Guest Blog

A Guest Post From Our Intern

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:43:00 GMT

It was a great experience working for Opera Theatre Company.

The first week was a bit tiring because I had to carry a lot of clothes from the dry cleaner to the theatre and it was raining... a lot! I was a little demoralized.

But then as time went on, I got to help with the preparation of programmes, the website, and - most importantly - I got to know my colleagues better!

I'm really fond of them, they were very kind and patient with me and any problem I had, they always helped me.

My collegues were very helpful and kind.

The kindness that I found here, I've never found in any other internship.

During the weeks when I was sick they were very nice and seemed to genuinely care that I got better.

In the future I hope to find a work environment like this: cheerful, friendly and a little crazy.

I am very sorry to say goodbye to everybody because now I’ve become very attached to Opera Theatre Company.

A conversation with Così fan tutte lighting designer Aedín Cosgrove

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:05:00 GMT

Aedín was gracious enough to take some time out during rehearsals at The Factory to let me ask her some questions about lighting design in general and Così in particular - click here to listen to this interview, accompanied by some of Kip Carroll's production shots of our ongoing national touring production of Mozart's Così fan tutte.

Orpha Phelan on Opera in general and Così in particular

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:00:00 GMT

This second interview with Orpha Phelan looks more at her approach to directing – and teases us a little about Così fan tutte…

One of the things that most interested me, when last I spoke to her Orpha, was her training and work in Noh theatre – I want to know if and how this has influenced her directing style in general.

“Everything on a Noh stage is there for a reason and forms part of the narrative and/or reflects on the person who owns it. There is no clutter. This has definitely informed my directing in other forms. I think also, Noh has deepened in me my dislike for super-realistic sets. Theatre – and opera – is an elevated experience, it is not reality. Less is more.”

When I wryly reflect that the minimalism of Noh might well have prepared Orpha for the minimalism of touring, where everything must fit on the back of a 40 foot truck, she demurs.

“You can’t think of constraints before concept. Give me the budget and the stage of the Met and my reading and understanding of Così would lead to the same elements, the same Così – except for the positioning of the orchestra. The fact that we are touring to 17 different venues into which the one production must fit, and there isn’t always a pit, means I am dealing with an orchestra on stage for the first time. I found it quite terrifying at first, but now, having the band on stage has become an integral part of this Così.

"This is also my first time directing an opera in translation. All the other operas I’ve directed were sung in the language in which they were written. I know that this is one of the remits of OTC, to sing in English, to make opera as understandable as possible, and I admire this remit. But translations can be problematic - not just from a language point of view. Of course, you can forgive a 200 year old libretto for being old-fashioned but if the translation still sounds dated, it’s almost embarrassing. But my real issue with translations is when they’ve been written without any consideration for the music. A libretto and a score are written to “sound” together. If the translator doesn’t consider what’s happening musically, they can end up writing a closed sound on the top note, rather than ending with a nice open vowel. This is not just aesthetically displeasing, but takes away the purpose of a translation by impeding diction and, therefore, comprehension. Sometimes, as a listener, you don’t even realise why you’re not enjoying the translation so much, but it’s because the words have not been written sympathetically to the voice. In order to satisfy the listener, you have to consider the singer.

"A good translation provides immediacy of comprehension to the audience and is a pleasure to perform. This translation of Così (by Ruth and Thomas Martin) is a really good translation.

"In the rehearsal room, I will work closely with the conductor, Andrew Griffiths, to ensure the comfort of the singers in performing the translation. I know what I want to do and I don’t direct by committee, but it is equally important not to be a dictator. Yes, you should push people to their limits to get the performance you want out of them, but you shouldn’t push them beyond their limits. If you take performers too far beyond their comfort zone, you inhibit them – ultimately, you negatively affect their performance.”

This is Orpha’s debut in Ireland – another first. I ask her which is her favourite of the operas she’s worked on and she confesses to being fickle, that usually what she’s currently working on right now is her all-time, favourite, number 1. But I press Orpha to commit to three: last year’s Jenufa for Malmö Opera; also with Malmö, The Tales of Hoffman; and thirdly, Bellini’s Capuleti with Opera Australia and Opera North. I ask if these are favourites because of the music? Or the dramatic pleasure of directing them? Or some other reason?

“The main reason these productions are so memorable is the people I was working with. I will never forget Richard Bonynge at the Sydney Opera House. A wonderful singer goes on stage and, within seconds of working with them, he has created an out-of-this-world singer. It made me reflect on some recordings of Joan Sutherland that I most love – Richard Bonynge was behind her, he was able to bring those performances out of her. It was incredible to witness him at work – and again, I mean with singers who are already great, but he can just bring them to that superlative level.

"I also worked with designer Leslie Travers on these three productions. We work particularly well together. It is a great pleasure to regularly work with someone you get on well with. There is an instant connect at the start of a production – a good start. However, it is also really good to work with new people, because that removes any chance of you becoming complacent and new people fire your imagination. I am really enjoying working with Madeleine (Madeleine Boyd) on Così.”

