We are delighted to share some spectacular reviews of our artists’ performance at Wexford Festival. ‘Lalla-Roukh’, an Opéra-Comique by Félicien David, was part of the Wexford Festival’s idea for this season to present lesser-known operas, and it was a resounding success.
Orpha Phelan’s inventiveness as the opera director was widely praised, with highlights including:
‘’Phelan is a storyteller with a gift for comedy, a director with a light touch whose eye for comedic detail extends well beyond main characters. Her work can be full of activity without ever seeming either fussy or too busy.’’ - Michael Dervan, The Irish Times
‘’Phelan had inventive fun with it and so did we.’’
- Roy Westbrook, bachtrack.com
‘’Orpha Phelan has taken down a long-forgotten book from a dusty shelf and found a story which transfixes, taking us into other-worlds – 1860s Paris and fantastic lands – through the prism of today.’’
- Claire Seymour, Opera Today
The role of Nourreddin was performed by Pablo Bemsch (‘he demonstrates complete mastery of his instrument’, ‘Bemsch shows a very fine musical sense’) and Ben McAteer sung the role of Baskir (‘The Irish baritone balanced buffo banter with vocal finesse, in a strongly characterised performance’ - Avant Scéne Opéra).
Follow the link to listen to Wexford’s ‘Discover the repertoire’ introduction to the piece: https://soundcloud.com/user-175240874/2-wfo-2022-discover-the-repertoire-lallah-roukh-by-felician-david-01?in=user-175240874/sets/wfo2022-discover-the
The event can be viewed here: https://www.wexfordopera.com/programme/event/lalla-roukh/
