Castleward Opera

{{Short description|Northern Ireland opera company}} '''Castleward Opera ''' was a Northern Ireland opera company which staged an annual opera festival at Castle Ward, a National Trust house near Strangford in County Down. It was founded in 1985 by Ian Urwin and Jack Smith, with performances taking place in a converted stable on the grounds of the castle. Following the cut to its core funding by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the festival saw its final opera performances in June 2009 and in September 2010 held two gala farewell concerts of highlights from the company's 25-year history.<ref>Spackman (6 September 2010)</ref> In January 2010, a new venture, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, was proposed—Opera Company NI—which the Arts Council said would "incorporate the best resources from Castleward Opera and Opera Fringe".<ref>Arts Council of Northern Ireland (26 January 2010)</ref>

==Past productions== *1985 – ''Così fan tutte'' *1986 – ''Don Giovanni'' and ''The Impresario'' *1987 – ''The Magic Flute'' and ''Dido and Aeneas'' *1988 – ''L'elisir d'amore'' and ''Trial by Jury'' *1989 – ''Pagliacci'' and ''Gianni Schicchi'' *1990 – ''Don Pasquale'' and Opera Scenes *1991 – ''Così fan tutte'' and Opera Scenes *1992 – ''La traviata'' and Gems from the Irish Ring *1993 – ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' and ''La belle Hélène'' *1994 – ''La Cenerentola'' and ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' *1995 – ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' and ''L'étoile'' *1996 – ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' and ''La bohème'' *1997 – ''Carmen'' and ''La bohème'' (revived for the Grand Opera House, Belfast) *1998 – ''La traviata'' and ''Carmen'' (revived for the Grand Opera House, Belfast) *1999 – ''The Barber of Seville'', ''La Sonnambula'', and ''La traviata'' (revived for the Grand Opera House, Belfast) *2000 – ''Madame Butterfly'', ''Martha'', and ''The Barber of Seville'' (revived for the Grand Opera House, Belfast) *2001 – ''The Marriage of Figaro'', ''Madame Butterfly'', and ''Martha'' (revived for the Grand Opera House, Belfast) *2002 – ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', ''La belle Hélène'', and ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (revived for the Millennium Forum, Londonderry) *2003 – ''La rondine'' and ''Tosca'' *2004 – ''Albert Herring'' and ''Rigoletto'' *2005 – ''The Magic Flute'' and ''Carmen'' *2006 – ''La bohème'' and ''The Bohemian Girl'' *2007 – ''Un ballo in maschera'' *2008 – ''Così fan tutte'' *2009 – ''Die Fledermaus'' (also performed at Wexford Festival Opera)

==Notes and references== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== *Arts Council of Northern Ireland, [http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/news/2010/new25012010.html "New opera company for Northern Ireland"], 26 January 2010 *Couling, Della, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/opera--castleward-opera-northern-ireland-1586367.html "Castleward Opera, Northern Ireland"], ''The Independent'', 14 June 1995 *Dervan, Michael, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721190006/http://www.borderireland.info/info/mdetail.php?mref=1870 "North stages opera revamp"], ''Irish Times'', 8 February 2010 *Spackman, Conor, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11198932 "The fat lady sings for Castle Ward opera"], BBC News, 6 September 2010

==External links== *[http://www.castlewardopera.com/ Official website]

Category:Defunct British opera companies Category:Music organisations based in Northern Ireland