I wonder what Orpha has made of productions of Così she’s seen and ask if she has ever directed it before?

“This is my first time directing Così and I’m very excited about it. I’ve seen four or five productions that I didn’t find fully satisfying. I think Così fan tutte has some of Mozart’s most sublime music and there is this urge to replicate in the visual that most beautiful music – and that’s just not possible, you end up with a kind of glossy blandness.

"Too many productions I’ve seen treat Don Alfonso as an annoying aside - I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out who he is and what his motivation is and asking, why does he meddle and take such pleasure in messing with other people’s lives? Once Don Alfonso is a real person, the rest falls into place - everything that happens has a reason. The music moves from comedy to tragedy but the truth of the action is that it’s moving from comedy to seeming-tragedy – nothing bad has actually happened. Take the music of the two girls saying goodbye to their lovers. In recit – out of context, this incredibly poignant music is one of the saddest and most beautiful pieces but, in context - in the opera, Don Alfonso echoes their sadness yet he knows it’s all a game, all a joke – so how to reconcile this most poignant music and the underlying insincerity? This is one of the things we’ll work through in the rehearsal room….”

I leave Orpha, as she returns to work on Così fan tutte, and find myself in a state of great anticipation for this coming production.

Meet Così fan tutte Designer Madeleine Boyd

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:58:00 GMT

When I spoke with Madeleine Boyd, who will design our forthcoming production of Così fan tutte, she was just back from Central City Opera Festival in Colorado, where she had designed Britten’s Turn of the Screw, conducted by Steuart Bedford, directed by Alessandro Talevi.

“It’s the highest altitude opera house in America, high up in the Rocky Mountains. The singers often travel out a month or so beforehand to adjust as, like with athletes, it affects breathing so much. You dream differently that high up – and some people even suffer from altitude sickness. The festival takes place in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by bears and lynxs. This particular festival, we were also surrounded by forest fires, which made it all that bit more real and unreal at the same time. It was great to work so closely with Steuart Bedford and benefit from his insight into Britten’s work.”

What’s your favourite opera?

“Ah. I should admit that I am not actually a great opera-lover… I came to it from theatre and always respected it, but it wasn’t my first love, I wasn’t driven specifically to opera. I kind of fell into it.

I studied at Central St. Martin’s, which took quite an untraditional approach to design. There was less emphasis on the technical skills, such as drawing and making model boxes, and more encouragement to comprehend a production as a whole: not to define and limit a designer or a director but, taking inspiration from people like Robert Wilson to conceive entirely of a production. Through these three years in St. Martin’s, I became interested in site-specific works and multi-disciplinary arts. I suppose I was very lucky to have been able to engage so much with theories.

When I went looking for work, though, I was also lucky that I had a strong skillset in drawing and making detailed model boxes, as this made me employable. It meant I got to assist some great designers and allowed me to gain immeasurably valuable experience of how it actually works, that relationship between a designer and a director, and how collaborative theatre is.

I know some people can do it all, but I can’t! My one attempt to do it all – while still at university - was a very valuable disaster! When I performed, I found it hard to see the piece as a whole; when I was directing, I couldn’t pay attention to the quality of costumes and props; when designing, I lost some connection with performers. It taught me where I want to be. I think the people who do it all do so with a very strong team behind them. Ultimately theatre is collaborative.”

Opera is not a great love of yours, so how exactly did you fall into it?

“I assisted some great designers. And as you assist designers, you meet assistant directors. And as they become directors in their own right, so they remember working with you…. It’s a natural evolution, I suppose. Many of those directors were working in opera so I started working in opera. I think not coming from an opera background was often a Good Thing. I would read a libretto and I would have a personal reaction to it. Then the director would explain what was happening in the score at the time and what the convention might be. I was never deliberately trying to reinvent opera, I was genuinely a fresh pair of eyes. I think you must ask the question. Now that I know more about opera, I still ask the question. It’s now an active choice to move from convention – not an out-of-hand rejection of convention but, simply, asking the question. If you start from a different point of view but still reach the same conclusion as is usually reached, then that convention must be retained. But if you never ask the question… you can descend into easy cliché. To be unconventional for its own sake would be as much a betrayal of a piece as to not question it at all.

I think, too, my not coming from an opera-background is a good thing because I don’t have preconceptions or set expectations. I hate when someone says to me “ah, but the audience will know…”. You can’t assume that the audience will know. To design well, you have to start from the premise that the story needs to be told. There’s no difference there between theatre and opera: it’s all about storytelling.”

What was the first opera you ever designed?

“I don’t think I’ll tell you! I like the people involved, who have come a long way since, but that first opera was another learning curve for me. It taught me what the difference is between an Assistant Director and a Director. The Director had done a lot of assisting and, I realised that while he now had the title of director, he hadn’t yet become a director. There’s a huge difference between telling people where to go and where to stand and when to move and actually directing them. A director has to be able to draw performances from singers, not just tell them what to do and when to do it. A director has to be able to bring the singer on board with their concept of a piece and let them explore their own way to it – because ultimately, it’s the performer who has to deliver the concept.

