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Waterford Festival of Light Opera
2008 is the fifthieth annual Waterford Festival of Light Opera, and, sadly, will be the first year when there will be no competition. This is due to the closure for refurbishment of the festival venue, the Theatre Royal.
However a celebration of Light Opera and of the festival's long history will be held, at a date to be announced, in September.
The following is just some general background to this festival, as it would be in a normal year.
The 'opera' of the title is fairly loosely interpreted and the shows range from grand operas to modern Broadway and West End shows as well as the occasional original show.
In previous years the programme has included popular favourites such as Annie Get Your Gun, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the Sound of Music and West Side Story alongside opera classics like Die Fledermaus, Orpheus in the Underworld and the Pearl Fishers and, as you would expect, the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan.
This is a competitive event, with prestigious and hotly contested awards for the shows, for those appearing in them and those involved in production. Musical societies from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the United States, Canada and Switzerland have over the years joined the best of those from the Republic of Ireland, staging show which although ostensibly amateur often rival those of professional companies.
The Festival is based at the wonderful Theatre Royal, an architectural gem built in 1788 which has is undergoing extensive renovations and improvements at present to make what was always a lovely and an intimate venue better than ever.
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What else to do in Waterford?
For a look at some other activities and attractions that we recommend within reach of this event, including tour itineraries and articles of interest, see our South-East Area Guide.
