Benjamin Britten: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Book opera tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival 2025.
Benjamin Britten’s acclaimed opera, based on Shakespeare’s popular comedy, spins a tale of chaos unleashed by a feud between fairy-king Oberon and his queen, Titania—where mistaken identities, magical mishaps and alarming transformations ensue.
DATE & TIME: Weds 28 May, Fri 30 May, Sat 31 May, Sun 1 June at 7.30pm
VENUE: Lismore Castle, Lismore, Waterford
TICKET PRICES: €50 – €220
MUSIC: Benjamin Britten
Libretto: Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
Language: English
Duration: 3 1/4 hours (including 40 minute interval)
Cast & Creative Team
CAST
Iestyn Morris | Ami Hewitt | Barry McGovern | Christopher Cull | Gemma Ní Bhriain | Peter O’Reilly | Gregory Feldman | Sarah Richmond | Amy Ní Fhearraigh | Dominic Veilleux | Jakob Mahase | Connor Prendiville | Rory Dunne | Seán Tester | Massimo Modoni
CREATIVES
Conductor: David Brophy
Director: Patrick Mason
Set & Light Design: Paul Keoghan
Costume Design: Catherine Fay
Orchestra: Irish Chamber Orchestra
Children’s Choir: Piccolo Lasso | Discover Singing BVOF Education
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
– In Conversation
Join BVOF Artistic Director Dieter Kaegi for an evening in conversation with the creative visionaries shaping this year’s opera. Tuesday 27 May at 6pm - Lismore Heritage Centre, Waterford.
FREE EVENT
Booking Opening Soon
Henry Purcell: DIDO and AENEAS
Dido and Aeneas is an iconic Baroque opera by Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. It was composed around 1688 and had been performed at Josias Priest’s girls’ school in London by the end of 1689. Based on Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid, the opera narrates the tragic love story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas. The tale unfolds with Dido’s passionate love for Aeneas and culminates in her despair and ultimate demise when he forsakes her. A seminal work in Baroque opera, Dido and Aeneas is celebrated as one of Purcell’s most distinguished theatrical achievements. Notably, it is Purcell’s only fully sung opera and represents one of the earliest known examples of English opera, significantly influenced by John Blow’s Venus and Adonis in both structure and impact.
DATE & TIME: Tues 27 May, Thurs 29 May at 9.45pm
VENUE: St. Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore, Waterford
ARTISTS: Paula Murrihy – mezzo-soprano | Dean Murphy – baritone | Kelli-Ann Masterson – soprano | Irish Baroque Orchestra | Nicholas McGegan – conductor
TICKET PRICES: €40.00 / Limited €20 concession
MUSIC: Henry Purcell
Duration: 60 minutes+/-
