Ahead of this year's festival, mezzo-soprano Sarah Luttrell introduces the Wexford Factory programme for emerging talent at Wexford Festival Opera.
My name is Sarah Luttrell and I am a mezzo-soprano from Co. Laois and a member of the Wexford Factory.
After a successful audition back in September 2021 at our National Opera House, I was thrilled to have been offered a place on the Wexford Festival Opera's Young Artist programme, the Wexford Factory for 2022/2023.
The Wexford Factory Young Artist programme is a programme designed to support singers and pianists as they make the transition from trainees to professional artists. By offering masterclasses with internationally recognised singers, coaches and pianists, one to one sessions for career guidance and various performance opportunities, the essence of the Factory is to help us hone our musical and professional skills to prepare us for the world of opera.
The Factory takes place two weeks before the opera rehearsals commence, so we are very lucky to have the Opera House all to ourselves. The programme is jam packed with daily masterclasses, stagecraft and coachings. Our main tutor is Maestro Ernesto Palacio, a Peruvian tenor who is famous for his interpretation of Mozart and Rossini roles. He is also the Artistic Manager of the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy. We are incredibly lucky to have an artist of his calibre sharing his expertise and guiding us on a daily basis. These classes take place on the main stage of our National Opera House which is an incredible experience in itself.
We have daily individual lessons with Carmen Santoro, Giorgio D’Alonzo and Gioele Muglialdo who coach us on our own repertoire which includes the roles that we have to prepare for the Festival, repertoire for our Factory Gala Concert and pieces that we will perform in various concerts throughout the Festival. We also received masterclasses from internationally renowned artists such as Italian mezzo soprano Daniela Barcellona, Bulgarian Bass Orlin Anastassov, American Conductor and pianist Kamal Khan and Italian soprano Serena Gamberoni who all shared a wealth of knowledge with us.
(Pic: Ger Lawlor Photography)
Every year we have a lecture with music critic and Irish Times contributor, Michael Dervan. The main topic this year was Rossini who is the composer of our Factory Opera 'L'Italiana in Algeri’. We had an open discussion about different Rossini aria interpretations which gave us a fresh perspective on how to analyse and draw inspiration from various singers throughout the history of opera.
To conclude our two years of this intensive learning experience, we all performed in a Gala Concert held in the main theatre. The following day was reserved for one on one sessions with co-founder and general director of Opera for Peace, Julia Lagahuzere who offered us advice and guidance on what it means to present ourselves as professional artists.
During these two years, we have all made friendships that I know will last a lifetime. For me, the best part of being in a production, other than bringing the music and characters to life, is singing and working with kind and supportive colleagues and I hope that we will all have the opportunity to work together again in the future.
Wexford Festival Opera runs from 24th Oct – 5th Nov - find out more here.
