Salome 2024 Programme

ACCESS AND INNOVATION
WELCOMING NEW AUDIENCES WITH TECHNOLOGY
At Irish National Opera, we’re reimagining the boundaries of opera in the digital age.
Our innovative ‘Isolde’ project is one such example, offering a groundbreaking
platform for the synchronisation of visuals and audio on people’s own devices,
giving audiences the opportunity to use their own mobile phones with a projected
or screened performance in public or site-specific locations.
With its user-friendly interface across mobile, desktop, and cloud applications, Isolde replaces
amplified audio equipment. We’re excited about the implications that Isolde will have for the
wider cultural sector and as we continue to develop this software, we aim to explore applications
for museums and galleries through auto synced audio guides and audio descriptions for the
visually impaired in theatre settings.
Combining this cutting-edge technology and an interdisciplinary approach creates a space
for opera at the intersection of digital innovation and the performing arts. This fresh and
forward-thinking approach brings vibrancy to a timeless art form, allowing new audiences
to be captivated by everything that opera has to bring.
Other recent innovations include our award-winning, virtual reality community opera, Out of
the Ordinary/As an nGnách, which was created by communities in different parts of the country,
from Inis Meáin to Tallaght. It was created in collaboration with composer Finola Merivale,
librettist Jody O’Neill and director Jo Mangan.
Our 20 Shots of Opera, a set of 20 bite-sized operas were commissioned, filmed and streamed
online within a matter of months, to deliver new opera experiences during the dark days of the
lockdown in 2020.
In 2021 we created a site-specific production of Strauss’s Elektra for Kilkenny Arts Festival in
the spectacular setting of the city’s Castle Yard. Our acclaimed film productions have included
Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground (in partnership with London’s Royal Opera
House), Peter Maxwell’s Davies’s The Lighthouse, and Amanda Feery’s A Thing I Cannot Name.
At Irish National Opera, we believe opera is for everyone. By infusing our work with a pioneering
spirit and cutting-edge technology, we invite an ever-growing audience to experience the
dynamism of opera.
Images: Clockwise from top,
Photos 1 & 2, Screening of
Brian Irvine’s Scorched Earth
Trilogy at Trinity College Dublin,
photos: Dumbworld; Screening
of Peter Maxwell Davies’s The
Lighthouse at Hook Head,
photo: Pádraig Grant; Audience
member at Finola Merivale’s
virtual reality opera, Out of
the Ordinary/As an nGnách, at
Dublin Fridge Festival, photo:
Simon Lazewski.
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