Page 106 - 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. 106
vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju
Distribution of Performances
Appendix 2 provides a list of productions related to the cities and towns in
which they took place. 19 of these performances were part of the Wexford
Festival; outside the festival there were only two more operatic performanc-
es in the National Opera House (both by Irish National Opera). 14 perfor-
mances took place in Northern Ireland, 74 in the Republic. Of those 74, 38
(or almost exactly 50%) took place in the capital Dublin. Only 15 perfor-
mances in the South did not take place in either Dublin or Wexford. Three
smaller towns (Navan, Sligo and Kilkenny) had only one operatic perfor-
mance (during the Powder her Face tour) while no performance took place
in major Irish cities such as Cork, Waterford or Drogheda. In 2017/18 only
one opera (Powder her Face) travelled the country, visiting six cities (after
having been performed in Northern Ireland in the previous season). This
is a reduction compared to previous times when Opera Theatre Company
would send two or sometimes even three productions per year around the
country.
Like in other countries there is a trend to revive productions across
seasons; for example, The Second Violinist was premiered in Galway in the
summer of 2017, came to Dublin in autumn of the same year and visited
London in autumn 2018. National Irish Opera’s Orfeo and Eurydice start-
ed in Galway in the summer of 2018 and moved from there to Dublin in
the winter of 2018/19 while The Return of Ulysses was premiered in Kilk-
enny in the summer of 2018 and visited Dublin in the autumn of that year.
This means that several productions have been performed more often over-
all than indicated by the numbers in Appendix 2.
It is interesting to compare the numbers of the early twentieth centu-
ry to those of 2017/18. As outlined above, between 1900 and 1922 there were
on average 73 operatic performances per year in Dublin (counting only
those taking place in the Theatre Royal and the Gaiety Theatre – so there
may even have been a few more in other venues). This is almost twice the
number of performances in Dublin compared to 2017/18 (72 versus 38). Of
course, looking at just one year provides only a snapshot, but the number
was almost certainly lower in previous years given that the combined num-
ber of productions and performances run by Irish National Opera in its first
year of existence (seven productions and 34 performances in 2018, includ-
ing one revival and three new productions between September and Decem-
104
Distribution of Performances
Appendix 2 provides a list of productions related to the cities and towns in
which they took place. 19 of these performances were part of the Wexford
Festival; outside the festival there were only two more operatic performanc-
es in the National Opera House (both by Irish National Opera). 14 perfor-
mances took place in Northern Ireland, 74 in the Republic. Of those 74, 38
(or almost exactly 50%) took place in the capital Dublin. Only 15 perfor-
mances in the South did not take place in either Dublin or Wexford. Three
smaller towns (Navan, Sligo and Kilkenny) had only one operatic perfor-
mance (during the Powder her Face tour) while no performance took place
in major Irish cities such as Cork, Waterford or Drogheda. In 2017/18 only
one opera (Powder her Face) travelled the country, visiting six cities (after
having been performed in Northern Ireland in the previous season). This
is a reduction compared to previous times when Opera Theatre Company
would send two or sometimes even three productions per year around the
country.
Like in other countries there is a trend to revive productions across
seasons; for example, The Second Violinist was premiered in Galway in the
summer of 2017, came to Dublin in autumn of the same year and visited
London in autumn 2018. National Irish Opera’s Orfeo and Eurydice start-
ed in Galway in the summer of 2018 and moved from there to Dublin in
the winter of 2018/19 while The Return of Ulysses was premiered in Kilk-
enny in the summer of 2018 and visited Dublin in the autumn of that year.
This means that several productions have been performed more often over-
all than indicated by the numbers in Appendix 2.
It is interesting to compare the numbers of the early twentieth centu-
ry to those of 2017/18. As outlined above, between 1900 and 1922 there were
on average 73 operatic performances per year in Dublin (counting only
those taking place in the Theatre Royal and the Gaiety Theatre – so there
may even have been a few more in other venues). This is almost twice the
number of performances in Dublin compared to 2017/18 (72 versus 38). Of
course, looking at just one year provides only a snapshot, but the number
was almost certainly lower in previous years given that the combined num-
ber of productions and performances run by Irish National Opera in its first
year of existence (seven productions and 34 performances in 2018, includ-
ing one revival and three new productions between September and Decem-
104
