News & Updates
Keep Up To Date With The Festival
2020 Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Bursary Winners
Last Saturday afternoon in the beautiful surroundings of Dromore Yard, Aglish, the first Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Bursary of €10,000 was presented to two exceptional talents, Naho Koizumi, soprano and Darren Hargan, conductor and pianist. Each received an...
Announcement of new Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Bursary
Announcement of new Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Bursary As part of our ongoing efforts to promote opera in Ireland, we are pleased to announce the creation of the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Bursary. The value of this annual bursary is €10,000, and it...
Operawire Review – The Sleeping Queen
Is It Time To Reassess The Operas Of William Balfe? By Alan Neilson / operawire.com Original online review link here During his lifetime the Irish composer, William Balfe, was considered to be the most important opera composer in the United Kingdom (Ireland at...
Operawire Review: Don Pasquale
Lismore Castle Provides A Stunning Venue For Donizetti’s Masterpiece By Alan Neilson / operawire.com Original online review link here On the Blackwater river in Seat East Ireland stands the imposing castle of Lismore, home to the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival....
Interview with Rose Greene of 4 Hands Food Studio
Although the primary attraction of our festival is music, we also invite a collection of phenomenally talented Chefs to feed our hungry guests each year. Chef Rose Greene of 4 Hands Food Studio was our guest chef for the 2019 Evening Concert Series at atmospheric...
Bachtrack review: An Entertaining Don Pasquale to open the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival
Review for Bachtrack by Andrew Larkin 30 May 2019 Link to online review here Staging an opera outdoors in Ireland is somewhat the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with the weather. Fortunately the rain clouds that threatened during the afternoon rolled away and...
Interview with Dieter Kaegi by Opera Wire
Q & A: Dieter Kaegi On The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival’s Emergence & Direction By Alan Neilson Reproduced with thanks to www.operawire.com During early June, tucked away in the Blackwater Valley in Ireland’s southeast, the small town of Lismore plays...
Two very special evening Concerts at Dromore Yard
As part of an exciting programme celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Dromore Yard plays host this year to two very special evening concerts, commencing at 8:15pm, which are sure to delight our audiences.We are thrilled...
Kildare Village & Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Competition
We have partnered with our sponsor Kildare Village to give you the chance to win an exclusive prize package for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival on Saturday 1 June.
Saturday evening’s performance of ‘Don Pasquale’ now SOLD OUT
With just six weeks to go before the start of The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival 2019 we are delighted to announce that the Saturday evening performance of Don Pasquale at Lismore Castle has now sold out – dinner & picnic options are still available to those who have already secured tickets for Saturday evening.
Volunteering for Blackwater Valley Opera Festival
Are you interested in being part of an exciting, unique cultural event, right on your doorstep? Do you love music and opera or have an interest in event management? Would you like to meet new people and try new experiences? Then volunteering at this year’s Blackwater Valley Opera Festival might be just the thing for you.
New BVOF Orchestra Conductor Darren Hargan
We are delighted to welcome Darren Hargan as our conductor of the Blackwater Valley Opera Orchestra for the first time for this years performances of Don Pasquale at Lismore Castle. This years orchestra has been enlarged to include 2 additional members.
Opera Tickets Selling Fast
With just under 60 days to go until the opening of the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival our Artistic Director, Dieter Kaegi, has arranged a wonderful programme for our 10th anniversary. In particular we want to draw your attention to the highly entertaining ‘opera buffa’ (comic opera) ‘Don Pasquale’ which will make up the magical, centerpiece of the festival at Lismore Castle, 2019. The Opera runs for three nights; Wednesday, 29th & Friday, 31st May with the finale on Saturday, 1st June already almost a sell out.
Eamonn Carroll BVOF’s new Festival Director
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has announced the appointment of Eamonn Carroll as Festival Director, a position which he will take up in April 2019. Eamonn Carroll is currently the Membership Relationship Manager with the RDS. He previously held a senior position with Wexford Festival Opera as Development Manager from 2008-2015. He is a former Board Member at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival.
Rare Opportunity to experience Balfe’s The Sleeping Queen Operetta in Lismore Town
he Sleeping Queen, an Operetta in one act by Michael William Balfe is a rare opportunity to experience a delightful chamber opera composed by Ireland’s leading nineteenth-century opera composer to a libretto by Henry Brougham Farnie (1836-1889).
An Evening with Amy Gillen and Friends
Irish Heritage’s 2018 Music Bursary for Performance recipient, the talented flautist Amy Gillen, made her official London debut this week (Wed 6th March) with this recital in the elegant surroundings of Marylebone’s parish church. Amy’s programme for the evening...
BVOF shortlisted for 5th Annual Waterford Business Awards
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has been shortlisted for the 5th Waterford Business Awards organised by Waterford Chamber and media partners WLR, sponsored by Waterford City & County Council. The Festival has been shortlisted to 3 nominees along with Lismore...
BVOF brings classrooms alive with music
Classrooms around West Waterford have been alive with the sound of music last week. The roving troupe, known as the ‘Mobile Music Machine’, with soprano, Sandra Oman, cellist Gerald Peregrine, violinist Lynda O’Connor and violinist Andreea Banciu who plays the viola aim to foster a sense of music appreciation within local primary school children, their families and the wider community.
Friends Circle Priority Booking Now Open
Members of our Friends Circle can now priority book tickets & dining options for all Festival performances online through this site. Priority booking extends to Monday 11th February when tickets then go on general release.
BVOF Schools’ Workshops – A resounding success
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival 2019 educational programme commenced this week with visits to schools in the Blackwater Valley. The week long workshops are performed in association with our partners Mobile Music Machine.
