Christmas Gala with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland and Sinéad Campbell Wallace

National Symphony Orchestra Ireland 
Francesco Cilluffo conductor 
Sinéad Campbell Wallace soprano 

Shostakovich Festive Overture 
Puccini ‘Vissi d’arte’ (Tosca) 
Catalani ‘Ebben! ne andrò lontana’ (La Wally) 
Lehár Gold and Silver Waltz 
Puccini ‘Donde lieta usci’ (La bohème) 
Gounod Waltz from Faust 
Lehár ‘Meine lippen sie küssen so heiss’ (Giuditta)

Tchaikovsky Selections from The Nutcracker:  
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak, and Waltz of the Flowers  
Trad. arr. Michael Casey The Wexford Carol 
Respighi ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ from Three Botticelli Pictures   
Gruber arr. Paul Campbell Silent Night 
Leroy Anderson A Christmas Festival 
Adam arr. Paul Campbell O Holy Night 
Victor Herbert March of the Toys (Babes in Toyland) 
Lowell Mason Joy to the World 

’Tis the season to be merry… and to indulge in a festive gala of glorious opera arias and seasonal gems with the exciting young Italian conductor Francesco Cilluffo and the internationally acclaimed Olivier Award-nominated dramatic soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace. 

Sinéad Campbell Wallace is one of the most exciting performers on the operatic stage today. Her fast-rising profile has seen her perform leading roles in prestigious opera houses across Europe, the United States and Tokyo, and at home with Irish National Opera and Wexford Festival Opera.  

She will bring her ‘heavenly voice’ (Opera Online) to Puccini’s aching ‘Vissi d’Arte (Tosca) – a widely praised role she has been making her own – and heart-breaking ‘Donde lieta usci’ (La bohème), Catalani’s haunting ‘Ebben? Ne andrò lontana’ (La Wally), and Lehár’s sparkling ‘Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss’ from Giuditta.  

Classic seasonal vocal jewels include The Wexford Carol, O Holy Night and Silent Night alongside orchestral favourites such as Tchaikovsky’s sugar-coated, snow-dusted The Nutcracker and Leroy Anderson’s joyful A Christmas Festival. 

Francesco Cilluffo, Wexford Festival Opera’s Principal Guest Conductor, brings all his ‘instinctive feeling for Italianate lyricism’ (New York Times) to what promises to be a memorable partnership with Sinéad Campbell Wallace in a festive, feel-good evening.

Presented by NCH