Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Names Tenor Cathal McCabe as 2026 Bríd Phelan Emerging Talent Award Recipient

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has announced Dublin tenor Cathal McCabe as the 2026 recipient of the Bríd Phelan Emerging Talent Award. The accolade was revealed at a live performance event at Kildare Village, the festival’s official fashion retail sponsor and longest-standing partner. Established in 2025, the annual bursary awards €6,000 to one emerging Irish opera singer each year through 2029, {…}

Nov 18, 2024

Wexford Festival Opera 2024 Review: Lady Gregory In America

(Photo: Pádraig Grant) In 1907, J.M. Synge’s play “The Playboy of the Western World” caused rioting when it premiered at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. It was not so much the portrayal of its central character, Christy Mahon, who turns up in a Mayo town, claiming to be on the run for killing his father, but the reaction of the local women, {…}

Jul 19, 2023

Anna Gregg, Petra Wells, Anna-Helena Machlachlan, Cathal McCabe, & Ryan Garnham Named as Finalists in Northern Ireland Opera’s Glenarm Festival of Voice

Northern Ireland Opera’s 13th Glenarm Festival of Voice has announced sopranos Anna Gregg and Petra Wells, mezzo-soprano Anna-Helena Machlachlan, tenor Cathal McCabe, and baritone Ryan Garnham as its finalists. From August 25-27 in Glenarm, the five singers will participate in intensive coaching before taking part in a live competition. Vocal coaches include Dr. Ingrid Surgenor, Professor Mark Wildman, and pianist {…}