Wexford Festival Opera has established the Wexford Factory to offer professional and financial support to young singers in the early stage of their careers. We are in our third edition and are looking forward to auditioning the next generation of operatic talent for the 2022 Wexford Factory. Wexford Festival Opera’s aim in creating the Wexford Factory is to offer one of the world’s most formative experience for young opera singers who are about to take the biggest step of all into a fully professional career. Working closely with our partner opera companies, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Rossini Opera Festival ‘Alberto Zedda Academy’, in Pesaro we will help them hone their musical and professional skills to start a brilliant journey in to the industry.

AIMS OF THE WEXFORD FACTORY
The Wexford Factory will train young singers through intensive masterclasses held by international artists and professionals. The renowned Wexford Festival Opera becomes even more a center of cultural and educational importance in the international opera world.
The role of talent scouting, which Wexford Festival Opera has always cultivated over the years, continues to be one of the strategic points of its artistic vision. International and renowned artist will be always linked with WFO that was for them a vital step forward in their career. Following this idea Wexford Factory is going to become a great breeding ground of artists, employed by Wexford Festival Opera in the various festival’s events and in an entire opera production expressly dedicated to them.
The collaboration, with RIAM (Royal Irish Academy) and TUD (Technological University Dublin) will be vital for achieving these aims.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES
1. ENROLMENT
It is now possible to audition for selection for the 2022 Wexford Factory, promoted and organised by the Wexford Festival Opera. Auditions will take place on 11, 12, 13 September 2021 in Wexford.

2. REQUIREMENTS
The course is aimed at singers that are of Irish nationality or resident in Ireland.

The candidates intending to enroll for selection must meet the following essential requirements:
• Must be under the age of 35, by 31 December 2021
• The Artistic Director may allow exceptions according to merit.
• Irish citizen or resident in Ireland
• A good knowledge of a foreign language French, German, or Italian.
• Priority will be given to Irish singers, in the event that those positions cannot be filled by Irish singers, Wexford Festival Opera will consider international candidates.

3. DURATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE
The dates for the Wexford Factory are from 12 September to 25 September 2022 in the National Opera House, Wexford. Each participant will receive a scholarship of €1,500 plus travel and accommodation. The Wexford Factory will be a bi-annual programme and will include masterclasses from belcanto to verismo singing style, art and technique of performance with some of the most illustrious singers, conductors, and vocal coaches of the opera world, exciting lectures and workshops, resulting in a platform for singers to exercise their performance skills.
Following on from the Wexford Factory at the end of the process, Wexford Festival Opera will produce an opera project, which will be performed during the 2022 Festival in the O’Reilly Theatre. These performances may embark on a nationwide tour.

4. SUBJECTS
The course includes the following:
• Masterclasses
• Stage Craft
• Body Awareness
• Belcanto style and Technique
• 18th,19th and 20th Century Opera style and Technique

5. PROFESSORS
• Ernesto Palacio, Artistic Director and Head of the young Artists Programme at the Rossini Opera Festival
• Dmitry Vdovin, Head of the Young Artist Programme at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow

6. MASTERCLASSES
• With leading international singers

7. COACHING
• Pianist for preparation and study
• Vocal Coaching for language and style with Carmen Santoro, Andrea Grant, Giulio Zappa
• Stage Craft and coaching sessions with leading industry professionals.

8. LOCATION OF THE COURSE
All the lessons and the rehearsals will take place in the National Opera House, Wexford
The work experience element of the course will take place during the 2022 Wexford Festival Opera and will consist of the opera project and other artistic performances within the Festival.

9. APPLICATIONS AND DEADLINES
Applications for selection must be marked Wexford Factory and sent to Nora Cosgrave, Director of Artistic Administration, Wexford Festival Opera, High Street Wexford or by e-mail to the following address: [email protected]
Besides the application form, the following documentation must be included:
• Specific application form published and downloadable from the following
website www.wexfordfestivalopera.com
• one close-up photograph, and one full-length photograph;
• the candidate’s CV;
• a copy of a valid identification document;
• if available, letters of reference

Applications must be sent by 15 August, 2021 and will be valid with the date of email or the postal stamp.

Evaluation & Audition Selection
Selection for auditions is subject to the evaluation of the candidate’s CV. This evaluation will be made by the Wexford Factory’s artistic panel and its judgement will be final.
The candidates selected for audition will be notified by e-mail only.
The auditions will take place in Wexford on the following dates 11, 12, 13 September 2021.
Audition candidates must prepare three arias. The arias must be sung in the original language and key, including, when applicable, the recitativo and cabaletta. The panel has the right to choose whether to listen to the whole or only part of the program.

The Wexford Factory allows candidates to use their own pianist, we however will provide a pianist.