Here is a promo clip for our national tour of The Magic Flute.

 

Here is a reminder of what a busy and happy year we had in 2011 - and a sincere wish that you have a peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year...

 

These are just two of a number of clips we've uploaded to our YouTube channel, so why not have a browse while you're there

 

 

Tickets to The Magic Flute would make an ideal present for all...

Christmas is a most wonderful time of the year, but it is not without its pressures.

No matter how much we may need to cut back financially, there is always someone who truly deserves a gift from us.

Now matter how stretched we are for time, there is always someone we simply must meet over the winter holidays.

Tickets to a show meet both these needs perfectly. You and your friend put a date in the diary that will not lightly be changed. You treat your friend to a performance they would not have attended without you, increasing your shared experience and providing further and future conversation between you. And you support the performing arts in Ireland.

Why not buy a ticket now, ready to wrap in time for Christmas, and meet that friend or treat your family to opera in 2012?

DUBLIN CITY CENTRE - January 26, 27, 28 at 7.30pm in The Samuel Beckett Theatre in Trinity - BOOK TICKETS HERE

The Magic Flute appeals to all, with a playful, pleasing plot and Mozart played and sung sublimely. A ticket to The Magic Flute could provide an entry into opera for a first-timer or give satisfaction and pleasure to a more seasoned opera-goer and is suitable for all ages. 

Give yourself something to look forward to in the New Year by booking one of our National Tour dates now: CORK, LIMERICK, SLIGO, NAVAN, BLANCHARDSTOWN, KILKENNY, DOWNPATRICK, TALLAGHT, LETTEKENNY, CARLOW

Opera Theatre Company invites applications for audition for its productions during 2012 and in particular for it’s forthcoming production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo.

Auditions will take place in Dublin on Thursday 19th January and Friday 20th January 2012.

Singers will be asked to perform two contrasting pieces, one from the baroque period, with a particular preference for Monteverdi.

Singers who wish to be considered for audition should Curriculum Vitae and headshot to Artistic Administrator DERMOT O’CALLAGHAN – dermot@opera.ie - no later than Friday 13th January, 2012 at 1.30pm

Opera Theatre Company will update this item on a regular basis.

"While there was plenty of drama and tension, it was still an uplifting show, a perfect tonic for a chill winter evening... Thanks to an energetic cast, both acts fizzled along with joy and enthusiasm... a huge hit with the capacity audience." - The Evening Echo, Mary Smithwick, 01/02/2012

"It’s an interesting question how much Mozart bought into the misogyny that peppers the libretto of his great panto-opera... It’s left to Annilese Miskimmon, artistic director of what is now Ireland’s major company, Opera Theatre Company, to take it on. And she does it very entertainingly in this touring production, with nothing spurious and no hint of hectoring, by spinning the characters and action in a way that actually makes you think new things, a rare and welcome feeling in the opera house. Miskimmon manages to make the show funny and charming while retaining its bite and a proper sense of mystery, a balance one longs for in the Flute but rarely finds. It’s energetically performed in Nicky Shaw’s clever trapdoors-and-ladders design, with smart visual larks on top of the slapstick and character-comedy.              ...this Flute plays some sweetly profound tunes." - The Tablet, Robert Thicknesse 14/01/2012

"a fine six-piece ensemble ... under clear, responsive direction from the piano of Brenda Hurley ... the delightful, mischievous balancing act performed by director Annilese Miskimmon between comic and serious... the design team wittily lights and sets the story in roughly 1912  ... providing great comic space ..." - The Irish Times, Michael Dungan 29/11/2011

"...well-characterised interpretations, not least Owen Gilhooly's excellent Papageno. Alison Bell showers the Queen of the Night's coloratura fireworks with assured expression ... From her piano and celesta, Brenda Hurley's musical direction is understanding. She ensures her instrumental quintet, using Cameron Sinclair's cunning reduction of the score, supports the singers' spirited teamwork in this physically energetic and trapdoor-slamming production." - The Irish Independent, Pat O'Kelly 29/11/2011

"ingeniously reduced instrumentation by Cameron Sinclair... worked marvellously, evoking the musical world of Mozart's sublime Piano and Wind Quintet, and revealing details of the original woodwind scoring that are often subsumed beneath a plush string underlay in the full orchestration ... Owen Gilhooly's bumptious bird-man is hugely engaging and strongly sung, while Mary O'Sullivan is a plump and pleasing Papagena ...  Nathan Morrison (ed's note: OTC Young Associate Artist)'s mellifluous Speaker... a beautiful, technically assured voice. Best of all was a radiant Pamina from Emma Morwood, a Belfast-born soprano with star potential and one of several Irish singers worth nurturing in her native land.                                                                                  This lively, well-sung Flute tours Ireland this week, then again from January 26 to February 18, including one date in the north, at the Down Arts Centre, in Downpatrick." - Hugh Canning 04/12/2011 Full review behind The Sunday Times pay wall

"Adrian Dwyer (Tamino) had the ringingly ardent tenor the part needs, and avoided the kind of soppiness it can easily descend to... Matthew Treviño truly galvanised attention: his Sarastro was magnetically sung and acted... The six-piece band gave an energetic, propulsive account of Cameron Sinclair's reduced orchestration, directed by Brenda Hurley from the piano. The evening was, however, ultimately director Annilese Miskimmon's triumph... Her Act Two in particular is a locus classicus of acuity and clarity, the most probing and revelatory I've seen in thirty years attending productions of the opera. - Irish Theatre Magazine, Terry Blain 06/12/2011

Tickets for the opening of The Magic Flute at The Lir on Pearse Street @ Grand Canal Quay are sold out for this coming Friday at 7.30pm and for Saturday November 26th.

If The Lir is your neighbourhood theatre, do feel free to take the chance of coming along at 7pm to see if there are returns on the evening. Tickets are €30 or €25 concession.

Our next Dublin date is in The Civic Theatre in Tallaght on Tuesday November 29th at 8pm. Call (01) 462 7477 for details.

We move outside Dublin on December 1st at 8pm, starting with The Source Arts Centre in Thurles (050)490 204 and on to Siamsa Tíre, Tralee on December 3rd at 7.30pm (066) 712 3055, then Galway, Bray and Drogheda before Christmas.

We recommence touring on January 26th, 27th and 28th on the Samuel Beckett Theatre in TCD and on to Cork, Limerick, Sligo, Navan, Blanchardstown, Kilkenny, Downpatick, Tallaght, and Letterkenny, with our tour coming to a finale in Carlow on February 18th.

Click here for booking details of our national tour.