Madam, – As the last production of Opera Ireland reaches its final performance of Tosca at the Gaiety Theatre on Sunday, I would like to pay tribute to the wonderful history of the company in providing classical opera to Dublin audiences for almost seven decades. From its beginnings as the Dublin Grand Opera Society, which bravely began life during the Emergency, to its newer incarnation as Opera Ireland, the company has, against all the odds of financial mountains-to-climb, official disinterest and lack of a dedicated lyric theatre, staged many memorable productions, from Luciano Pavarotti’s debut in Rigoletto to the European premiere of Dead Man Walking. Tosca, despite the characteristically mean-spirited review (November 15th), combines perhaps the best achievements of Opera Ireland in its modern production values and its consistent casting of Irish singers in major roles.
As a former director of Opera Ireland and a granddaughter of the great Limerick tenor and impresario Joseph O’Mara, I am saddened at the demise of a fine tradition of opera production in Ireland. In another ‘Emergency’ during the first World War, the O’Mara Opera Company staged two seasons at the Gaiety annually, offering up to six operas per season; I can only hope that the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport will not keep Dublin audiences waiting for the next “Emergency” to launch the first season of the eagerly awaited new National Opera Company . . . or has that arrived already? – Yours, etc,