Aoife Daly on the Brendan O’Connor Show RTÉ Radio 1
On Sunday 17th September, INO development manager Aoife Daly paid a visit to the Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 to speak with guest host Áine Kerr about how Innovation in Opera is changing the we way make and consume the art form.
Being a young, dynamic company has allowed Irish National Opera to break the mould of what opera is and redefine the artform for a modern-day audience. Regularly commissioning contemporary opera and exploring themes that resonate with audiences such as the Environment, Gender Politics and Mental Health can help opera seem more ‘relevant’, but I think one of the reasons why the major operatic canon has stood the test of time is that the themes explored resonate as much today as when the opera was written. Take Faust, which opened at the Gaiety Theatre on Sunday 1st October: hope, love, art, politics, loss of youth – all completely relatable themes that exude from the spine-tingling music of Gounod.
Our use of Virtual Reality in creating opera, and our development of technology to help showcase opera to a wider audience are just some of the ways in which we are working to break down barriers to allow greater access to the artform. On Friday 22nd September, we showcased a new opera Scorched Earth Trilogy on the walls of Dublin’s Digital Hub, using our ground-breaking sound and sync technology Isolde. Is this a blueprint for the future of the artform, or more of a tool to demonstrate that opera in constantly evolving? Looking at the audience demographic, there was definitely a much younger crowd, and some new faces. What I find most interesting is the people who took part who were there for other reasons, but were intrigued by the technology and wanted to take part.
Opera and Culture in general are thriving in Ireland. In a post-covid era, people want choice around how they engage with culture. Technology can help us reach new audiences and provide engaging ways for people to experience opera, possibly for the first time. But can anything ever replace the thrill of a live performance, complete with cast, chorus, orchestra, set, costumes, wigs etc.?
On Sunday 17th September I paid a visit to the Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 to speak with guest host Áine Kerr about the above and how Innovation in Opera is changing the way make and consume the artform.