is to be bothersome, passionate, argumentative, adventurous and, at times, downright contrary – the tradition, in other words, of the theatre itself. In continuing to live up to that tradition, the Abbey will continue to have a lot to show a changing world.”
- The Abbey Theatre

We have been delighting our friends with our autumn visits to Dublin and Wexford for over twenty years. Now in 2008 we are looking forward with great anticipation to the opening of the new Wexford Opera House, an event which will be the focus of attention throughout the international opera world. It has been three years since our previous visit, as we have chosen to wait for the re-opening during the extensive period of construction. The other important news has been the successful indoctrination of Wexford’s new Artistic Director David Agler, who has followed his 2005 appointment with a string of imaginative productions. For any of our former travelers who have appreciated the charm of Wexford and the hospitality of the warm-hearted residents, the inauguration of the new opera house should provide an irresistible stimulus to re-discover “the Festival’s intimate, convivial atmosphere” (Opera News, Sept. ’07).

For the opening season of 2008, Mr. Agler has announced a trio of works which continues the Wexford tradition of staging operatic rarities. Opera ‘aficionados’ are accustomed to traveling to this Festival for the thrill of adventurous repertoire rather than another ‘Boheme’, ‘Traviata’ or ‘Carmen’. The three new productions will be Carlo Pedrotti’s 19th century Italian lyric comedy, Tutti In Maschera (‘Everyone in Disguise’); Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s 19th century romantic opera, Snegurochka (‘The Snow Maiden’); and Richard Rodney Bennett’s 20th century psychological melodrama, The Mines of Sulphur.

The unique Wexford Festival has achieved the reputation of Ireland’s most prestigious musical event. Set in the small and hospitable fishing village of Wexford on the southeast coast of Ireland, the Festival has specialized in offering three imaginative new productions every fall since l95l. The noted British writer Bernard Levin chose Wexford as his favorite European Festival in his Conducted Tour, reflecting the combination of the luxuriant Irish countryside, the welcoming attitudes of the open-hearted local population and everyone connected with the Festival, and the high standards of operatic presentations. Many of our repeat travelers to Wexford would agree with Mr. Levin.

We will attend all three of the 2005 new productions as well as two afternoon concerts of Opera Scenes presented by the outstanding young singers who will be cast in the operas’ leading roles. This year the Scenes will be devoted to Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief and Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Our emphasis in Wexford is on the Festival’s busy program and on relaxed dining in the area’s inviting coastal restaurants, rather than on museums and other institutions. Excursions to nearby seafood restaurants in unspoiled villages have added immeasurably to the informal camaraderie which continues to attract opera-lovers to our Irish Tours. One of our regular travelers returned to Wexford and Dublin with us for more than ten consecutive years.

Immediately after Wexford, we will move to the capital of Dublin for three nights at the typically Irish Buswells Hotel in a remodeled Georgian townhouse. Dublin itself is a Georgian architectural gem, characterized by expansive parks and squares and known throughout the world for its multi-colored doors and decorative facades. Our performances in Dublin will concentrate on the great tradition of Irish theatre. Programs are not yet available, but we expect to enjoy a pair of evenings encompassing both the Abbey and Gate Theatres, whose companies and repertoire rank with the finest in the English-speaking world. We have been fortunate to enjoy exceptional quality at the Abbey and the Gate during our previous Irish Tours. Dublin’s current excitement reflects the nation-wide economic resurgence that has galvanized Ireland in recent years.

WEXFORD: October 24 - 27

Accommodations for four nights with full Irish breakfast included at Wexford’s Talbot’s Hotel, now the leading hotel in Wexford and everyone’s first choice during the busy Festival weeks. Conveniently located on the waterfront and about a ten-minute walk from the Theatre Royal opera house, Talbot’s has been completely renovated during the past few years. The main restaurant (The Oyster Lane) serves hearty Irish menus before and after the operas, and afternoon tea/coffee is available every day in the Ballast Bank Bar as well as the lobby. For health enthusiasts, an upscale fitness center and swimming-pool are easily accessible in the adjoining building. Talbot’s is also the site of the annual Wexford Antiques Fair, which this writer enjoys browsing through for unusual bargains. We are fortunate to have received early confirmation of our reservations at this favorite hotel, as rooms in the town are at a premium now that the old White’s Hotel has been closed for reconstruction.

IMPORTANT: Please note that we plan to WALK from Talbot’s to the performances, along with all of the Irish hotel guests. However, taxis are also available for independent transfer.

DUBLIN: October 28 - 30

Accommodations for three nights with full Irish breakfast included at the old-world Buswells Hotel, a charming example of Georgian architecture. Located on a quiet block of elegant Molesworth Street, Buswells is a short walk from St. Stephen’s Green, Trinity College, the many shops of Grafton Street. A first-class, four-star rated facility, it offers every modern amenity as well as the Emily Room for leisurely breakfasts and the Carvery Grill Room for evening meals. There are a number of appealing local restaurants within a few-minutes walk.