The annual opera season is taking place in August 2026 in the Amphitheatre at the Dublin City Council Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.
Each opera performance is presented in an abridged format, narrated in English, and lasts one hour, fitting perfectly into the lunchtime slot from 1 to 2pm. Attendance is completely free of charge, and all are welcome!
The Amphitheatre features a raised stage, seating areas, and grassy verges perfect for a picnic lunch. It is conveniently accessible from Winetavern Street and space is made available for wheelchair users. Attendees are encouraged to bring cushions, blankets and camping chairs for additional comfort if desired.
Opera in the Open shows beyond doubt that there is a substantial audience for opera in Dublin. Here in the heart of the city, there's no better way to enjoy summer in Dublin than by enjoying an aria or two at lunchtime each Thursday throughout August.
Cast:
Director: Sandra Oman
Musical Director: David Wray
Madama Butterfly is an opera composed by Giacomo Puccini. Set in Nagasaki, Japan at the beginning of the 20th century, it tells the tragic story of Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly, a young Japanese girl who marries an American naval officer B. F. Pinkerton. Shortly after the marriage, Pinkerton returns to America, leaving Butterfly behind. For three years, she waits faithfully for his return, raising their son whose existence is unknown to Pinkerton. When Pinkerton eventually returns to Japan with his new American wife, Kate, they seek to adopt the child. Realising that her dreams are shattered and there is no future between herself and Pinkerton, Butterfly agrees to give up her son and then takes her own life in a shocking and tragic ending.
Cast:
Director: Sandra Oman
Musical Director: David Wray
Dido and Aeneas is an opera by English composer Henry Purcell in the late 17th century, based on the mythological romance between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan Aeneas. An enemy of Carthage, the Sorceress, sees the two deeply in love and plots to use this to destroy Carthage; she tricks Aeneas into believing the gods want him to sail for Italy. Aeneas is torn between his love for Dido and his faith in the gods and, despite his reservations, eventually sails with the Trojan fleet. After he departs, the famous Dido’s Lament brings the opera to a close.
Cast:
Director: Mary MacDonagh
Musical Director: David Wray
Orphée aux Enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) is a comic opera by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in 1858. A satirical adaptation of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, it turns the traditional story on its head: rather than being devoted lovers, Orphée and Eurydice can barely tolerate one another. When Eurydice is carried off to the Underworld by Pluto, Orphée is delighted to be rid of her until he is compelled by the character of Public Opinion to attempt a rescue. What follows is a lively and irreverent comedy featuring quarrelling gods, romantic intrigues and the famous Galop Infernal—better known today as the can-can. The opera ends not in tragedy but in comic fashion, with Eurydice gaining her freedom and escaping a return to her unhappy marriage.
Cast includes:
Director: Mary MacDonagh
Musical Director: David Wray
A celebration of the life and works of the 19th century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, known for works such as La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Il Trovatore.
Join us for a conversation on the exhibition ‘Peer’ with artist Amanda Jane Graham and Professor Emeritus Mary P. Corcoran, from the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University.
Thursday 30 July
1pm to 2pm
Dublin Local Authorities and CYPSC seek artists to deliver collaborative early childhood arts residencies, expanding quality arts access for children experiencing homelessness
Join us for a conversation on the exhibition Landscapes Formal and Wild with artist Fergus Martin and Sarah McAuliffe, Curator of Irish Art post 1900, National Gallery of Ireland
Thursday 25 June
1pm to 2pm
Applications are now open for Community Development Arts Grant 2026
