Page 97 - 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. 97
opera in ireland – a continuing struggle for acceptance
combined 104 times in the Gaiety and the Theatre Royal, with Bizet’s Car-
men following in second place with 88 performances.8
The rich operatic life in Dublin during the early twentieth century is
also reflected in discussions around establishing a dedicated opera house
in Dublin (mirroring similar discourses in England). In 1900 Annie Patter-
son wrote an essay entitled “The Prospect of Native Opera” in the Weekly
Irish Times in which she advocated establishing a “British Bayreuth in Dub-
lin” which was to provide a “Home for Indigenous Opera”.9 If the wording
used by Patterson appears to be unexpectedly surprisingly pro-British, in
1909 she published “Music and the Nations” which was far more pro-Irish
and relocated the intended Irish Bayreuth from Dublin to the Hill of Tara,
the medieval seat of the High Kings of Ireland.10 McHale concludes from
this that opera formed a central part in Dublin’s cultural life at this time –
that many people
saw Dublin as a viable centre for British opera says much about the
place of opera in Dublin’s musical culture and its audience. And
yet in Dublin, it would seem that there was a need for “regenera-
tion” less in relation to audiences and more in terms of indigenous
opera. […] it was the Gaelic Revival that created the impetus for
all these works. Language, folklore and mythology provided a dis-
tinctly Irish accent to operas, some of which were noted for their
Wagnerism.11
Operas on an Irish subject matter and the Gaelic revival
Axel Klein observes that while many operas by Irish composers make ref-
erence to Irish traditional music – by using an Irish melody or integrating
an Irish dance – only c. 30 of the 280 he has identified engage with an Irish
subject matter. Many of these stem from the late 19th and early 20th centu-
ries, commencing with John William Glover’s The Deserted Village (1880),
Paul McSwiney’s Amergen (1881) and Charles Villiers Stanford’s Shamus
O’Brien (1895) as early representatives. However, their numbers increased
significantly in the early years of the new century:12
8 McHale, ibid.
9 Axel Klein, “Stage-Irish, or the National in Irish Opera, 1780-1925”, The Opera Quar-
terly, 21/1 (2005), 27-67, xx.
10 McHale, “Hopes for Regeneration”, 212.
11 Ibid., 215.
12 Klein, “Stage-Irish”, 49-62; McHale, “Hopes for Regeneration”, 211.
95
combined 104 times in the Gaiety and the Theatre Royal, with Bizet’s Car-
men following in second place with 88 performances.8
The rich operatic life in Dublin during the early twentieth century is
also reflected in discussions around establishing a dedicated opera house
in Dublin (mirroring similar discourses in England). In 1900 Annie Patter-
son wrote an essay entitled “The Prospect of Native Opera” in the Weekly
Irish Times in which she advocated establishing a “British Bayreuth in Dub-
lin” which was to provide a “Home for Indigenous Opera”.9 If the wording
used by Patterson appears to be unexpectedly surprisingly pro-British, in
1909 she published “Music and the Nations” which was far more pro-Irish
and relocated the intended Irish Bayreuth from Dublin to the Hill of Tara,
the medieval seat of the High Kings of Ireland.10 McHale concludes from
this that opera formed a central part in Dublin’s cultural life at this time –
that many people
saw Dublin as a viable centre for British opera says much about the
place of opera in Dublin’s musical culture and its audience. And
yet in Dublin, it would seem that there was a need for “regenera-
tion” less in relation to audiences and more in terms of indigenous
opera. […] it was the Gaelic Revival that created the impetus for
all these works. Language, folklore and mythology provided a dis-
tinctly Irish accent to operas, some of which were noted for their
Wagnerism.11
Operas on an Irish subject matter and the Gaelic revival
Axel Klein observes that while many operas by Irish composers make ref-
erence to Irish traditional music – by using an Irish melody or integrating
an Irish dance – only c. 30 of the 280 he has identified engage with an Irish
subject matter. Many of these stem from the late 19th and early 20th centu-
ries, commencing with John William Glover’s The Deserted Village (1880),
Paul McSwiney’s Amergen (1881) and Charles Villiers Stanford’s Shamus
O’Brien (1895) as early representatives. However, their numbers increased
significantly in the early years of the new century:12
8 McHale, ibid.
9 Axel Klein, “Stage-Irish, or the National in Irish Opera, 1780-1925”, The Opera Quar-
terly, 21/1 (2005), 27-67, xx.
10 McHale, “Hopes for Regeneration”, 212.
11 Ibid., 215.
12 Klein, “Stage-Irish”, 49-62; McHale, “Hopes for Regeneration”, 211.
95
