REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 1999 WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 1999 WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA THURSDAY, 14TH OCTOBER, 1999
I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to be here with you this evening for the opening of this year’s world-renowned Wexford Festival Opera. This year the Wexford Festival Opera celebrates its forty-eighth birthday. I know how it feels! From its earliest beginnings, it has found a unique place in the cultural and social life of Ireland and is now a key event on the international calendar. I would like to extend a warm ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ to everyone who has travelled to Wexford to attend the Festival, and especially those of you who have joined us from overseas. You are all most welcome.
This Festival has always been innovative in the choice of works performed and in its exploration and search for rare or unjustly neglected works. It is renowned for being a stimulating place to work, for producing opera to the highest international standards and, just as importantly, for its relaxed, community-based atmosphere.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of this Festival, however, has been its success in altering the public perception of opera from something esoteric and exclusive to an experience which can be enjoyed by all lovers of music. There are still many who remain unconvinced – indeed, someone once defined opera as being ‘when a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of bleeding he sings’. But there is no doubt that in recent years, opera has gained much wider appeal and understanding, and this Festival has played no small part in achieving this here in Ireland. It has opened up a whole new world of appreciation and pleasure to generations of Irish people. For new-comers and experts alike, it always provides something fresh and new as well as being a place where old acquaintances are renewed and many new friendships established.
Those standards of excellence which have been attained at this Festival year after year are a tremendous tribute to the professionalism of the small staff, capably led by the Festival's Chief Executive Jerome Hynes, its Artistic Director Luigi Ferrari, and, of course, the Mayor of Wexford who is also Festival Chairman, Ted Howlin. Great credit is also due to the people of Wexford, many of whom have given freely of their time and energy, year after year, to ensure that everything runs smoothly. It is this blend of professional and voluntary involvement that is the hallmark of the Festival and the key to its success. And this dedication and enthusiasm by everyone involved will ensure that it will endure and thrive for many years to come.
Even though the reputation of this Festival is firmly established both at home and abroad, I know that the organisers are never content to rest on their laurels. The facilities have undergone major improvements in recent years and with a further expansion in the pipeline, the Festival’s position as one of Europe’s leading cultural events will be further strengthened. And with the Festival’s record of looking after its interests and the interests of its audiences, I am sure that this development will make for an even better Festival, while retaining its unique, community-based atmosphere. I would like to say a special word of thanks to Buí Bolg, Wexford’s street performing arts group, who have greatly added to that atmosphere by keeping everyone entertained here this evening.
I hope that everyone – natives of Wexford and visitors alike – has a most enjoyable time, and it is with great pleasure that I declare this year’s Wexford Festival Opera officially open.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.