Your Guide to BVOF 2025
Save the Date
26 May – 2 June 2025
We hope you will join us for Ireland’s Summer Opera Festival. Expect an exhilarating week of opera, recitals and concerts, education programmes, free events, and gourmet dining at historic homes and venues throughout the Blackwater Valley region.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by Benjamin Britten
LISMORE CASTLE: Weds 28, Fri 30, Sat 31 May and Sun 1 June 2025
PRIORITY BOOKING from January 2025 for Friends of BVOF.
Tickets on General Sale from February 2025. Gift Vouchers Available All Year Round.
Magic of Opera at the Castle
Entertain clients and colleagues with an unforgettable evening at Ireland’s Summer Opera Festival. Set in the grounds of the majestic Lismore Castle, bespoke hospitality packages are tailored to meet individual group requirements.
Enjoy pre-opera dining catered for by award-winning chefs with complimentary festival programmes and champagne on arrival
‘The combination of an outdoor opera with wonderful fare in the magical setting of the Lismore Castle gardens, is absolutely enchanting.”
– Dr Colin Hunt, CEO AIB plc
Unforgettable Festival Experiences
Allow us to plan your visit and explore our choice of luxury hotels, bijou guest houses and country homes near Lismore. Our team of experts can advise with booking festival accommodation to match your choice of opera night during the festival.
We know the hidden gems and best local spots. Plus, we can arrange your travel throughout your stay, ensuring a seamless experience from start to finish.
Friends of Blackwater Valley Opera Festival
Friends of Blackwater Valley Opera Festival make contributions from €50 to €10,000 and are an integral part of keeping opera in Ireland vital and alive, for this and future generations.
Benefits include invitations to private events, acknowledgement in festival programme, and priority booking.
Celebrating 15 Years
Thanks to the backing of dedicated private philanthropy and the Arts Council of Ireland, Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (BVOF) has evolved from a 2010 pop-up event into an established Flagship festival for Waterford attracting 1,000’s of visitors each year. The festival celebrates opera, classical music events, and dining at stunning venues including Lismore Castle and the semi-restored Dromore Yard.
BVOF is part of a new wave of renewed interest in opera in Ireland. We engage with local communities through free school performances, educational outreach programmes, multiple bursary initiatives, and free events. These initiatives help foster a passion for the music in the next generation and ensure opera remains vital to Ireland’s cultural identity.
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