Review: Herculanum at the National Opera House - 'Uneven and decidedly long but it has a lot of good music'

Wexford Opera Festival: Herculanum at the National Opera House

Herculanum at the National Opera House

Pat O’Kelly

There are fireworks outside and inside the National Opera House as the 65 Wexford Festival gets under way. Those inside come with Félicien David’s Herculanum, which ends with Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD.

The opera certainly falls within Wexford’s penchant for reviving the forgotten and giving them a welcome, or unwelcome, airing as the case may be. Herculanum is uneven and decidedly long but it has a lot of good music.