Wexford weather can be a bit chancy but this weekend the sky is blue and the Irish Sea sparkling. John Barry stands, sword in hand, looking out to sea, not the composer of music for James Bond films, but Wexford born John Barry who was a founder of the United States navy. Behind him the setting sun shines on the fly tower of the opera house.
When President Kennedy visited Ireland in 1963 he laid a wreath at the foot of the statue of Barry. The statue, incidentally, is a present from the people of the US to Ireland in gratitude for Barry’s naval service.
The opera tonight is Vanessa by Samuel Barber. It was first performed, at the New York Met, in 1958 and it won Barber a Pulitzer prize. The sets were by Cecil Beaton. However, it is a bit of a rarity these days and it is a Wexford speciality to rediscover such works.
We four enjoyed Maria de Rudenz very much and hope that you will like it too! We liked Herculanum but found it rather long and flagging in places.
Yes, Maria is a cracker. Besides some superb singing, the production with its ingenuous sets was gripping. I loved every minute as did the friends I was with, or those of them that weren’t waiting for the AA to fix our hired car.