Page 108 - 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. 108
vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju
observe harps, percussion or brass playing from the boxes above the pit). In
the National Concert Hall there are some concert performances (or occa-
sionally semi-staged ones) mainly by Lyric Opera in its main hall while its
smaller John Field Room plays host to chamber operas. The rich Irish the-
atrical tradition ensures that there is a range of medium and smaller-sized
theatres which are also used on occasion for smaller productions or concert
performances. These include Trinity College Dublin’s Samuel Beckett The-
atre, the Belvedere College’s O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin Institute of Technol-
ogy’s Gleeson Theatre, and the small local theatres in Dundrum and Sker-
ries. Most of these venues have minimal opportunities to change the stage
during a performance while none of them has a pit. The two performances
in churches listed here were concert performances.
There are five other venues that did not house opera in 2017/18 yet have
done so repeatedly in the past: the Olympia Theatre (1298 seats), the Pa-
vilion Theatre (324), The Lir Academy, Trinity College Dublin (c. 150) and
the Temple Bar Arts Centre (c. 120). Both The Lir (Trinity College Dublin’s
“National Academy of Dramatic Arts” complex) and the Temple Bar Arts
Centre contain small black box studio theatres with variable seating. Many
of the smaller theatres or halls are not well equipped to change the scen-
ery and use just one setting for all acts/scenes; this often coincides with the
use of a much reduced orchestra or even just a piano – although the latter
does not happen very often; its only occurrence in 2017/18 was in The Sleep-
ing Queen which was actually conceived this way by Michael Balfe (he later
produced an orchestrated version as well).
Contemporary Irish Opera
When Opera Ireland was dissolved and funding for Opera Theatre Com-
pany reduced in the wake of the 2008 crash, some additional funding was
made available for new compositions. This resulted in the rather paradox
situation that the situation for contemporary Irish opera actually improved
slightly as more Irish or Irish-based composers than before received fund-
ing to compose and produce new works. Yet this funding was awarded on
a case-by-case basis, and there was no way of knowing how much mon-
ey would be available next year, or even if the different categories in which
composers or producers can apply would still be there – for example, in
2018 there was an “Opera Projects and Production Award” while in 2017
there had been two separate categories (“Opera Production Award” and
“Opera Commissions Award”). In 2016 there was no dedicated opera award
106
observe harps, percussion or brass playing from the boxes above the pit). In
the National Concert Hall there are some concert performances (or occa-
sionally semi-staged ones) mainly by Lyric Opera in its main hall while its
smaller John Field Room plays host to chamber operas. The rich Irish the-
atrical tradition ensures that there is a range of medium and smaller-sized
theatres which are also used on occasion for smaller productions or concert
performances. These include Trinity College Dublin’s Samuel Beckett The-
atre, the Belvedere College’s O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin Institute of Technol-
ogy’s Gleeson Theatre, and the small local theatres in Dundrum and Sker-
ries. Most of these venues have minimal opportunities to change the stage
during a performance while none of them has a pit. The two performances
in churches listed here were concert performances.
There are five other venues that did not house opera in 2017/18 yet have
done so repeatedly in the past: the Olympia Theatre (1298 seats), the Pa-
vilion Theatre (324), The Lir Academy, Trinity College Dublin (c. 150) and
the Temple Bar Arts Centre (c. 120). Both The Lir (Trinity College Dublin’s
“National Academy of Dramatic Arts” complex) and the Temple Bar Arts
Centre contain small black box studio theatres with variable seating. Many
of the smaller theatres or halls are not well equipped to change the scen-
ery and use just one setting for all acts/scenes; this often coincides with the
use of a much reduced orchestra or even just a piano – although the latter
does not happen very often; its only occurrence in 2017/18 was in The Sleep-
ing Queen which was actually conceived this way by Michael Balfe (he later
produced an orchestrated version as well).
Contemporary Irish Opera
When Opera Ireland was dissolved and funding for Opera Theatre Com-
pany reduced in the wake of the 2008 crash, some additional funding was
made available for new compositions. This resulted in the rather paradox
situation that the situation for contemporary Irish opera actually improved
slightly as more Irish or Irish-based composers than before received fund-
ing to compose and produce new works. Yet this funding was awarded on
a case-by-case basis, and there was no way of knowing how much mon-
ey would be available next year, or even if the different categories in which
composers or producers can apply would still be there – for example, in
2018 there was an “Opera Projects and Production Award” while in 2017
there had been two separate categories (“Opera Production Award” and
“Opera Commissions Award”). In 2016 there was no dedicated opera award
106
