Castleward Opera

Castleward Opera Summer Season is held in the National Trust property, Castle Ward, on the shores of Strangford Lough. The nearest town is Downpatrick, about 10 minutes drive. Belfast is a 45-minute drive.

Castleward Opera was founded in 1985 by Ian Urwin and Jack Smith in a coach house belonging to Castle Ward. From its humble beginnings as a miniature opera house the now impressive theatre is equipped with full lighting banks, trapdoors in the stage and a glittering, heated flowered bedecked supper marquee directly connected to the auditorium.

The success of Castleward lies in its achievement of creating a platform for young talented singers and in providing an opportunity to launch careers from the creditable base of a fully professional opera company.

During the Summer Season you are invited to keep with tradition at Castle Ward by dressing formally, however, you are not obliged to do so. The majority of men wear dinner suits whilst ladies wear smart eveningwear.

Such major opera as ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’, ‘La Traviata’ and ‘La Bohme’ have won acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Lighter works such as ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’, ‘Trial by Jury’ and ‘Etoile’ have been given all the panache and send up of a grand opera.