Going over to the dark side with Der Vampyr

Michael Barker-Caven hopes to draw new audiences with a production of Der Vampyr, his take on a rarely-seen German opera, writes Colette Sheridan.

A rarely-performed vampire opera will be staged at the Everyman by the same team that brought the award-winning production of Pagliacci to the venue in 2012.

Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner was first performed in Leipzig in 1828. Now, former artistic director of the Everyman, Michael Barker-Caven, is co-directing the opera with John O’Brien of the Cork Operatic Society. Barker-Caven says the last significant production in Ireland of Der Vampyr was at the Wexford Opera Festival in 1992.