Revamped Cork opera house may again hit high notes

Grey, grim and gross ly functional, the north wall of the Opera House has long been something of a lacklustre landmark in Cork city - not unlike a little bit of East Germany transposed to the banks of the Lee.

Even the most chauvinist of Corkonians would concede that when it comes to its external aesthetics the Opera House is more than a few marks short of top notch.

Not that adverse comparisons are just geographical. Historically too, the current Opera House compares poorly with its predecessor, the fondly-remembered old Opera House with its views from the gods, visits by Jimmy O'Dea and tours by Anew McMaster.

Beside the sepia-tinted elegance of its circular-fronted predecessor, the new Opera House - though it is now over 30 years old - looks angular and bland: a mass of concrete and glass plonked on the North Channel of the Lee.

Now the good news is that the Opera House is about to undergo an ambitious refurbishment.

The plan originated in 1993 and already Cork Opera House has spent £1.5 million on phase one of the project. Over £1 million came from Cork Corporation and the rest from the Arts Council, Cork County Council and its own resources.

Phase one included improvements to the fire regime, the restoration of the dress circle bar, new seating in the auditorium and the development of the Half Moon Club.

General manager Gerry Barnes points out that the Opera House has already raised £750,000 - over half in sponsorship from Showerings and Murphy's - towards the £3 million cost of phase two. Outlining the origins of the plan, he says: "It's a Millennium project adopted by the Corporation's Millennium Committee, which also involves the pedestrianisation of Emmet Place and the development of the Crawford Gallery - it's a once-off opportunity to renovate the building and create a cultural precinct."

Young architect, Ralph Bingham, of Murray O Laoire Associates, won the commission for the refurbishment in an RIAI competition in 1993.

"One of the main problems," says Ralph "is that the public areas in the Opera House are too small. The foyer is restrictive in size and limits the revenue potential of the bar and other possible services."

Ralph's solution will involve extending the Opera House to the front by a full six metres, allowing a doubling of the public floor space on each of the three floors.

"The two bars will both become curved, reflecting the shape of the auditorium, with balconies overlooking the central foyer, while we're also putting in passenger lifts and low-level counters at the box office and cloakroom for wheelchair users."

The new glass front will be circular - curving into Emmet Place and recalling, as Opera House chairman Charlie Hennessy puts it - "the pregnant frontage of the old Opera House". It will create space for a variety of opportunities.

"The new extension with its glass wall will give a view over the river," says Gerry Barnes. "It will provide the opportunity for income through a book store, a day-long cafe and bar services on the ground floor, and an upperlevel restaurant.

"It will also be sufficiently large to provide a venue for major events during, for example, the Jazz Festival: lunch-time recitals or sculptural exhibitions and, with the pedestrianisation of Emmet Place, it will also encourage outdoor performances."

Thanks to major strides in glass technology, the new frontage will be considerably more attractive than the existing facade, with half the existing concrete supports and all the rather obtrusive radiators removed.

The foyer will also be significantly remodelled to allow for an impressive central stairway to the auditorium, to replace the existing stairs on each side of the foyer.

The refurbishment also entails the further development of the Half Moon Club into a studio venue for theatre, jazz, late night comedy and blues, with seating for 400 people and standing room for a further 800 - adding to the theatre's flexibility in programming.

But perhaps the most visible evidence of the refurbishment - aside from the frontage - will be on the barren North Wall and its less obvious twin, the South Wall, responsibility for which, Charlie Hennessy points out, does not lie with the original architects.

"The new Opera House was originally designed for where Jury's Hotel now stands - but it was switched to the site of the old Opera House after demands by the citizens of Cork city and county: they didn't want an opera house on any other site."

The demand was understandable. The site had been home to theatre in Cork for almost 150 years. But it meant the front looked out on Emmet Place and the north wall faced the riverside.

For Ralph Bingham, the current task was clear. "The aim was to try and animate the north wall and the south wall, so we're putting in big elbow windows and we're also putting in office suites on the north wall which will overlook the river.

"One of the big problems is that all of the services are located along the north wall - the service corridors, the electrical switchroom, the mechanical air handling plant. They will be transferred and three new large corporate boxes installed on each wall."

The interior of the theatre will also require some modification.

The redevelopment should attract more touring outfits, including more from the rock circuit. Gerry Barnes explains:

"At the moment, because of the fire regulations, we can cater for 1,200 at stand-up events. Our development plan will increase that capacity to over 1,500. You need to sell that number of tickets for stand-up events or else promoters won't come.

"That will keep Cork on the concert trail. We've already had Portishead and the Manic Street Preachers. The extra capacity will give us a new line of business, especially as City Hall is closing next year for renovation. When it reopens it will move towards classical music like the National Concert Hall . . . The plan is very well thought out, and will make the Cork Opera House both an attractive theatre and a meeting place for the city in the 21st century."