Ireland's first-purpose built state of the art opera house is on budget and on schedule, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Séamus Brennan said yesterday as he performed the topping out ceremony for the Wexford Opera House.

The new €33 million Opera House will be up to four times larger than the previous theatrical facility on the site, the Theatre Royal, and seating capacity has been almost doubled.

Minister Brennan inspected the progress of the construction and announced the official opening date in late September will be celebrated with a major gala event in advance of the 2008 Opera Festival programme at the end of October.

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Project managed by the Office of Public Works, the landmark building, Ireland's first purpose-built 21st Century Opera House, is nearing completion and will be handed over to Wexford Festival Opera this summer.

Comprising a main auditorium seating 779 people and a second, highly flexible space with a seating capacity of 170, the new Opera House will be over four times bigger than the previous facility on the site, the Theatre Royal.

The new opera House has been funded by a €27 million investment by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, augmented by a further €7m raised by the Wexford Festival Foundation from the private sector.

Minister Brennan said: "It is already clear that this new building will set new standards for theatre design and, specifically, for opera house design in Ireland.

"The board of Wexford Festival Opera took the decision several years ago to redevelop the theatre on its original site. It is widely acknowledged that the former Chief Executive Officer, the late and much lamented Jerome Hynes, played a central role in realising this vision," he said.

(VB)