Wexford Opera House Bestowed Top Award

Wexford Opera House Bestowed Top Award from the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland

Wexford Opera House is in the national eye once again, winning a top prize in this year’s Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (R.I.A.I) awards for 2009, being awarded the Best Cultural Building of the year in Farmleigh House, Dublin last night.  John Gormley T.D, Minister for the Environment, Housing and Local Government presented the award.

This is the fourth major design award received for the building in recent months, reflecting the superb design of the new opera house, opening last October to widespread public acclaim. Only two weeks ago Wexford Opera House was chosen as one of six international buildings to be awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects, (R.I.BA) best international building for 2009 and the Best Cultural Building Award was the cherry on the cake after coming in second place in the RIAI People’s Choice Award previously that day.

 Matt ‘O Connor, from the board of directors of Wexford Festival Trust and former Managing Director of the National Building Agency, attended the event in Dublin and was justifiably happy with the result; “Wexford Festival Opera now has a building worthy of its international reputation as one of the finest new opera houses in Europe placing it firmly on the world stage. The new facility in its first nine months has attracted a wide range of performances outside opera and already has resident dance, youth dance and youth theatre companies based in the new opera house, providing an expanding and a wide range of live theatre for the region."

 Nestled amongst the narrow streets of Wexford Town in the South East of Ireland on the former site of the Theatre Royal, the Wexford Opera House is a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose performing arts institution, which blends organically into its surroundings and boasts panoramic views of Wexford town and far beyond, including Mount Leinster and Tuskar Rock Lighthouse. Home to the annual Wexford Festival Opera, (this year celebrating its 58th anniversary) the Wexford Opera House runs year-round as a cultural institution with a full programme of events on a local, national and international scale, with particular focus on excellence in opera,  musicalé theatre and music theatre. The build was completed on time and on budget to the overall cost of €33 million, €26 million of which was funded by the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism.

 Besides the Jury Award, Wexford Opera House came 2nd in the Public Choice Award.  Thomas de Mallet Burgess, Director of Culture and People at Wexford Opera House, noted, ‘The public’s tremendous support and belief in Wexford Opera House, seen in the second placing bestowed in the RIAI Public Choice Award is perhaps even more important.  I am delighted that so many people came out to vote. As the range and number of events programmed for the opera house continues to grow, we look forward to further opportunities for members of the public to experience this world-class building".

Since opening, a tour of the building has been available, proving extremely popular with tourists and locals alike. Commencing at 2pm every Saturday, the tour is a must see for architectural aficionados.















From left to right; Sean O'Laoire, President RIAI, John Gormley, T.D. Minister for the Environment, Housing and Local Government, Klaus Unger, Assistant Principal Architect OPW, Matt O'Connor, Wexford Festival Opera, Keith Williams, Architect, KWA.