The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.
The Festival began under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly generated considerable interest by programming unusual and rare works, a typical festival staging three operas. This concept has persisted over the company's 61-year history under the direction of seven different Artistic Directors. From the beginning, the company embraced new and upcoming young singers, many of whom were Irish, but it also embraced new names from the international scene who made first appearances there.
For sixty years now many hundreds of thousands of people have travelled to Wexford Festival Opera in search of artistic excellence and innovation. Wexford Festival Opera prides itself in giving new life to unjustly neglected operas, introducing artists and audiences to the forgotten masterpieces. Although the Festival has elevated itself to receive high international acclaim, the Festival’s warmth and charm remains one of its most enduring qualities.