Maudlin of Paplewick
by Ina Boyle
16 October 2026
Teatro Laura Betti
Bologna
Maudlin of Paplewick
A Chamber opera in three acts by Irish Composer Ina Boyle
Première
16 October 2026, Teatro Laura Betti, Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna
more info to follow soon
This chamber opera by Ina Boyle will be performed for the first time, nearly a century after it was written.
In ca. 1956, Irish composer Ina Boyle began work on her only opera for the stage. The manuscript, 622 pages in her own hand, was completed, set aside, and forgotten. It has never been performed - until now.
Maudlin of Paplewick is a tale of witchcraft and enchantment set in a magical forest, based on Ben Jonson's The Sad Shepherd. Boyle's score, lyrical, atmospheric, unmistakably Irish, evokes the world of Vaughan Williams and Britten, and stands as one of the most significant lost works in the Irish classical canon.
Le Foyer des Artistes founder Darren Hargan prepared a new critical edition, published in 2026 by Faber Music London, making Boyle's opera available to the world for the first time.
The première takes place at the Festival Respighi in Bologna, presented in co-production with the Festival Respighi, the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna and the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Orchestra, with an ensemble of young Irish singers. The production is supported by Culture Ireland as part of the celebrations marking Ireland's Presidency of the European Union.
About Ina Boyle
Ina Boyle (1889–1967) is recognised as Ireland's most prolific and important female composer of the first half of the twentieth century. Born and raised at Bushey Park near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, she spent her life composing daily while caring for her family, writing symphonies, choral works, chamber music, ballet and opera, almost entirely in isolation from the musical mainstream. From 1923 she travelled to London for lessons with Ralph Vaughan Williams, who championed her quietly: "I think it is most courageous of you to go on with so little recognition. The only thing to say is that it sometimes does come finally." It has — nearly sixty years after her death, her opera reaches the stage for the first time.