2021 marks the 70th anniversary of Wexford Festival Opera, memorably described by Bernard Levin as ‘a festival of music and joy to refresh the spirits, brighten the sky and flavour the year.’ 

A photographic exhibition will showcase a large number of unseen original press photographs of the early years (1951 to 1958) of the Festival. The accompanying booklet will tell the story of challenges faced by the opera committee in bringing opera to Wexford town in early days. It will recount the spirit of the people in a small provincial Irish town in the 1950s in specialising in rare and often little-known opera works and building an internationally renowned opera festival.

The exhibition, a partnership between Creative Ireland, the Stakeholder Committee of the Wexford Festival Trust and Wexford Library Service will be on view to members of the public in Wexford Library during the Wexford Festival Opera in October.