Opera firm suspends production

THE BOARD of a Cork-based professional opera production company has announced that it is suspending all major productions for the next 12 months.

A spokesman for Opera 2005 said it was forced in to the move as a result of the Arts Council 2009 grant decisions.

Announced late in 2008, the council eliminated all funding from the company. Opera 2005 received Arts Council funding of €110,000 in 2008 during which time it mounted productions, in both Cork and Limerick, and brought its acclaimed education and outreach programme to schools and community groups.

Board members at Opera 2005 say they appreciate the difficult economic climate but find the “iniquitous decision” to withdraw the funding from Opera 2005 – compared with the €1.7 million awarded to Opera Ireland, €1.4 million to the Wexford Festival and €803,000 to Opera Theatre Company – difficult to comprehend.

Since its inception, Opera 2005 has received consistent support from both audiences and commercial sponsors and has also fulfilled its brief to provide a professional platform and employment for local artists and musicians. The company has, for the past five years, been a vehicle for the presentation in Cork and Limerick of three Cork sopranos, Cara O’Sullivan, Mary Hegarty and Majella Cullagh, and international artists. The company’s orchestra engaged 90 per cent Irish instrumentalists, primarily from CIT Cork School of Music and a chorus of professional singers from the Munster area.

A spokesman for Opera 2005 said there was no alternative but to reduce its operations and overheads drastically. Opera 2005 confirmed its hope to survive through to 2010.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times