Northern Ireland Opera’s ‘Northern Songs’ series takes opera underground in the Marble Arch Caves

Marble Arch Caves was delighted to be one of the locations used as part of Northern Ireland Opera’s new series of ‘Northern Songs’ films, which celebrates songs by composers from across the island of Ireland, performed in some of Northern Ireland’s most beautiful and historic locations.

The Northern Ireland Songs team visited Marble Arch Caves in April 2021 to film local tenor Andrew Irwin performing “Then You’ll Remember Me” from the opera, “The Bohemian Girl” by Irish composer Michael William Balfe. Andrew was delighted to visit the Marble Arch Caves as he relishes working near home and wanted to experience the captivating acoustics of this natural underground cave.

Taking opera underground may seem a strange undertaking, it is extraordinary to think that the properties of sounds in caves, especially those produced by the range of the human voice, were being recognized and appreciated over 30,000 years ago. The shape and materiality of caves make them a natural auditorium, similar to how choirs use domed churches today. The underground chambers, meandering passageways and active rivers made the Marble Arch Caves the perfect natural auditorium for a performance of this kind.

Manager of Marble Arch Caves, Kate Mc Grath said:

“Andrew Irwin’s performance in the show cave was spellbinding and memorable to watch, demonstrating the superb natural acoustics of the cave. It was exciting to work with Northern Ireland Opera on this series as it was the first time a performance of this kind was filmed underground in the show cave.”

This series of Northern Songs includes eight spectacular short films directed by Marty Stalker and focus on counties Fermanagh, Omagh and Tyrone. As well as Marble Arch Caves, the series will feature Enniskillen Castle, the Ulster American Folk Park, Ballintoy Harbour, the OM Dark Sky Park, Beaghmore Stone Circles, Armagh Robinson Library, the Armagh Cider Company and Belfast’s Maritime Mile.

The performance filmed in the Marble Arch Caves is the second in the series to be released and is now available to watch via  www.youtube.com/c/northernirelandopera or via Northern Ireland Opera’s social media channels. A new film is released weekly at 8pm on Thursdays with the final film release on Thursday 1^st July featuring Enniskillen Castle, County Fermanagh.