Facts about Wexford Opera House

Compiled by Ciarán McGahon, Office of the Public Works

Location

• The Wexford Opera House is situated on the same site as the previous Theatre Royal
• From Wexford Opera House there are be views of Mount Leinster (38km away to the North West) and of Tuskar Rock lighthouse (26 km away to the South East)

Size

• The Wexford Opera House’s 7,750 square metre area makes it 4.5 times bigger than the Theatre Royal.
• The Wexford Opera House has an area 10% bigger than the size of a FIFA football pitch.
• Capacity of main auditorium is 769 - an increase of 41% on the Theatre Royal. Capacity of second space is up to 172, and has retractable seating

Audience Experience (compared to Theatre Royal)

• Seating area increased 94% from 300 sq.m. to 582 sq.m.
• Area per seat increased by 37%.
• Stage performance area increased by 130%.
• Yet, furthest seats from the stage are only the same distance away as in the Theatre Royal

Sustainability

• The early decision of the Board of WFO to redevelop its town centre theatre rather than relocate in a suburban green field site is in accordance with the best principles of sustainability.
• The location minimises energy used in access: the building is accessible on foot from the national public transport network and all the major hotels in the town.
• The building is highly insulated, to avoid excess energy consumption.
• Cladding materials containing a high percentage of recycled elements, and which can be recycled at the end of their life, have been selected where possible.
• Natural ventilation is used where practicable, eg, in administration and dressing room areas.
• Highly efficient boilers make best use of energy.
• The heating system is fine tuned to sample conditions in real time and adjust output to actual conditions, optimising user comfort and minimising energy waste.

Materials

• Externally, the most visible element of the building is the fly-tower and this is clad in copper, a material associated in Irish towns and cities with civic buildings.
• In this case, the copper is given a bronzed finish. Its shape is morphed from the expected rectilinear constraints to a more open, exuberant shape evoking the creative activities occurring within.
• Internally, the highlight is the American Black Walnut lining of the Auditorium. It is sourced from managed forests in Canada, spends four months drying out, and is fixed in the building some six months after felling.
• The lining of the walls, floors and ceilings of the auditorium amounts to about 3,500 sq.m. or half the size of a football pitch.

Acoustics

• International acoustician Arup Acoustics is responsible for the acoustic design of the Opera House, which has been designed to provide a world-class acoustic environment for opera.
• The sound is intimate and clear with well-balanced reverberation that embellishes opera performance supporting both voice and orchestra.
• Arup is responsible for the acoustics at the new opera houses in Copenhagen and Oslo, the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Glyndebourne Opera House and the refurbishment of the London Coliseum (home of English National Opera) and the Royal Opera House, London.

Dual Orchestra Lifts

• One of the main features of the Wexford Opera House is a dual orchestra pit lift
• The lifts form an apron shape, between the proscenium flank walls, and projecting about six metres from the front of the stage into the auditorium. They are “double-decker”, so that, when the top deck is at stage level, the lower deck is at “basement” level. They are in two segments, divided by a line parallel to the front of the stage, and each can be operated so that its top deck can be set at any level between the stage level and lowest “basement” level, under the stalls. For instance, both segments could be raised to a chosen level for performance, and provide a recital stage for a small orchestra totally within the room, with the stage curtain closed behind them.

• The usual format for opera will be that the top deck of the segment closer to the stage will be placed at stage level, forming a fore stage for performance within the room, whilst the lower deck forms part of the orchestra pit below, at “basement” level. The top deck of the stalls-side lift then forms the forward half of the orchestra pit.

Statistics

• Production lighting: capacity is equivalent to total power requirement for 250 houses.
• Over 450km of cabling for power, data, sound and communications installations.
• Main auditorium; 769 seats in opera format and 853 seats up to proscenium.
• Second Space: up to 170 seats, retractable, or flat floor use.

Bars:

• Two larger bars, three smaller ones, serving foyer space capable of accommodating up to 780 persons in total

Green Room

• Café / Rehearsal room can accommodate up to 160 at standing reception
• Founder’s Room can accommodate up to 60 persons at standing reception.
• Two passenger lifts front of house, one general purpose lift backstage.
• Sprinkler tank, two stories below stage level, 270 cu.m., the size of an average 4-bed semi-detached house.

• Summary Highlights
  

• A state-of-the-art auditorium tactfully inserted into a dense, historic urban plan; a “secret gem” tucked away behind a reinstated streetfront.
• All walnut-lined auditorium, calling to mind the interior of a stringed instrument.
• Lighting bridges within the room, precision-crafted to be shown off, like the bridges of a stringed instrument.
• Stage and forestage layout and technology allow the presentation of six different performances in a three day cycle.
• Excellent sight-lines, optimised for performance on the forestage, in accordance with the Wexford opera tradition.
• Horsehoe-shaped balconies, where the audiences in the upper levels are brought into better contact with the stage, enhance the performance experience for audiences and performers alike. This layout, which was largely abandoned in 20th Century design, enhances the atmosphere by populating the side walls of the auditorium, making the audiece more ‘visible’ to itself
• The operational flexibility given by the orchestra pit lifts, and the stage and backstage facilities, together with the horsehoe-shaped balconies, arguably qualify Wexford Opera House as Ireland’s first fully-specified purpose-built opera house.