Maria Stuarda Programme Book 2022

and digital technology. We are working with our partners in The Civic, Tallaght, Conradh na
Gaeilge and Music Generation Offaly/Westmeath to have the project ready for nationwide touring
in August. And our first youth opera, David Coonan and Dylan Coburn Gray’s Horse Ape Bird,
premieres at the end of June.
ABL AVIATION OPERA STUDIO
The professional development and employment of Irish artists are key to the success of Irish
National Opera itself, and the ABL Aviation Opera Studio is our artistic development programme.
It provides specially tailored training, professional mentoring and high-level professional
engagements for a group of individuals – singers, répétiteurs, conductors, directors, composers
– whose success will be key to the future development of opera in Ireland.
IN FOCUS
Our pre-performance In Focus talks aim to provide background to the works in our major
productions. They delve into all aspects of opera, from the histories of specific works, the
development of the characters and the issues facing performers and composers – where
possible with the actual performers and composers themselves.
INSPIRING MUSIC STUDENTS
We work with third-level music students through workshops designed to give them a fuller
understanding of the inner workings of the world of opera, that heady mixture of musical and
theatrical skills that make possible the magic that is opera. Colleges and universities we have
worked with include University College Dublin, National College of Art and Design, Maynooth
University, NUI Galway, TU Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
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