National Opera House
Ireland's national opera house, hidden behind Wexford's High Street and home to Wexford Festival Opera.
The National Opera House opened in 2008 on the site of the old Theatre Royal, where Wexford Festival Opera had performed since 1951. It was designed by Keith Williams Architects with the Office of Public Works and is the only purpose-built opera house constructed in Ireland. The main O'Reilly Theatre seats around 770 on three steeply raked horseshoe balconies, and a smaller studio, the Jerome Hynes Theatre, seats about 175. It was designated the national opera house in 2014.
The building is wrapped by the medieval street pattern of Wexford, so the auditorium is reached through a narrow entrance on High Street and the bulk of the fly tower rises behind the surrounding houses. Internally the theatre is lined in timber, with a rooftop foyer looking out over the harbour and the town. Alongside the autumn opera festival the house presents concerts, drama, dance, comedy and family shows through the rest of the year.
Highlights
- Ireland's only purpose-built opera house, completed in 2008
- O'Reilly Theatre with three horseshoe balconies seating about 770
- Studio Jerome Hynes Theatre for smaller-scale work
- Rooftop foyer with views over Wexford harbour
