Viking city embraces a welcome Invader

When an Irish composer with stacks of choral works to his credit and an enviable international reputation announces he is composing his first opera, it generates a wave of interest that reaches beyond the confines of new music cognoscenti.

The Invader, a new opera by Eric Sweeney will be premiered at the Theatre Royal, Waterford later this month with the composer himself in the pit directing a ten-piece orchestra and a company of 11 singers.

With a libretto by poet, Mark Roper, based on Euripides’ Greek tragedy, The Bacchae, the new opera will be brought to stage by Theatre Royal Productions. With substantial funding from the Arts Council and Waterford City Council, the event forms part of the Waterford 1100 festivities, celebrating the founding of the medieval Viking settlement.