Madam, - I refer to Fintan O'Toole's article entitled "Why Wexford should open its doors to the nation" (Weekend Review, October 25th). Not surprisingly, we heartily welcome and agree with the writer's opinions on the new Wexford Opera House and his overall conclusion that Wexford now has "unquestionably the finest performance space in Ireland" and that Wexford Festival Opera is "a remarkable phenomenon".
I write to answer his main question, and to reassure him and your readers that this new state-of-the-art performance centre, in which he quite rightly observes "everyone in the country should take some pride", will indeed open its doors to the nation. Wexford Festival Trust has, for many months now, engaged the services of a leading artistic policy consultant and as a result has adopted a comprehensive artistic policy for the new facility. This envisages the two theatres in the Opera House attracting, on a year-round basis outside the annual Wexford Festival Opera, productions of varying scales, performed by individuals and performance groups of local, national and international origin, in numerous performance art-forms including opera, drama, dance, orchestral and choral music, etc. All of these will share the common objective of encompassing and promoting excellence in their particular art-form and the integrity of what it seeks to communicate.
Wexford Festival Trust is keenly aware of, and grateful for, the financial support of both the State and the large number of private donors towards the capital costs of this major addition to the nation's cultural and artistic infrastructure. It is acutely conscious of the crucial obligation such public and private sector support places on it to ensure this "beautiful and technically superb" theatre is open to the nation to provide, as the writer recommends, the opportunity for all to be "inspired by it". - Yours, etc,
DAVID McLOUGHLIN,
Chief Executive, Wexford Festival Trust, Wexford Opera House.