Tickets moving quickly for Blackwater Valley Opera Festival

Tickets are moving quickly for Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (BVOF) which takes place in Waterford and East Cork from May 26, to June 1, with several key events already sold out.

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival expects to welcome more than 5,000 visitors this year and engage with over 1,000 students.

Eamonn Carroll, Festival Director, said: “We’re genuinely grateful for the audiences who care about this festival and back what we’re doing, the artists, the ideas, the whole programme. Some events have already sold out and others are booking steadily, which means a great deal for the festival and for the county. People are securing their seats early because they want to be part of it."

The festival will present 24 performances in 13 historic venues throughout the region, bringing world-class opera and classical music to castles, churches and cathedrals, and country houses along the Blackwater Valley.

This year's flagship opera, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, staged in the grounds of Lismore Castle, is almost sold out with very limited availability remaining for the final night on the bank holiday Monday. 

Featuring a predominantly Irish cast and the Irish Baroque Orchestra, the production will be conducted by composer Peter Whelan and directed by Tom Creed. 

Meanwhile, Handel’s, 'Acis and Galatea', will be presented in St Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore. 

The performance features Jade Phoenix, Dean Power, Edward Grint and Patrick Hyland, with the Irish Baroque Orchestra conducted by Oliver-John Ruthven. 

Beyond the main-stage operas, the festival’s recital and concert programme in historical venues is also proving popular, with shows at Ballynatray House, Villierstown Church, Salterbridge House, Tourin House and Woodhouse Estate.

Remaining tickets are available at blackwatervalleyopera.ie