Page 110 - 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. 110
vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju
from anywhere in the world. Of the composers named above, Gerald Bar-
ry and Donnacha Dennehy have been particularly successful international-
ly (and not just as opera composers); their operas are being performed in the
UK and the US, and their performances mentioned above were in fact part
of international tours. Stylistically these pieces cover a broad range of mu-
sical languages, from Raymond Deane’s modernism via Roger Doyle’s elec-
tronically produced and/or enhanced sounds to Evangelia Rigaki’s play with
extended techniques and Brian Irvine’s eclectic mix of different styles. Ger-
ald Barry’s recent comic operas can perhaps be described as a kind of “atonal
Rossini” while Donnacha Dennehy has developed his own post-minimalist
style. Given the general situation of art music in Ireland contemporary opera
has done better than some may have expected, particularly in relation to the
overall number of productions and performances.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in the light of the establishment of a national opera compa-
ny the situation of opera in Ireland is hopeful, yet still precarious, while the
National Opera House is wrongly placed and therefore remains severely un-
derused for much of the year. There is a constant low-key struggle going on
between those supporting opera (and art music in general) and politicians
and sections of the media which regard it as elitist and un-Irish. However,
it is heartening to see that even under these conditions new and fascinating
Irish operas regularly emerge, and that some Irish operatic composers have
managed to take their place on the international stage.
Of the eighteen new operas listed in Appendix 3 nine were (wholly or
in part) performed outside of Dublin – a good sign as in recent years Irish
opera had more and more retreated to the capital city, with the Wexford
Festival and Northern Irish Opera being the only notable exceptions (al-
though 2018 appears to reverse this trend at least in part). The long-term
future of opera in Ireland remains hopeful yet uncertain: while the desig-
nation of a “National Opera House” and the creation of “Irish National Op-
era” are positive developments, it is not clear whether this will lead to an in-
creased provision of opera in the country in the long term. Irish National
Opera has no long-term guarantee of existence which makes strategic plan-
ning difficult. The South’s only two permanent professional orchestras (the
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra) have
not had principal conductors for several years while vacancies in both en-
sembles have been left unfilled in large numbers and for such a length of
108
from anywhere in the world. Of the composers named above, Gerald Bar-
ry and Donnacha Dennehy have been particularly successful international-
ly (and not just as opera composers); their operas are being performed in the
UK and the US, and their performances mentioned above were in fact part
of international tours. Stylistically these pieces cover a broad range of mu-
sical languages, from Raymond Deane’s modernism via Roger Doyle’s elec-
tronically produced and/or enhanced sounds to Evangelia Rigaki’s play with
extended techniques and Brian Irvine’s eclectic mix of different styles. Ger-
ald Barry’s recent comic operas can perhaps be described as a kind of “atonal
Rossini” while Donnacha Dennehy has developed his own post-minimalist
style. Given the general situation of art music in Ireland contemporary opera
has done better than some may have expected, particularly in relation to the
overall number of productions and performances.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in the light of the establishment of a national opera compa-
ny the situation of opera in Ireland is hopeful, yet still precarious, while the
National Opera House is wrongly placed and therefore remains severely un-
derused for much of the year. There is a constant low-key struggle going on
between those supporting opera (and art music in general) and politicians
and sections of the media which regard it as elitist and un-Irish. However,
it is heartening to see that even under these conditions new and fascinating
Irish operas regularly emerge, and that some Irish operatic composers have
managed to take their place on the international stage.
Of the eighteen new operas listed in Appendix 3 nine were (wholly or
in part) performed outside of Dublin – a good sign as in recent years Irish
opera had more and more retreated to the capital city, with the Wexford
Festival and Northern Irish Opera being the only notable exceptions (al-
though 2018 appears to reverse this trend at least in part). The long-term
future of opera in Ireland remains hopeful yet uncertain: while the desig-
nation of a “National Opera House” and the creation of “Irish National Op-
era” are positive developments, it is not clear whether this will lead to an in-
creased provision of opera in the country in the long term. Irish National
Opera has no long-term guarantee of existence which makes strategic plan-
ning difficult. The South’s only two permanent professional orchestras (the
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra) have
not had principal conductors for several years while vacancies in both en-
sembles have been left unfilled in large numbers and for such a length of
108
