Irish National Opera plans 7 shows in opening season

Nothing if not ambitious.

Press release:

Irish National Opera opens its 2018 season with Thomas Adès’s compelling chamber opera Powder Her Face, given in a touring co-production with Northern Ireland Opera (24 February – 9 March). Patrick Mason’s new staging of The Marriage of Figaro, with Tara Erraught (pic), Jonathan Lemalu, Ben McAteer, Máire Flavin and Suzanne Murphy among its stellar cast, marks the company’s first full production, opening at Wexford’s National Opera House on 13 April before transferring to the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin for four performances (17, 18, 20 & 21 April). In the summer, Irish National Opera presents Gluck’s moving telling of the myth of Orfeo ed Euridice in association with Galway International Arts Festival (23 – 29 July); mezzo soprano Sharon Carty stars in a production directed by leading dance theatre director Emma Martin.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to create something new,” comments Fergus Sheil, Artistic Director of Irish National Opera. “It is also about defining fresh parameters for what opera could and should be. We are starting at a remarkable time for Irish singers, with so many exceptional artists on the international scene. We have the chance to make a bold statement to the public in Ireland about our world-class artists and bring as many of them as possible to the broadest of audiences.”