ThE National Symphony Orchestra of Belarus has been engaged to play for the Wexford Festival next October, The Irish Times has learned.
The use of a foreign orchestra breaks a long tradition which has seen the National Symphony Orchestra playing in the pit for Wexford's annual offering of rare operas as well as performing a number of concerts during festival time.
The festival's chief executive, Mr Jerome Hynes, refused to comment, but later issued a statement saying it was regretted that, after a "long and mutually beneficial relationship with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, it was not possible to agree a new relationship with the NSOI on terms acceptable to Wexford for 2001".
The festival has, however, indicated that it is willing to negotiate "at the earliest opportunity" concerning 2002 and later years.
RTE's director of music, Mr Niall Doyle, said: "We're very disappointed not to take part in the festival this year. We're talking to Wexford about subsequent years." He said he would "prefer not to speak about the exact nature of the problem".
Last year there was a major dispute about broadcast rights between the festival and RTE management. RTE claimed to have secured European Broadcasting Union rights for the festival operas, rights which would have enabled RTE to offer the Wexford performances free to other national broadcasters in Europe and beyond.
The festival said RTE was limited to national broadcasting rights. Live broadcasts planned by the BBC of two of the festival operas hung in the balance until an unwieldy compromise was reached.
Mr Seamus Crimmins, head of Lyric FM, could not confirm that he was still in a position to broadcast this year's Wexford operas. Lyric FM, he said, had no budgetary provision for this during this year. "Normally, Wexford comes free to us. We'll have to go into negotiations. There may be other services who may be able to offer the broadcasts to us through the EBU". In other words, the BBC might save the day for RTE.
