'Local audiences are missing out': Cork Opera House welcomes challenge of the event centre

Eibhlin Gleeson says the Opera House is investing in its team and technical capacity to stay competitive

Eibhlin Gleeson, CEO Cork Opera House. The construction of an event centre in Cork will pose challenges for Cork Opera House and will make it important for the venue to remain people’s first choice, its chief executive and arts director has said.

The construction of an event centre in Cork will pose challenges for Cork Opera House and make it essential for the venue to remain people’s first choice, its chief executive and arts director has said.

Speaking on the latest episode of the ieBusiness Podcast, in association with PwC, CEO Eibhlin Gleeson said the Opera House needed to protect its unique market position in the wake of increased competition.

“We are not big enough to take on a lot of things,” Ms Gleeson told the Irish Examiner.

“As a result, local audiences are missing out on shows like Les Misérables or Wicked. Our auditorium is not the right size for those big commercial touring shows.

“So I welcome the fact that they will be able to come to Cork when the event centre opens - that is a brilliant thing.” 

However, Ms Gleeson said the venue will still need to win the attention of performers, noting: “The challenge for us at the Opera House is that we still need to be people’s first choice, both in terms of where promoters want to bring their shows and where audiences want to go.

“We need to protect that unique position that we have in the market, and we are working hard to preserve that and invest in our technical capacity and team and to ensure we remain fit for purpose regardless of whoever enters the market here.” 

“The event centre seems to be a good idea for Cork. It will certainly get more people out and engaging with the performing arts. More people going out to see things is only ever going to be a good thing for the Opera House.

“So while we will definitely have challenges, I do not for a second believe that they are insurmountable,” Ms Gleeson added.

Looking back on 2024, the Opera House CEO welcomed a “fantastic” year, noting a particularly good 12 months for both comedy acts and events celebrating the venue's 170th anniversary.

“It has been a great year in terms of our visiting programme. We have had a number of very successful artists in and a lot of the stuff we put on our programme sells very well,” the chief executive said.

“It's very unusual for artists not to sell well when they come to the Opera House because if they are on our programme, it means they are at that stage where they can bring that kind of audience with them.” 

In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Gleeson discussed the importance of key events throughout the year — like the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival and the Christmas panto — as a critical source of revenue for the venue, the opportunities for young graduates of the performing arts, and what goes into sourcing and platforming artists from across Ireland and beyond on the Opera House stage.