They’re queuing up to play the Opera House
OVER 50 SHOWS ON BUSY CALENDAR AS VENUE GAINS FOOTHOLD ON NATIONAL STAGE
THE pulling power of the National Opera House as a top entertainment venue is now in little doubt, with over 50 shows on the calendar in coming months, among them some mouthwatering prospects.
With planners giving the go-ahead for a new music venue off North Main Street, the future looks very bright for live music in Wexford.
Mike Scott and the Waterboys’ appearance at the National Opera House is one of December’s top attractions, but if you haven’t booked tickets for the Wednesday, December 5, show, you’re out of luck - at the time of writing a mere handful of single seats remain unbooked.
The sellout is hardly surprising as the Waterboys always deliver the goods in their live shows and it’s almost 20 years since they last played Wexford with a full electric line-up.
Another December gig sold out bar a few stray seats is Tommy Tiernan’s ‘Paddy Crazy Horse’ show on the 12th - it seems Wexford can’t get enough of the Donegal comic who is no stranger to a Wexford stage.
Country fans have been mopping up tickets for Nathan Carter’s double-header at the High Street venue on Saturday and Sunday, December 8 and 9 at an alarming rate. There’s more availability on the Sunday night, but not in the stalls as fans obviously want to get up close and personal with the singer whose most recent album topped the Irish charts.
Lantern, the people behind the Spiegeltent Festival, are promoting Foil, Arms & Hog at the Opera House on Friday, December 14, and it is expected that by the time the date comes around it will be another Wexford sellout for the trio who have sold out every show they’ve played here since 2014. There are some tickets still remaining, mainly in the top tier of the theatre.
Dublin Northsiders Aslan, perennial darlings of the Irish live scene, visit the Opera House on Friday, December 7, as they near the tail end of a very special year marking 30 years since the release of ‘Feel No Shame’, a debut that surely ranks among the best Irish albums of that era. Tickets are still plentiful, but Christy Dignam and his band have a large and loyal fanbase, so seats will fill up fast as the day of the gig approaches.
One local event of note in the O’Reilly Theatre is the Wexford School of Ballet and Performing Arts’ production of Swan Lake on Saturday, December 15, It’s a mammoth production involving students from around the county, coached by a team of nine teachers. Tickets are becoming scarce and the show is expected to sell out shortly.
Other local productions to consider in December include the HFC Concert Band, directed by Ann Wickham, performing music for all tastes this coming Saturday (December 1), and youngsters from Becci Whelan’s after-school dance programme, 2 Many Dance Moves, on Friday, December 21, both shows taking place in the Jerome Hynes Theatre.
January highlights at the Opera House include Waterford ‘mind magician’ Keith Barry’s aptly-named ‘Deception’ show on Friday, 11; the return of one of folk’s finest, The High Kings, on Saturday, 12; and the soothing tones of Tommy Fleming on his Voice Of Hope II tour (referencing the album of the same name), on Saturday, 26.
Sharon Shannon, Mary Black and Mary Coughlan join their considerable forces for a concert on Friday, January 18, during which each of the three will play a set with their own musicians before coming together for what should be a rousing finale.
Looking further ahead, it should come as no surprise that Bell X1’ s Opera House appearance on February 2 is already a sellout.
Paul Noonan, Dave Geraghty and Dominic Philips cannot put a foot
wrong with Irish audiences. They played five sellout shows at Vicar Street earlier this year and their first visit to the Wexford’s Opera House will be something special as the band are joined onstage by the Dowry Strings for what they’re calling an ‘acoustic-ish’ performance. Potentially, it could be the best Wexford gig of the year.
Other highlights of the early-2019 calendar include Reeling In The Showband Years, hosted by Ronan Collins and featuring a cast of veteran Irish stars (Red Hurley, Linda Martin, Dave Lawlor, Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg among them) on February 3; former Fairground Attraction frontwoman Eddi Reader on February 15; Mario Rosenstock on February 22; former St. Peter’s College student Des Bishop on February 23; the Royal Moscow Ballet, returning to Wexford with Swan Lake, on February 28; and a 20th anniversary tour performance from Rhythm of the Dance on April 5.
The National Opera House is also attracting its fair share of tribute shows, two of which (Hello Again - The Story of Neil Diamond, and Abba Forever) took to the stage last weekend.
There was a time of course when deceased, disbanded or simply too rich to care, meant a very final end to touring, but not any more.
These days the likes of Abba, Roy Orbison, Whitney Houston, Elvis, and Simon and Garfunkel can all be found on a live stage not to far from you thanks to the many lookalikes and soundalikes who hope to prove that imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery.
Roy Orbison Reborn restarts the tribute shows at the Opera House on February 8, courtesy of Dean Bourne who - the promoters say - ‘ has been described as having the spirit of Roy Orbison’.
After that, there’s the Johnny Cash Roadshow, with Clive John, on February 9 (the only show to be endorsed by the Cash family, apparently); the Ul-- timate Eagles on April 12; The Legends of American Country on April 14, paying tribute to the likes of Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline, and Glen Campbell; The Greatest Love Of All, in which South African Belinda Davids and her band perform over two hours of Whitney Houston material, on May 5; The King Is Back, with Ben Portsmouth who, we’re told, ‘ had Elvis’ DNA in his blood from an early age’, on May 6; Rebecca O’Connor as Tina Turner on May 18; and The Simon and Garfunkel Story, which uses original film footage as well as a live band, on June 8.
The busy Wexford town theatre also plays host to Britain’s Got Talent auditions - sadly, without Simon - tomorrow ( Wednesday) from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. as well as a host of other events.
For a full rundown of all upcoming shows at the National Opera House, and details of ticket prices and booking, visit their website: www.nationaloperahouse.ie