Paul Herriott looks back at Wexford Festival Opera 2024 again this week. Tonight Donizetti’s Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Conventions and Inconveniences of the Stage) a two-act farce takes to the stage and shines an exaggerated spotlight on the behind-the-scenes working of a theatre and the rehearsal process, showing what can go wrong when the egos of the performers get in the way of putting on a good show. A regional (and mediocre) operatic troupe is rehearsing a new work and faces numerous obstacles. The prima donna acts every bit the diva, refusing to rehearse. The tenor finds himself in the wrong production and quite out of his depth. The Seconda Donna’s mother (played by a baritone) demands that her daughter be given a more prominent role, before deciding to take on several roles herself. Not to be outshone, the Prima Donna’s husband takes to the stage too. When the show eventually collapses and the company tries to flee under cover of night, rather than pay back all the investors (whose money has already been spent), the Impresario has other plans… Danila Grassi conducts the Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
(First broadcast 26th October 2024)
RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 11th October, 7pm-10pm
