Occupying 4.5 times the space of the old opera house it replaces, Wexford Opera House has been built to the highest standards with quality and attention to detail given to every aspect of its development and construction. The result is an exciting new multi-purpose performance space capable of offering a varied, year-round programme of opera, theatre and dance.
The specification of Robert Juliat lanterns had been on the cards with the Opera House's design team since the initial conception in 2005. Amongst this team were theatre consultants, Carr & Angier, which was involved throughout in the design of both the main 771 seat - expanding to 855 seat - John and Aileen O'Reilly theatre and the smaller 176-seat studio space, the Jerome Hynes Theatre.
Carr & Angier was also ultimately responsible for specifying the loose equipment for the staging, sound and lighting systems on this £25.6m project, including the Robert Juliat fixtures. Carr & Angier's Paul Franklin, says, "We needed to devise an equipment list which would form a good compromise between the Wexford Festival Opera's wish list and what would work well for the varied programme of events throughout the rest of the year. Our initial specifications, which included Robert Juliat 1K fresnels and 2K PCs, were subjected to much discussion from the Opera House technical staff.
"Despite financial pressure to downgrade to a lower-quality option, the decision to retain the Robert Juliat component came very strongly from both the Opera House technical team and from Festival Lighting Designer, Paul Keogan. The high standards demanded by each meant that compromise was never an option."
The result was the installation of 30 Robert Juliat Lutin 1K Fresnels with additional, interchangeable, PC lens with a versatility to match that of the studio theatre, 24 Robert Juliat 310HF 1.2K Fresnels and 12 Robert Juliat 329HPC 2K PC fixtures. All were fitted with the Robert Juliat barndoor with individually rotating leaves.
The installation was carried out by Northern Light under the Project Management of Simon Cooper, head of projects. "Northern Light were responsible for the full technical installation of production sound, lighting and communications in Wexford Opera House," says Cooper.
So far in its Winter 2008 season, Wexford Opera House has played host to local, national and international artists including the Russian Chamber Orchestra, Dance Theatre Ireland and NOW Dance Company (Korea) and the Second Age Theatre Company, in addition to its role as the venue for the Annual Wexford Festival Opera, now in its 57th year.
For more on the Wexford Opera House check out the October 2008 issue of Lighting&Sound magazine.
(Jim Evans)
