Cork Opera House is a theatre and

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The first venue opened in 1855 on Emmet Place (then known as Nelson's Place) to the rear of the

Crawford Art Gallery The Crawford Art Gallery ( ga, Áiléar Crawford) is a public art gallery and museum in the city of Cork, Ireland. Known informally as the Crawford, it was designated a 'National Cultural Institution' in 2006. It is "dedicated to the visual arts ...

. This original building was destroyed by fire in 1955, and a replacement opened in 1965. With a number of additions in the early 21st century, the 1000-seat venue hosted over 100 theatre, music, opera, and comedy events in 2015.

History

Original building (1855-1955)

Cork's opera house was originally built in the 1850s to designs by architect John Benson. Intended for the "promotion of science, literature and the fine arts, and the diffusion of architectural knowledge", the building was based on a template that the architect had used for the exhibition buildings at the

Irish Industrial Exhibition The Irish Industrial Exhibition was a world's fair held in Cork in 1852,National and State ...

. Opened in 1855, this building was originally called "The Athenaeum", and was renamed "The Munster Hall" in 1875. It was renamed as the "Opera House", after extensive reconstruction, in 1877. The opera house was renovated to plans by Arthur Hill in 1908. While this building survived the

Burning of Cork The burning of Cork () by British forces took place on the night of 11–12 December 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

forces in 1920, it burned down several decades later in its centenary year of 1955. The fire started on the evening of 12 December 1955, caused by an electrical fault and fueled by wooden materials.

Redevelopment (1963-present)

The site remained undeveloped for several years, until the remains of the old building were bulldozed in early 1963 and development on a new theatre commenced. The newly constructed Opera House opened on the same site in 1965. This 1960s building was designed by Scott Tallon Walker, and was officially opened by then President of Ireland,

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

, in October 1965. In 2000, large-scale renovation works were completed on both the facade of the building and the surrounding Emmett Place. Subsequent works include the development of a new café, updated acoustics and seating.

Operation

The Opera House has always hosted performances other than opera, with theatre, music, drama, dance, comedy and other performance types making-up the venue's repertoire. In 2015, the Opera House hosted 276 performances of 108 events in the main 1000-seat auditorium. The Half Moon Theatre, a smaller 100-seat venue which lies to the rear of the Opera House, hosted 77 performances of 29 events in the same period.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Opera houses in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Cork (city) Tourist attractions in Cork (city) Music in Cork (city) Theatres completed in 1855 Theatres completed in 1963 Music venues completed in 1855 Music venues completed in 1963