Out of the Ordinary/As an nGnách

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Please note that access will not be permitted 15 minutes after the start of the event.

This event will be held in English.

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Experience the world’s first virtual reality community opera with

This award-winning bilingual production, commissioned by the Irish National Opera, reimagines opera for the digital age. With a VR headset, explore a stunning animated world where you can move, interact, and choose your own path through an immersive and evocative experience.

Out of the Ordinary/As an nGnách tells the tale of a community forced to flee their barren homeland, which, due to their own actions, can no longer sustain them. Nalva, our main character, builds a boat to take her people on an epic journey to find a new home. But as they begin their voyage, they don’t realise they are being pursued. Daol, a powerful force of nature, furious at being released from the leached soil, churns up the seas and causes a huge storm, plunging the boat underwater. When Nalva and her people eventually resurface, they find themselves in a new and unfamiliar land. Will they learn to live in harmony with nature, or will they repeat the mistakes of the past?

Written by composer Finola Merivale and librettist Jody O’Neill. Directed by Jo Mangan with communities from Inis Meáin, Tallaght, and South Dublin. Sung in Irish and English.

Finola Merivale is a composer from Ireland. Her music has been described by the Wire as “edgy and discomforting yet exciting and distinctive,” and by The Washington Post as a “wild ride.” Recent accolades include fellowships from MacDowell and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, a New York State Council on the Arts grant, and a Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland. Merivale completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University in 2023. In 2021, “As an nGnách/Out of the Ordinary” won the international Fedora Digital Prize.

Note: This VR experience is unsuitable for those under 14, pregnant, prone to seizures, with pacemakers, serious balance/vision issues, or under the influence of drugs/alcohol.

Running time: 30 minutes approx

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Host or Publisher Institute for Ideas and Imagination