Lismore Castle was the setting for the opening night of the festival, when Guilio Cesare by G F Handel was performed in the grounds …
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival always provides an exquisite blend of baroque opera and classical music, with performances staged in some of Ireland’s most historic and beautiful venues.
This year is no exception; Lismore Castle was the setting for the opening night of the festival, when Guilio Cesare by G F Handel was performed in the grounds. Conductor Nicholas McGegan OBE led the Irish Baroque Orchestra and an international cast directed by Tom Creed, in a mesmerising interpretation of one of Handel’s greatest Italian operas. (There are still some tickets to see this opera today and on Sunday, June 2).
Throughout the weekend there are plenty of other performances to enjoy including concerts at Dromore Yard – a romantic, semi-restored 19th-century farmyard on the banks of the River Blackwater. This is the setting for a belcanto operatic concert – Of Emperors, Kings, and Queens, starring Serenad Uyar, Leonardo Galeazzi, and Dearbhla Collins.
There are also a series of recitals taking place in the scenic Cappoquin House and Gardens, Tourin House, Salterbridge House, Woodhouse Estate, and the atmospheric St Carthage’s Cathedral, Villierstown Church, and St Mary’s Collegiate Church. These recitals include a diverse repertoire from Handel and Haydn songbooks to Charles Villiers Stanford, with Irish melodies, and Irish salon operas too.
To enjoy a flavour of the festival, if you happen to be in Lismore, Dungarvan, Youghal and Castlemartyr over the weekend there are a series of (free) open air lunchtime recitals. For more information and the full programme visit www.blackwatervalleyopera.ie.
Click into the gallery to see the guests who attended the opening night event.
Photographer: John Kelly
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