Blackwater Valley Opera Festival: A philanthropic commitment to Ireland’s Summer Opera Festival

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has unveiled a refreshed membership programme, spanning tiers from Leading Lights (€150) to Guiding Lights (€2,500) and offers supporters a closer connection to the festival with a carefully designed suite of benefits.

Members receive priority booking and preferred seating, acknowledgement in the festival programme, refreshments on arrival, and invitations to private recitals throughout the year, complimentary opera ticket packages according to tier, private briefings with Artistic Director Dieter Kaegi, and other musical events. Beyond the benefits, Friends Membership represents a philanthropic commitment to music, artists, and the cultural life of the region.

Festival Director Eamonn Carroll said: “BVOF Friends are the heartbeat of the festival. Their generosity, enthusiasm and belief in what we do have helped shape BVOF into the vibrant celebration it is today. This relaunch is a tribute to that incredible support - and an invitation to be even more closely involved in nurturing talent, supporting schools, and keeping the arts thriving in our community.”

Friends Membership for the 2025/26 season opens on November 22, with full details at www.blackwatervalleyopera.ie.
Tickets for the 2026 festival go on general sale in January 2026.
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Supporting access and participation
The Friends membership supports many of the festival’s education partnerships - an important part of the festival’s wider impact. Since its education and outreach programme began, the festival has reached more than 7,000 students through workshops, school visits, and rehearsal invitations – often providing a first encounter with live classical music and opera. Singers and musicians bring workshops and performance projects into schools throughout the year, while festival-week visits give students a first-hand view of the creative process and a chance to attend the final dress rehearsal.

Ann Mannix, a local music teacher at Glanmire Community College, said: “It was outstanding. The production was magnificent. The students were blown away by the evening. You have opened the world of opera for them. We have a bass/baritone who is going to study voice in the RIAM next September. You inspired this future singer.”

Current members also express pride in how their support strengthens this work. “Being a Friend is much more than early booking or special events - it means backing the festival’s work in schools and across the community. Friends help bring education programmes into classrooms, opera rehearsal attendance for students, and being part of the local story,” said Susie Wingfield, a long-standing Friend of BVOF.

Bursary Support
To date, BVOF has awarded 40 bursaries supporting emerging singers, musicians, and creative professionals, helping them progress to leading conservatoires and international careers.

The 2026 BVOF Bursary recipients are pianist Dida Condria and tenor Conor Prendiville, both of whom appeared at the 2025 festival. Dida, a 19-year-old Irish-Romanian pianist, has already performed at Carnegie Hall and was a semi-finalist in the 2025 Dublin International Piano Competition. Conor, from Killorglin, Co. Kerry, holds a Master’s degree from the Royal Irish Academy of Music and performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Lismore Castle in 2025.

2026 Bursary Winner Conor Prendiville (tenor) said: “I am very excited and incredibly grateful to receive the BVOF Bursary Award 2026. Having performed at the festival for the first time in 2025 for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I am delighted to return to perform at the bursary recital in 2026. The BVOF Bursary will help me continue my musical development over the next year by funding coaching, lessons, travel and accommodation for auditions, and all the unseen costs that this crazy career entails. It is so thrilling to be recognised by the festival, and I can’t wait to perform there again in 2026.”

2026 Bursary Winner Dida Condria said, “This award allows me to fully concentrate on my musical development at the world’s leading conservatoire, the Royal College of Music in London – nurturing my artistry and advancing my career and contribution to the arts. Blackwater Valley Opera Festival is a leading light in the Irish musical calendar, truly distinguished by its innovation, the high quality of its artistry and music-making, and its generous commitment to emerging Irish artists.”

For membership and 2026 festival information visit www.blackwatervalleyopera.ie.

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival 2026 runs from May 26 to June 1, 2026. Tickets go on general sale in January 2026.