Tenors, baritones and basses losing their voice at Irish National Opera
Sir, – With the launch of Irish National Opera’s 2026/2027 season, it is an opportune moment to reflect on a broader issue of visibility within Ireland’s operatic landscape.A review of the company’s programming since its founding in 2018 suggests a recurring pattern. Irish sopranos and mezzo-sopranos are frequently cast in title and headline roles, while Irish tenors, baritones and basses are less consistently positioned as central figures. The newly announced season, including works such as Carmen, Turandot and Eugene Onegin, all rich in major male roles, appears to continue this trend. Irish female singers are highly visible in principal parts, while many of the leading male roles are assigned to international artists.This is not solely a matter of casting, but of visibility more broadly. In publicity, marketing and season launches, productions are overwhelmingly fronted by female artists, even when male roles are structurally central.READ MOREModernised three-bed house on Portobello’s Bloomfield AvenueHow easy is it to get caught up in money laundering?Séamas O’Reilly: I met my son crying at the school gates and felt like a war criminalIreland’s squeezed-out middle has had enoughOver time, this shapes a perception, however unintended, that a ceiling exists for Irish male operatic artists within their own national company. This is particularly striking in a country that has produced distinguished male singers such as Harry Plunket Greene, John McCormack and Dermot Troy. Today many Irish male singers enjoy successful international careers, performing leading roles with major companies abroad, yet they are less visibly positioned in comparable roles at home.The concern is not about individual productions, but about cumulative impact. Opera, like all artforms, depends on visible pathways. If emerging Irish male singers do not regularly see artists like themselves in central roles on Irish stages then it becomes harder to imagine that future for themselves. This risks weakening the domestic talent pipeline and narrowing the diversity of Irish voices represented nationally and internationally. This is not to diminish the achievements of Irish female singers, whose success is fully deserved. Rather, it highlights the need for a more balanced approach to casting and representation – one that reflects the full breadth of Irish operatic talent.As a national cultural institution, Irish National Opera carries a responsibility not only to present outstanding work, but also to sustain the artistic ecosystem behind it. A more equitable distribution of leading opportunities would send a clear and necessary message: that Ireland’s stages belong to all of its singers. – Yours, etc, CHRIS MERRIMAN,Bessbrook,Co Armagh.
