Today the International Opera Awards announced that Wexford Festival Opera’s 2023 production of Ella Marchment’s L’Aube rouge (‘The Red Dawn’) by Camille Erlanger, with libretto by Arthur Bernède & Paul de Choudens, has been shortlisted in the Rediscovered Work category. First performed in Rouen, France in 1911, L’Aube rouge was one of the mainstage operas at last year’s Festival.
Each year Wexford Festival Opera delves into the operatic archive for forgotten masterpieces, introducing audiences to unjustly neglected works, many of which have since found a place in the canon. It previously won the International Opera Awards’ Best Rediscovered Work category in 2014 for its production of Cristina, regina di Svezia by Jacopo Foroni. In 2017, Wexford Festival Opera went on to be named Best Opera Festival at this prestigious ceremony.
Commenting on the nomination Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi said, ‘Wexford Festival Opera is honoured by this nomination, which confirms the international recognition of the company’s spirit.’
The winners of the 2024 International Opera Awards will be announced on Wednesday, October 2nd, at the Bayerische Staatsoper’s Prinzregententheater in Munich. The Awards honour exceptional operatic talent from across the globe, celebrating the diverse and collaborative nature of this cherished art form and will be live streamed free on OperaVision.
The Awards cover a broad range of categories, including singers, conductors, directors, designers, productions, festivals, recordings, companies and more. The shortlist was curated by an esteemed international jury of opera critics, administrators and performers, chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine (the Founding Media Partner of the Awards). There were over 16,000 nominations made for the Awards this year.
Founded by philanthropist Harry Hyman in 2012, the International Opera Awards aims to raise the profile of opera as an art form, recognize and reward excellence, and help to generate funds for the Opera Foundation, which provides bursaries for emerging operatic talent worldwide.
The 73rd Wexford Festival Opera runs from 18 October – 2 November with 70 events over 16 days. Since its inception in 1951, the Wexford Festival Opera has flourished and gained worldwide recognition. Each year the festival features three main stage productions of rarely performed operas, as well as a number of short opera works. This year’s programme explores the theme of Theatre within Theatre.
