Vanessa by Samuel Barber was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera house and premiered successfully in the year 1958. Samuel Barber’s lifelong partner Gian Carlo Menotti wrote a very sensitive and precise libretto based on a gothic tale. It was his only libretto not being composed by himself later on. There have been some further productions of the opera mainly in the United States whereas in Europe Vanessa has not really grounded in the repertoire of the opera houses. So again...

Félicien David is a French composer of the 19th century, whose works have totally ceased away from the standard concert or opera programmes and even his existence is unknown to a wide number of music lovers. Born in 1810 in Southern France, his musical talent was noticed early and supported. His career ended quickly once he joined the Saint Simonians. Later in his life, he gained back some reputation and contributed one major work to the genre "grand opera", Herculanum, a...

The Wexford Festival has gained recognition and highly regarded reputation for performing rarities of all centuries in high quality directions and staging. Every year since 65 years, unknown or forgotten composers or compositions come back to life. So the little city of Wexford at the South east end of Ireland has become a pilgrimage place for opera lovers for two weeks end of October. A new opera house, actually the only opera house in Ireland, has been rebuilt recently to house the...