The Stage

Arts minister disputes Irish opera merger plan

Published Monday 5 October 2009 at 17:24 by Anthony Garvey

An Irish Arts Council plan to merge the republic’s three existing opera companies into a single national company based in Wexford has run into trouble, with arts minister Martin Cullen, himself an opera fan, publicly disagreeing with it.

The council’s proposed shake-up has been prompted in part by cost considerations, given reduced state funding and the likelihood of further cuts. It would see Wexford Festival Opera, Dublin-based Opera Ireland and the Opera Theatre Company (OTC), also located in the Irish capital, replaced by a single national company from 2011.

That company, according to the plan, would be based in the new €33m Wexford Opera House, run the Wexford Festival, mount productions in Dublin and engage in some touring. It was envisaged that funding for the three companies would be reduced next year before being phased out as the new company opened for business.

But now the minister has thrown the plans into doubt by publicly declaring that while he also favours the creation of a national company, he feels it should be based in Dublin and that the Wexford company should be maintained. “I’m not sure that amalgamating all three companies is the answer,” he said. “I think Wexford has a very distinct brand that’s different to what a national opera company would have. So I’d be more inclined to leave Wexford with its own mandate to carry on in that regard, while creating a national company out of the other two that exist in Dublin.”

He added: “I think Ireland as a country, and its capital city, needs a national opera company, and it’s something I’m determined to achieve.”

He acknowledged that Dublin lacked “a dedicated opera house”, which would take time to resolve, but insisted: “I think the first thing to do is to set up a national company.”

The minister’s intervention will be welcomed by the three companies, which had voiced reservations about the proposed merger. Now representatives of the three have been invited into a fresh round of discussions aimed at finding a new way forward.