3 Best Performing Arts in The Southeast, Ireland

From late October to early November, the two-week-long Wexford Opera Festival is the biggest social and artistic event in the entire Southeast. From mid-September until the final curtain comes down, Wexford becomes home to a colorful cast of international singers, designers, and musicians as they prepare for the annual staging of three grand operas at the Wexford Opera House. Along with an ever-expanding offering of more populist fare performed in small venues and pubs, the festival supplies a feast of concerts and recitals that start at 11 am and continue until midnight. The bad news: nearly every single bed within miles is booked during the festival, and usually months ahead of time.

From mid-September until the final curtain comes down, Wexford becomes home to a colorful cast of international singers, designers, and musicians, as the town prepares for the annual staging of three grand opera productions at the brand new Wexford Opera House. The festival runs from late October to early November, and has a huge international cachet. The actual productions are expensive, full-dress affairs. The selection of operas runs toward the recherché, and the choice is usually the envy of opera maestros around the world. Prices are around €30–€140 a ticket, but the extensive fringe events and concerts are usually around €20, and sometimes far more fun. The best thing about the festival for non–opera buffs, though, is the excitement in the air: art exhibitions, street music, parades, and window-dressing contests are held every year, and local bars compete in a Singing Pubs competition. The bad news: nearly every single bed within a large radius of Wexford is booked during the festival weeks, and usually for months before the actual event kicks off.