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Minister Humphreys Officially Names the National Opera House

(Thursday, 2 July, 2015) Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys today officiated at the naming ceremony for the internationally award-winning National Opera House in Wexford. Minister Humphreys publicly announced late last year from the stage of the opera house that she was giving her support to the renaming of the Opera House as Ireland’s National Opera House.

Unveiling the new sign at the entrance to the National Opera House, Minister Humphreys said: “I am delighted to be here this evening for the official naming ceremony of the National Opera House in Wexford. Wexford has become synonymous with world class opera in recent years, thanks to the high quality productions staged here. This is an internationally recognised artistic institution which makes a hugely positive contribution to the local economy. I am committed to ensuring a regional balance in arts provision across this country, so that communities like Wexford can have access to a wide range of top class cultural experiences. Wexford is the home of premier opera in Ireland. Recognition as Ireland’s National Opera House will help to secure this position and should also help to attract some of the world’s best opera to Ireland’s South East.”

Also present at the event was Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin and leading local political, business, tourism and community representatives.

From its opening in 2008, the state-of-the-art venue is Ireland’s only acoustically purpose- built Opera House and is a major addition to the nation’s cultural infrastructure, winning numerous national and international architectural awards as a result. It is a year-round cultural receiving house for opera and also for multi-disciplinary performance art-forms. To date, over 2,000 events of all genres have been staged in the National Opera House to almost 350,000 people, underlining the unique venue’s significant and increasing major contribution to the local, regional and national economy. It is also the home of Wexford Festival Opera, one of the world’s leading opera Festivals, which annually attracts audiences from home and abroad who travel to Wexford to experience this unique cultural celebration.

Commenting on this landmark occasion, Chief Executive of Wexford Festival Trust, David McLoughlin said, “This further official state recognition of the National Opera House by the Minister for the Arts is a significant occasion in the development of this unique national

1 cultural asset, enabling us to further build on the State’s prior investment in its creation and to further enhance its cultural, economic and societal contributions nationally and locally.

As Ireland’s sole nationally recognised Opera House, given its unique characteristics and the very specific acoustic and design criteria which it fulfils as Ireland’s only purpose-build Opera House, Ireland is no longer the only country in Europe to not possess a National Opera House. The official national status and state endorsement is recognition of this major addition to the nation’s cultural infrastructure and also of the Irish people’s prior investment, via the Department of Arts, as the predominant funder of the state-of-the-art facility.” www.nationaloperahouse.ie

Press information: Elizabeth Rose-Browne / Media Relations Manager / Wexford Festival Opera t: +353 53 916 3523 / +353 87 211 6903 [email protected]

Gerry Lundberg / Sinead O’Doherty/ Gerry Lundberg Public Relations t: +353 1 679 8476 / +353 87 259 1070 / +353 86 259 1070 [email protected]

BACKGROUND

The National Opera House is Ireland’s only purpose-built opera house, an award-winning building situated in the historic heart of Wexford. It is home to the internationally recognised 64 year old Wexford Festival Opera, as well as a host to all performance genres, in addition to opera, including theatre, music, dance, comedy, family and community events, as well as a unique conference and corporate venue.

The Wexford Opera House which opened in 2008 was subsequently renamed the National Opera House in 2014 by Minister for the Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. The new name acknowledges the quality of experience provided by the house (also named Best Cultural Building in 2009) and it is now recognised as one of the most advanced and beautiful small opera houses in the world.

The house was designed by renowned architect Keith Williams, with acoustics by Arup (Glyndebourne/Oslo Opera House). Contained within a bold contemporary form that rises theatrically above the low skyline of Wexford Town, its entrance and streetscape are by contrast discrete. The highlight of the building is its walnut-lined auditorium, which is traditional in spirit and contemporary in its expression and a beautiful and memorable performance space.

The opera house contains two theatres; the principal auditorium of 855 seats (759 with a pit), and also an adaptable auditorium of 172 seats providing performance in a variety of formats, together with all public and support facilities necessary for a fully functioning producing theatre. The National Opera House may be seen as a series of formal set-pieces centred around the main auditorium, fly- tower and the smaller second theatre forming a nucleus at the heart of the organisation. The long- term strategy of the National Opera House team is a commitment to fostering and growing opportunities for world class arts and cultural experiences, as well providing the highest standard corporate facilities, while creating a recognisable name for the venue both here and abroad.

The National Opera House – Design Awards

2 The National Opera House has been the recipient of numerous prestigious national and international design awards since its opening in 2008. It is interesting to note that the building has received awards under various design headings confirming the comprehensive excellence of its design. It is undoubtedly a magnificent tribute to the many people involved in the delivery of the building. The principal design awards received to date are:

1. Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland RIAI Award 2009 - Best Cultural Building. Jury Citation: “The Wexford Opera Festival is one of Ireland's leading cultural institutions. It now has an exceptional new home. Contained within a bold contemporary form that rises above the town, its entrance and streetscape are by contrast modest and discreet. The circulation spaces and bars are comfortable, sociable and designed to be flexible in accommodating a variety of associated uses. Particularly memorable are the break-out areas with panoramic views out over the town and the sea. The highlight of the building is the wonderful auditorium, which is traditional in spirit and contemporary in expression, delivering a quite beautiful and memorable performance space”

2. Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA European Award 2009. Jury Citation: “Essentially this building is a triumph for its dedicated client group (Wexford Festival Trust), for the town of Wexford, and for Ireland and the world of music. The critics of the international opera have yet to give their verdict, but one suspects that the technical acoustical and design team have delivered a small but perfectly formed opera masterpiece”.

