Padraic's busy Wexford opera festival

Dunboyne man Padraic Rowan has taken up temporary residence in Wexford for the next few weeks while he rehearses for the 2012 Wexford Festival Opera. Bass-Baritone Padraic will sing in all three of the mainstage operas in this year's festival, making him one of the hardest working singers in the entire Festival. Rehearsals are already under way in the Wexford venue. Padraic is a member of Young Associate Artists - OTC and is currently studying for a Masters in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with Mary Brennan and Brenda Hurley, having previously completed an undergraduate degree in International Relations at DCU. He is a multiple prizewinner at Feis Ceoil, with 2012 awards including the Mahler Award, Joseph O'Mara Memorial Cup and Bradbury Cup. In January 2012 he sang the role of 'Somnus' in RIAM's production of Handel's 'Semele' with Opera Magazine stating, 'We can expect to hear more from Padraic Rowan, hilarious as 'Somnus'. THE FESTIVAL The 2012 Wexford Festival Opera will run for 12 days from Wednesday, 24 October until Sunday, 4 November. Booking for the Festival is very strong, limited tickets remain with best availability on Thursday 25 October and Sunday 4 November. This year's programme will include 3 mainstage opera productions L'Arlesiana by Francesco Cilèa, Le Roi malgré lui (The King in Spite of Himself) by Emmanuel Chabrier, and A Village Romeo and Juliet by Frederick Delius and 2 daytime ShortWork operas (A Dinner Engagement by Lennox Berkeley and The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). The very popular programme of daytime and evening events continue with 54 daytime / evening events presented during this year's Festival. The Festival will mark the 150th Anniversary of the birth of British composer Frederick Delius with a production of his opera, A Village Romeo and Juliet complemented by screenings of Ken Russell's 1968 biographical film about Frederick Delius Song of Summer.