Wide Open Opera is presenting a series of five new short operas by Brian Irvine (music) and John McIlduff (text) as part of the Dublin City Public Art Programme. These will be performed in public places in Dublin on Friday July 4th and Saturday 5th 2014 with the venues announced on the morning of the concert. They will also perform all 5 operas in Dame Court, Dublin 2 at 7pm on Saturday 5th July.

The performers are Sylvia O’Brien (soprano), Doreen Curran (mezzo) Gerry Noonan (baritone) and Niamh Lawlor (puppeteer). There will also be a specially convened community choir.

The lives of real people in Dublin have been the inspiration for these operas, which are entitled “Things We Throw Away.”
The press release is attached, with further information.

Dublin City Council Public Art Commission – Things We Throw Away

Wide Open Opera is presenting a series of five new short operas by Brian Irvine (music) and John McIlduff (text) as part of the Dublin City Public Art Programme. These will be performed in public places in Dublin on Friday July 4th and Saturday 5th 2014. The performers will sing live and will be accompanied by a specially recorded soundtrack, performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Fergus Sheil, and one will feature a specially convened community choir.

The lives of real people in Dublin have been the inspiration for these operas. They are called “Things We Throw Away” as they have been inspired by short moments that would normally go un-noticed, and by discarded items thrown away on the street. The idea is to capture the life and the poetry behind these almost inconsequential episodes.

“Everyone’s life has its dramatic moments and Wide Open Opera has taken some of these arguments, conflicts and strange circumstances and made music out of them. Whether a surreal conversation between an ironing board and an iron, or a family argument in a pub these mini opera happenings will delight and stimulate audiences lucky enough to catch them.” Ray Yeates, Dublin City Arts Officer

“It’s very exciting to create these operas in a totally new way. I’m thrilled to be working with Dublin City Council, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and a team of fantastic singers. Composer Brian Irvine and writer John McIlduff bring both extraordinary humanity and infectious joy to all their work. These operas will be engaging, touching and entertaining for the public in Dublin and for people who access them afterwards online.” Fergus Sheil, Artistic Director, Wide Open Opera

The performers are Sylvia O’Brien (soprano), Doreen Curran (mezzo) Gerry Noonan (baritone) and Niamh Lawlor (puppeteer). There will also be a specially convened community choir. Costume design is by Clodagh Deegan.
Performances:

Each opera will each be performed 4 times with 20 short performances in total. Locations will be throughout Dublin City with exact performance locations posted on Wide Open Opera website on the morning of each performance. Be sure not to miss the performances by liking Wide Open Opera on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WideOpenOpera or following on Twitter: #WideOpenOpera

There will be an element of surprise in the first 15 performances, popping up in diverse locations. All five operas will be performed as a cycle in Dame Court, Dublin 2 at 7pm on Saturday 5th July.

Each of the operas will be videoed for subsequent online distribution.
The Operas:

• Suck it In. A group (chorus & principal singers) of smokers outside a building relish the 5-minutes of calm in the middle of crazy lives that the cigarettes give. Although they know it’s bad for their health, they celebrate the sense of community among smokers.

• It’s Your Round. A father sings to his passed-out son sitting outside a pub. The father remembers carrying the boy as a child, savouring this memory, although he knows there will be trouble when he gets home to his wife.

• Drive By Shooting. Two old women with zimmer frames pursue an old man with a zimmer frame who has been unfaithful to one of them. The women have a gun and are prepared to shoot him.

• Banana Lady. The song of the woman who sells bananas from her pram on Capel Street

• Ironing Board. A discarded ironing board and iron. The board (brought to life by a puppeteer) sings to the iron about better days in the past when they were the centre of life in a busy house, and had a passionate relationship. Now their best days are behind them.