The full casts have been announced for the main evening operas in the forthcoming Wexford Festival Opera, opening Wednesday, 21 October.

A mixture of new and familiar voices makes up the 64-member company, comprising 20 principal roles, 32 chorus-members and 10 dancers. They hail from several different countries, including Ireland, Britain, South Africa, Canada, US, France, Italy, Australia and Malta. When including the creative teams, production team, orchestra and crew, the full company of this year’s Festival is likely to be in excess of 200.

This year’s cast will perform in the various events during the Festival, including three evening operas: Koanga by Frederick Delius, Guglielmo Ratcliff by Pietro Mascagni and Le Pré aux clercs by Ferdinand Hérold.

Koanga by Frederick Delius, which opens the 64th Wexford Festival Opera, features American baritone Norman Garrett in the title role, with South African soprano Nozuko Teto singing opposite him.

The 2014 Arnhold Bursary winner, and Irish mezzo-soprano, Kate Allen joins the cast of Hansel and Gretel, as she takes up the role of Gertrud, while in a change of casting, Italian tenor Angelo Villari will now sing the title role in Guglielmo Ratcliff, one of the most difficult roles ever written for a tenor voice.

Having already opened at the Opéra-Comique, Paris last month, Le Pré aux clercs by Ferdinand Hérold, a co-production with Wexford Festival Opera, sees the return of Canadian soprano Marie-Éve Munger, who sang in last year’s very popular, Don Bucefalo. She will perform the role ofIsabelle. Joining her from the Paris cast is Marie Lenormand and Eric Huchet, both of whom will make their debut in Wexford.

A full cast list for the festival is available by clicking on Wexfordopera.com

In addition to the three evening operas, this year’s programme also includes three daytime ShortWorks operas: The Portrait of Manon by Jules Massenet, Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, as well as concerts, lunchtime recitals, lectures and talks: 52 events over the 12-day Festival. There are a range of ticket prices for the evening operas beginning at just €25, while daytime events range from just €10 to €25.

For a full list of the events of the festival, click here. Tickets can be booked here, by telephoning the box office at +353 (0)53 912 2144 or by dropping into the National Opera house between 9AM-5PM Monday to Saturday.