(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 {…}
The Irish National Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. The company will open with a double bill featuring “Mary Motorhead” and “Trade.” Naomi Louisa O’Connell, Oisin O’Dalaigh, and John Molloy star in the production. Elaine Kelly conducts and Tom Creed directs. Performance Date: August 8–Oct. 23, 2024 Paula Murrihy and David Portillo lead Berlioz’s “Béatrice and Bénédict,” alongside Anna Devin, {…}
(Photo: James Glossop) Any forward-looking opera company surely must play its part in keeping the artform alive. While there must be a place for the staple repertoire, an over-reliance on the likes of Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart not only contains an element of the parasitic but also displays a mentality of unadventurous programming that will ultimately sap the energy from {…}
(Photo: Clive Barda) The theme of this year’s Wexford Festival Opera is “Shakespeare in the Heart,” a title that allows for a wide interpretation. Of the three main operas only one is actually based on a Shakespeare play, Karl Goldmarks’ “Ein Wintermärchen,” which is a representation of “A Winter’s Tale,” although the Wexford Factory is also presenting a production of {…}
(Credit: Jason Homa) The Wexford Festival has unveiled its 69th Festival, which includes a program inspired by the work of William Shakespeare. It all kicks off with “Ein Wintermärchen,” a work by Karl Goldmark. The performance, which will take place that O’Reilly Theatre, stars Sergy Radchenko, Sophie Gordeladze, Deanna Breiwick, Simon Thorpe, Julian Hubbard, Rory Musgrave, Lancelot Nomura, and Zlata {…}
Irish National Opera and RTÉ, in association with the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and in partnership with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, will launch a new RTÉ Player Exclusive: Irish National Opera’s production of Puccini’s tragic opera “Madama Butterfly.” Opera fans will be able to watch Ben Barnes’ thrilling production exclusively on RTÉ Player via their smartphones, tablets or TVs starting {…}