Marriageof Italian styles

The 62nd Opera Festival, in Wexford, was true to form in unearthing rarely heard works.

This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Verdi and there was an Italian connection in the three main operas.

Nino Rota’s Il Capello di paglia di Firenze was great fun and a sparkling aperitif to the substantial fare of the following two evenings. It was a musical farce in the opera buffa tradition, executed with verve and panache by the large ensemble.