News & Updates
Keep Up To Date With The Festival
BVOF 2020 Cancellation
It is with great sadness that the Board of Blackwater Valley Opera Festival have taken the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Festival, which was scheduled to run from 26th May-1st June. As the Covid-19 situation develops the primary concern for the...
Want to know more about Pagliacci?
The dark side of humanity in opera will be represented at the 2020 Black Water Valley Opera Festival by Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Pagliacci is an Italian verismo-style opera consisting of a prologue and two acts. Tickets available here. Older than...
Want To Know More About Gianni Schicchi?
The first opera in the 2020 Blackwater Valley Opera Festival double bill will be Giacomo Puccini’s uproarious black comedy Gianni Schicchi, the final one-act opera in Puccini’s Il trittico.Book here. Gianni Schicchi premiered with the other two operas in Il...
From The Met to BVOF
Alejandro Roy will join BVOF this summer to perform the role of Canio in Pagliacci in our opera double bill after finishing with The Metropolitan Opera, New York where he has appeared as Calaf in Franco Alfano & Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot since November...
Behind The Scenes With Sandra Oman
We are excited to announce that Irish soprano Sandra Oman will return to BVOF in 2020 for our Opera Double Bill at Lismore Castle as Nella in Gianni Schicchi. As part of this announcement, we asked Sandra some questions about life as a singer and the Blackwater...
Niall Kinsella to accompany Anthony Kearns
Earlier this year we announced that Anthony Kearns would be performing at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. We can now confirm that accompanying Anthony Kearns will be Irish pianist Niall Kinsella. This very special tribute concert to John McCormack will be...
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Ticket Booking Now Open
We are delighted to tell you that the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival ticket booking is now open. We hope you will join us this year for what promises to be an exciting Italian opera double bill Gianni Schicchi (Puccini)...
Maurice Steger Concert Thursday 28th May at Dromore Yard
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival is delighted to welcome Maurice Steger to Dromore Yard on Thursday 28 May. Steger will perform accompanied by classical maestros Daniele Caminiti and Mauro Valli in a concert that is set to be one of the highlights of our...
Corporate & Group Hospitality at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival
Are you thinking about Corporate and Group Hospitality at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival? We offer a truly unique opportunity to entertain your clients and guests in the stunning surroundings of Lismore Castle. Our bespoke corporate and VIP group packages offer a...
Gianni Schicchi Artist Announcement
We are very excited to make the first official artist announcement for the 2020 BVOF Opera Double Bill. Leonardo Galeazzi will return to the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival portraying the title character of Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Galeazzi will also...
Anthony Kearns Concert At BVOF 2020
We are delighted to welcome “Ireland’s foremost tenor” Anthony Kearns to BVOF as part of our 2020 concert series. Anthony Kearn will perform a tribute concert to Count John McCormack at Dromore Yard on Sunday 31 May at 20:15. Book tickets here. Kearns...
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival 2020 Brochure
Announcing the 2020 Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, taking place from 26 May to 1 June 2020. We invite you to look through our interactive brochure featuring extensive information on our entire festival programme. We are presenting a double bill for the first time...
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...
