(Photo: Patrick Redmond) In 2011, Colm Tóibín’s play, “Testament,” premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival. The piece required only a single actress, who, cast as Mary, recalls the life of her son, Jesus, as she remembers it. It is a very personal recollection, one that does not always correspond to his life as presented in the gospels. Fast forward to {…}
(Photo: Frank McGrath/Irish Independent) Mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty is a name familiar to anyone with an interest in classical music in Ireland. Known mainly for her many performances in operas and concerts across the country, she also active in other areas associated with the classical musical scene, not least in her role as the recently appointed artistic director of Sligo Baroque {…}
(Photo: Roberto Santos-Luy) Having just watched the splendid Irish soprano Amy Ní Fhearraigh, one of Ireland’s rising stars, in her role debut as Donna Anna in Blackwater Valley Opera Festival’s production of “Don Giovanni” as well as being scheduled to review her next role as Cora in the world premiere of Michael Gallen’s award-winning new opera “The Curing Line” at {…}
The Irish National Opera has announced its 2026-27 season. The company will present Absolute scenes from “Carmen,” “The Barber of Seville” and “Così fan tutte.” The evening will feature Laura Aherne, Heather Sammon, Olga Palazhchenko, David Kennedy and William Pearson. Performance Date: June 28 & July 4, 2026 Tarik O’Regan & Colm Tóibín’s “Testament” will be conducted by Elaine Kelly and {…}
(Photo: Ruth Medjber) Irish National Opera’s production of Janacek’s “The Cunning Little Vixen” proved to be a valid, yet commonplace, sentimental, child-centered reading, which unfortunately failed to delve below the surface narrative, although this was not the intention of its director, Sophie Motley. The Director’s Ideas Fail to Translate into Practice In her program notes, Motley explained that her aim {…}
(Photo: Pato Cassinoni) Irish National Opera‘s (INO) recent tour of Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride” took in a number of small venues across Ireland that rarely, if ever, get featured in its normal schedule. Included were towns such as Birr, Monaghan and Manorhamilton, situated in the rural hinterlands, far distant from the Dublin metropolis and the smaller urban areas of Galway, {…}
The Irish National Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with a darkly comic new opera, “MARS,” a commissioned work from Jennifer Walshe and Mark O’Connell. The work will star sopranos Nina Guo and Jade Phoenix, and mezzo-sopranos Doreen Curran and Sarah Richmond. Performance Dates: July 25–27 & August 7–9, 2025. The company will present “Viva Verdi, Viva Wagner” with Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace, US {…}
(Photo: Patrick Redmond) Since its inception in 2018, Irish National Opera has made remarkable progress with a series of innovative and imaginative productions that have entertained audiences from both home and abroad, garnering praise from the national and international media for the variety and quality of its output. Now, in its seventh season, the company decided to stage four performances {…}
(Photo: courtesy of Giselle Allen) Later this month, Irish National Opera will be staging a new production of Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer,” conducted by Fergus Sheil and directed by Rachael Hewer, with baritone Jordan Shanahan as the Dutchman. OperaWire recently met up with the Northern Irish soprano, Giselle Allen, who is currently preparing for the role of Senta, to talk {…}
(Photo: Ros Kavanagh) (WARNING: This review features explicit language.) Irish National Opera recently completed its tour of a pairing of operas by the exciting Irish composer Emma O’Halloran and librettist and playwright, Mark O’Halloran. Both works contain intimate psychological portraits of characters who find themselves in emotionally difficult situations. The first, entitled “Mary Motorhead,” focuses on a young woman jailed {…}
(Photo: Ross Kavanagh) This September, Northern Ireland Opera premieres its new production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”, with its quality cast members directed by Cameron Menzies, and conducted by Dominic Limburg. This production looks certain to be another hit with local audiences, following its sell-out productions of “La Traviata” and “Tosca.” OperaWire met up with one of its stars, mezzo-soprano Sarah {…}