The theatre and opera venue was opened in 1855 and has a capacity of 1,000 in its Main Auditorium and 285 in its Half Moon Theatre. It is the only purpose-built opera house on the island of Ireland. The venue was originally built to promote the distribution of architectural knowledge, science, literature and arts. Cork Opera House is an ideal place to visit, especially if you are in the mood to explore a huge bundle of culture!
It is located on Emmett Place, which is linked to St. Patrick’s Street – the main shopping street in Cork City. This gives visitors the opportunity access to several restaurants and cafes like Costa and Starbucks. Department stores like Brown Thomas and Debenhams are ideal places to visit while waiting for your show to start.
Upcoming shows include Swan Lake Ballet, Jools Holland, Dylan Moran, Daniel O’Donnell and Jake Carter. Conversational shows are also held like the discussions between Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin – the lawyers of a falsely convicted Brendan Dassey, who is famously featured in the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer.
In 2018, University College Cork signed an eight-year partnership with the Cork Opera House. It is now established as a learning theatre and will cater as a venue that will enrich the student learning experience in UCC.