Page 105 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2019. Vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju - The Role of National Opera Houses in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 3
P. 105
opera in ireland – a continuing struggle for acceptance
– Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) – Conservatory of Music
and Drama
– DIT Operatic Society
– Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)
– Mikhailovsky Opera, St Petersburg
– Scottish Opera
With four productions/17 performances run by National Irish Opera
(and 3/12 in the early stages of the season by its predecessors, Opera Thea-
tre Company and Wide Open Opera) this newly formed company is now
the largest provider of opera in Ireland. Wexford Festival Opera follows
in second place with four productions (19 performances).24 Northern Ire-
land Opera was responsible for three productions (14 performances). Be-
tween them these three companies staged 12 productions (55 performances)
while most other companies – whether they were local or travelling visitors
– only staged one opera, and mostly for a small number of performances.
Three productions were performed just once, two more twice and six three
times. The two conservatories in Dublin regularly produce operas for the
benefit of their students; the singers, orchestral players and often also the
conductors and directors come from the ranks of their students while they
also collaborate with local institutions such as the National College of Arts
and Design or the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology
in the area of set design and costumes. In 2017/18 the Royal Irish Academy
of Music staged La finta giardiniera and – combined in one event as “Op-
era Briefs” – Monteverdi’s Il ballo delle ingrate and Weir’s Scipio’s Dream
while the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Conservatory of Music and Dra-
ma contributed Balfe’s The Sleeping Queen and Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (formerly known as Lismore Opera
Festival and taking place in Lismore Castle, County Waterford) was found-
ed in 2010 and stages one opera per season, alongside organising a number
of concerts and recitals throughout the year. Opera Collective Ireland has
produced on average one opera per year since 2014. The two internation-
al companies (Scottish Opera and Michailovsky Opera St Petersburg) that
visited Ireland presented canonic works as is usual for travelling companies
coming to this island.
24 Co-productions are counted separately for each company; thus Synnott’s Dubliners,
for example, is included in the numbers of both Opera Theatre Company and Wex-
ford Festival Opera.
103
– Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) – Conservatory of Music
and Drama
– DIT Operatic Society
– Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)
– Mikhailovsky Opera, St Petersburg
– Scottish Opera
With four productions/17 performances run by National Irish Opera
(and 3/12 in the early stages of the season by its predecessors, Opera Thea-
tre Company and Wide Open Opera) this newly formed company is now
the largest provider of opera in Ireland. Wexford Festival Opera follows
in second place with four productions (19 performances).24 Northern Ire-
land Opera was responsible for three productions (14 performances). Be-
tween them these three companies staged 12 productions (55 performances)
while most other companies – whether they were local or travelling visitors
– only staged one opera, and mostly for a small number of performances.
Three productions were performed just once, two more twice and six three
times. The two conservatories in Dublin regularly produce operas for the
benefit of their students; the singers, orchestral players and often also the
conductors and directors come from the ranks of their students while they
also collaborate with local institutions such as the National College of Arts
and Design or the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology
in the area of set design and costumes. In 2017/18 the Royal Irish Academy
of Music staged La finta giardiniera and – combined in one event as “Op-
era Briefs” – Monteverdi’s Il ballo delle ingrate and Weir’s Scipio’s Dream
while the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Conservatory of Music and Dra-
ma contributed Balfe’s The Sleeping Queen and Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (formerly known as Lismore Opera
Festival and taking place in Lismore Castle, County Waterford) was found-
ed in 2010 and stages one opera per season, alongside organising a number
of concerts and recitals throughout the year. Opera Collective Ireland has
produced on average one opera per year since 2014. The two internation-
al companies (Scottish Opera and Michailovsky Opera St Petersburg) that
visited Ireland presented canonic works as is usual for travelling companies
coming to this island.
24 Co-productions are counted separately for each company; thus Synnott’s Dubliners,
for example, is included in the numbers of both Opera Theatre Company and Wex-
ford Festival Opera.
103
