Andrew Synnott talks about his opera 'Dubliners'

Andrew Synnott talks about his latest opera Dubliners. The work, which is a co-production between Opera Theatre Company and Wexford Festival Opera, takes two stories from the James Joyce’s book - Counterparts and The Boarding House.

What’s absolutely best about it [opera] is its ability to take emotion which I think has a great place in music and amplify it. It hands you emotion on a platter.

With a libretto by Arthur Riordan, the work is scored for piano, string quartet and a cast of six singers. The premiere took place on 20 October in Clayton Whites Hotel, Wexford, with performances also taking place on 26, 29 October, and 1 November. The production will also be staged in Dublin on 10 and 11 November.

I’m not a fan of pushing square pegs into round holes at all, and so it’s important that it works for the singers, for the players, and for the festival and that it fits into their programme. And that it accurately represents who I am as a composer as well.