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Charlotte and Werther: image courtesy of Opera North
As there’s no established opera company (or house) in Ireland producing work through the year, we have to make do with the short seasons of Opera Ireland, and the valiant work of touring companies, leading to months where very little happens and then times, like the next month or so, when there’s almost too much to see. Given that access to opera is now under threat more than ever before in Ireland (for details of the Irish Arts Council’s plan, read Michael Dervan’s reports here and, more recently, here), October and November might be the busiest for a while, so enjoy it while you can…
First out of the blocks on October 17 is Opera Theatre Company, with the last of its three productions for the Handel anniversary year. After Xerxes and Acis & Galatea, it’s time for one of his greatest operas, Alcina – quite possibly an Irish premiere. Directed by Annilese Miskimmon with design by Nicky Shaw, lighting by Tina MacHugh and conducted by Christian Curnyn, the cast includes Irish sopranos Sinead Campbell-Wallace (Alcina) and Doreen Curran (Bradamante) with Steven Wallace (Ruggiero), Jane Harrington (Morgana), Julian Hubbard (Melisso) and Ed Lyon (Oronte). The touring dates are as follows:
October 17 – Navan; October 20 – Derry; October 22 – Carlow; October 24 – Bray; October 27 – Armagh; October 29 – Tallaght; November 1 – Limerick; November 3 – Galway; November 5 – Dundalk; November 7 – Cork. Booking details for each of the venues is here. A good thing to note is their first date in Carlow, following the opening of the new Shaw Theatre in Carlow town – will this be the first staged opera in the county not under canvas?
Next up, on October 21, is the opening of this year’s Wexford Festival, which carries on through to November 1, with mainbill productions of The Ghosts of Versailles (John Corigliano), Maria Padilla (Donizetti) and a double-bill of Une éducation manquée (Chabrier) and La cambiale di matrimonio (Rossini). As noted earlier, the dates of the festival were cut back to reduce costs, so the whole season is pretty much sold out at this stage, but returns are always possible….
The Grand Opera House in Belfast hosts Opera North‘s touring programme on October 28-31, with productions of Così fan tutte (Mozart) and Werther (Massenet) – sadly we don’t get to see their new production of The Adventures of Mr Brouček (Janáček). Still, the Werther has attracted a lot of interest and good reviews over in Britain (such as Rupert Christiansen in the DT), in particular for Alice Coote’s performance of Charlotte, so it should be well worth seeing.
Finally, of course, there is Opera Ireland, which opens its Winter season on November 14 with Verdi’s Macbeth, with performances on Nov 16, 18, 20 & 22 as well – all at 8pm in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. Directed by Dieter Kaegi, designed by Ferdia Murphy, and conducted by Marco Zambelli, the cast includes Bruno Caproni in the title role, with Michele Capalbo (Lady Macbeth), Valarian Ruminski (Banco) and Kamen Chanev (Macduff). Thanks to funding uncertainties, they have shelved doing a second staged production this season (and the next), and instead will present a concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold on November 19 & 21 in the Gaiety. Roman Brogli-Sacher conducts, with a cast that includes plenty of Irish singers, including Paul McNamara (Froh), Orla Boylan (Freia), Imelda Drumm (Fricka) and Gerard O’Connor (Fafner), along with Louise Walsh, Catherine Hegarty and Vicky Massey as the Rhinemaidens. The other main roles are sung by Vitalij Kowaljov (Wotan), Rainer Zaun (Alberich) and Arnold Bezuyen (Loge). You can book for these shows through Opera Ireland or the Gaiety Theatre.
Kilkenny Castle
It seems perverse to be thinking of summer just as we’re tentatively daring to enjoy this chilly spring, but plans for the Irish summer festivals are already appearing… and showing inevitable signs of recession fever. While the enjoyable late winter offerings from OTC and OI had already been budgeted for, and so were safe from the moneymen, now we begin to see signs of the cutbacks already well-reported from opera companies overseas (especially in Italy and the US). And the result is that we’re seeing a mix of some fairly shrewd moves, along with a bit of retrenchment – so nothing to worry about just yet, perhaps (apart from Cork’s Opera 2005, which had all its funding cut this year). Opera Ireland is keeping tight-lipped and not announcing anything, so its autumn season remains a mystery, while Wexford Festival Opera has recently announced a reduction in its upcoming season.
In the more delicately-poised world of country-house opera, survival by adaptation seems to be the order of the day. The Arts Council always likes it when production companies make ‘strategic partnerships’, and in the southeast Blackstairs Opera, after its coup last year in linking with Opera Fringe, is this year teaming up with Opera Theatre Company and the Office of Public Works (along with support from Fáilte Ireland and Kilkenny 400) to present a double-bill of OTC’s touring productions of Handel’s Acis & Galatea and Mozart’s early hit Bastien und Bastienne, in Kilkenny Castle on July 3 & 4. Blackstairs Opera are even promising a second summer offering at Russborough House in early September, but details are still to be announced, apart from the dates (Sept 4-6).
In previous years, Blackstairs would share the touring productions of the UK-based Opera à la Carte with Loughcrew House in Co. Meath, but with the move to Irish-based production companies they are going their separate ways. This year sees Loughcrew teaming up with Opera Ireland to create a new company, Loughcrew Opera. Managed by the ex-Celtic Tenor Niall Morris, they are offering more standard fare in the shape of Puccini’s La Bohème on May 30 & 31, with a cast that includes Irish singers Michelle Sheridan, Claudia Boyle and Simon Morgan. As part of a new departure for opera funding, they are saying that “a percentage of box office income from this production will be donated to the Opera Ireland Foundation, securing the future of Opera in Ireland through access, education and development initiatives.”
Back in Co. Dublin, Glasthule Opera is yet to announce its upcoming season, but from what I can gather it will be taking place at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire during the last week of June, with Puccini’s La Bohème alternating with an intriguing double bill of Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea and Gustav Holst’s rarely-produced work The Wandering Scholar. Nothing of this has been confirmed as yet, though, so best to wait before bombarding the Pavilion with enquiries.
A rare day for Irish culture (especially in these straightened times). Congratulations to Wexford Festival Opera on the opening of the new Wexford Opera House on the site of the former Theatre Royal (full report in yesterday’s Irish Times, here). The image above is from a month ago, so it’s looking even better now.
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