3. American Institute of Architects AIA Excellence in Design Award 2010 – Winner in the category of Townscape Jury Citation: The National Opera House was described by the jury as “an exceptional insertion into Wexford's historic skyline. The jury admired “the skill with which this very large building has been embedded in the town such that from many angles it was barely noticeable, yet from the waterfront its large scale has been successfully orchestrated through careful arrangement of its forms, resulting in a rich townscape composition alongside Wexford's two Puginian church spires. Internally the scale and elegance of the main auditorium, which only revealed itself after entering a modest entrance door in a modest street, impressed, heightening the sense of drama on entering the building. Overall, the Opera House was noted as making an exceptional contribution to its urbanity whose designers had understood to a very sophisticated level how best to respond to the spirit and grain of its locale and its context”.

4.Civic trust (UK) Award Winner 2009 Jury Citation: The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design within the built environment. The jury's report was

3 as follows: “Located on a very tight sloping, irregular shaped site, the visually stunning new purpose-designed opera house contains two theatres, back stage facilities, bar and cafe, hospitality areas, dressing rooms and chorus rehearsal rooms. Internally, the main auditorium is the centrepiece around which all other spaces are organised. The entrance foyer is located in the reinstated terrace buildings and leads into the main foyer which is a magnificent triple height space with a large glazed window which cranks over to form part of the roof. The uppermost level has wonderful panoramic views across the town, Wexford Harbour and the bay. Accessibility has been well considered and movement is simple and straightforward. Various rooms for workshops and practice areas are provided for various local groups and provide an amazing resource for the town”.

5. Society of Theatre Consultants (UK) Winner of the Quadrennial Award for Practical Design Excellence 2010.

The building design competition focussed on the harmony which can be achieved when a building both attracts and inspires an audience whilst providing an environment in which the actor, designer and director can create an economic and effective performance.

The Award is presented to new or refurbished performing arts spaces which, in overall design and practical operating experience, have shown themselves to be the highest achieving in the complex and sensitive amalgam of the performer-audience relationship; making the work of performers, technicians, designers and directors as fulfilling as possible; and the audiences experience pleasant and complete.

Jury Citation: “This is a modern opera house in the top European echelon. And I use the word operahouse in its Central European context as a theatre in the tripartite tradition of presenting sung, spoken and danced performances ...... a cornucopia of coalition. Generously wide upholstered leather seating, most of the side seats angled towards the stage or as loose chairs in boxes ..... and the small proportion of the side seats facing across the auditorium are so wide that it easy to pivot the body rather than twist the neck towards the stage. Warm timber everywhere .... the grain patterns providing a myriad of textures that were once promised with concrete shuttering but never really achieved ..... with a possible exception of Karlsruhe. The word for the stage and its technology is optimum – everything one needs but no excesses. No opera house has a more domestic entrance ...... set unobtrusively into the terraced housing of a narrow street, it leads into the first sequence of welcoming foyers that take full advantage of the sloping site to offer panoramic views out over the rooftops to the harbour and countryside beyond .... and, by the way, the quality of food matches the quality of the view. The detailing shows evidence of everything being really thought through and addressed with flair. Wexford Opera House is an exemplary piece of Design Excellence to launch the Society of Theatre Consultants new Award”.

4 6. Bank of Ireland Opus Architecture and Construction Award Opus Award Winner in the over €20 million category 2008

Jury Citation: The handsome main auditorium was aptly and metaphorically described by the judges by the comment that “the Opera Hall is a finely formed musical instrument in beautifully crafted timber” and was admired “for the way it slots into the town and because it serves its purpose well”.

7. The Irish Times Theatre Awards Special Jury Award 2009

8. Zurich Local Authority Members Association Award LAMA Award 2009 – Best Contribution to the Local Community

The National Opera House Media Quotes

Sunday Times – Hugh Canning, 26th October 2008 “Wexford’s new opera house is a success beyond the wildest dreams of the patrons who have flocked to this sedate corner of the south-east to encounter works rarely, if ever, mounted by mainstream metropolitan companies during the past 57 years.”

“Good as the revamped Glyndebourne theatre is, it pales in comparison to Ireland’s new opera house....looks classier, sleeker, smarter and more intimate.....But for the stellar debt of Williams’ opera house, ‘The Mines of Sulphur’ would have been the hit of the year.”

Financial Times – Andrew Clark, 20th October 2008 “But this former fishing town in south-east Ireland finally has an opera house worthy of its internationally renowned festival...it is a state-of-the-art opera house with all the comfort, style and sophistication that its predecessor could never aspire to.”

The Independent – Michael Church, 21st October 2008 “Ireland has had to wait a long time for its first proper opera house, but patience has been rewarded: the beautiful building now shoehorned into Wexford’s tight little streets is an architectural triumph.. the acoustic and sight lines are well neigh perfect.”

Architects Journal – Kieran Long, 16th October 2008 “The auditorium is a fantastic achievement. There are some cosmetic similarities to Hopkins’ Glyndebourne but I find Wexford much more satisfying. At Glyndebourne the auditorium constantly reminds you that it is a kit of parts, but Wexford is a taut and modelled skin of timber, which distorts and shifts, but is always whole. The steeper lines of the balconies, ending beautifully as they turn toward the stage, are fabulous from every angle especially the stage.”

Architecture Ireland – Liam Tuite, October 2008 “What has been achieved is remarkable”