THERE'S good news for lovers of opera this summer they won't have to travel to either Verona or Glyndebourne to pursue their hobby. Instead, the chatelaine of Humewood Renata Coleman has decided to start a new opera festival on her Co Wicklow estate, debuting at the end of July.
"It really is going to be like Glyndebourne," insists Ms Coleman, who bought Humewood and its 450 acres back in 1992 after the death of Madame Hume Weygand. Intended to be an annual event, Humewood Opera will open on Wednesday, 31st July, with a performance of Mozart's La Finta Semplice. Director will be English born Michael McCaffrey, artistic director of the DGOS back in the 1980s and now a Dublin resident he and his designer Paul Edwards were responsible for a production of the same opera which was staged at the Opera de Nice in 1991. They should find putting it on child's play just like Mozart who was aged 12 when he wrote La Finta.
Unlike Glyndebourne (or Castleward in Co Down, where operas are also heard annually), which has its own purpose built theatre, the Humewood event will be held outdoors in the castle courtyard, with its clock tower acting as a ready made backdrop for the performers. Seating will be strictly limited to 400 and sensibly, given the erratic nature of the Irish climate the audience will be protected by a specially erected awning offering shelter from rain and sun alike. There will be a 75 minute interval for picnics in Humewood's grounds.
While organising this new project has been no picnic, it should still be less stressful than some of the other activities in which Ms Coleman has been engaged. Still given to dashing between Hong Kong, Australia and the US, while in Ireland she tends to be preoccupied by matters equestrian. However, a series of recent mishaps may put paid to this interest in January, after one spill in January her horse landed on its mistress's chest and last week she was sporting a rather striking mark down one cheek, caught when a branch flicked back on the hunting field. By comparison, opera must look like a very docile entertainment.