I think I was particularly lucky in my work as an assistant, to work with some very generous designers. One such was Kevin Knight, who made me feel valued, who let me express my opinions, who let me gain confidence in myself in the role of designer.”

Is there any one director you work with a lot?

“I work a lot with Alessandro Talevi - we work well together. He's a trained pianist with a true understanding of music, singers and conductors, and when we work together, because he actively looks after the needs of the musical side of the piece, I can be extremely design-orientated.

I’m really enjoying working with Orpha (Orpha Phelan) on the forthcoming Così for OTC. She’s very visual and can see a spoken description as if it’s on stage, there’s a real sense of collaboration in this working relationship.”

Are you looking forward to Così fan tutte - and should we expect the unconventional?

“Only if it fits! I was talking recently with Pelham Pearce, who is the Artistic Director of Central City Opera Festival, and we were discussing the extremes that opera can go to and he compared it to a pendulum – sometimes the pendulum swings so that it’s all about the technical, musical side of things, all about the conductor, so that you could nearly close your eyes and just listen to the piece; and then it swings again and suddenly you have singers expected to perform while upside-down in a bath tub in order to satisfy someone’s “concept”. He views part of his job as balancing the pendulum. That means that each extreme can state their case strongly, can challenge, but a balance can be reached where the music and the drama are each revealed, in partnership rather than in competition.

Yes – it’s true that I’ve seen one too many beige-with-garden-trellis Cosìs and want to get away from that.

The thing about designing a Mozart opera is, his music is like fireworks – there are these powerfully evocative moments of pathos followed by powerfully funny moments of comedy that can bring the audience on a real emotional rollercoaster – there’s little time to absorb the pathos before the comedy strikes and vice-versa. This would have been a theatrical convention when he was writing – in part to allow for scenery changes – but certainly something audiences then were more used to. Some of the best productions I’ve seen are ones that have gotten either the comedy or the pathos just right, but it’s actually very hard to get them both right. I think, no matter how relevant or edgy you want the serious bits to be, you cannot deny the ridiculous bits, you have to embrace their comedy. Yes Mozart operas are beautiful with moments of great truth and serenity, but they also have moments that are truly, vaudevillianly buffo. If you deny these, you lose something.”

How will the fact that this production is touring throughout Ireland impact on your design?

“I worked as Assistant Designer to Thaddeus Strassberger on an Opera Ireland production of La Cenerentola at the Gaiety Theatre, for which he won Opera Europa’s European Opera Prize, so got to spend some time in Dublin then. I’m very much looking forward to being in Ireland again and want to see as much theatre as my work schedule allows while I’m in the country. This will, technically, be my Irish debut as a Designer in my own right.

Touring is something I look at as an interesting challenge. You can’t rely on theatre paraphrenalia because no two venues will be identical - so you can’t depend on that 17-foot revolve to make your big set reveal in the second act! This means that the design has to be performer-based – which is no bad thing, because, whatever the director and designer aspire to, it is ultimately the performer that has to deliver.”

Così fan tutte tours nationwide November 2012 to February 2013.

Dublin, Sligo, Tralee, Cork, Bray, Thurles, Castleblayney, Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Letterkenny, Blanchardstown, Galway, Kilkenny, Tallaght, Dun Laoghaire, Navan.

Booking will open

Orpha Phelan will direct our Winter Season production of Così fan tutte.

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:00:00 GMT

How did an economics graduate from Listerlin, Co. Kilkenny, end up directing opera at the Barbican and the Sydney Opera House?

This is the question I put to the director of our forthcoming production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

“I had always wanted an involvement with the arts, but was encouraged to do it extra-curricularly. The idea was that I should get a sensible degree and a “real job” and do the other stuff in my spare time.”

Orpha Phelan grew up in a home where classical music was highly valued. Her uncle was friends with Tommy O’Brien, the radio presenter known as much for his greeting of “Good evening, listeners”, as for his authoritative knowledge of Classical Music and Opera, and they would meet regularly to listen to and discuss music. When her uncle passed away, he bequeathed to Orpha a library of music.

“At school (Ursuline, Thurles), I used to listen to classical music in dorms – it was remarked upon as strange at first, but then became quite the norm.”

This love of the arts accompanied Orpha to Univerity College Galway, where she read economics.

“This is true – I’m not making this up! The first opera that was a truly memorable experience for me was OTC’s production of Handel’s Flavio that toured to Galway (1994). I had attended opera before, but Flavio made a deep impression on me. I remember finding out the pub that the singers and the musicians went to, just to breathe the same air as them – they were very pleasant to this starry-eyed fan!

“I realised that I needed to work in the arts. But I can’t sing very well, can’t dance or act and will never be a great musical performer. At the time, I was going to see lots of things, mostly concerts, and I began to write reviews for The Galway Tribune. I thought that arts journalism might be the closest I could get to working in the arts.”

Orpha moved to London to complete an M.A. in Arts Criticism at London City University.

“Again, I started going to see lots of performances – but that quickly, and almost without me realising this, became going to see lots of opera – I was going to ROH or ENO 3 or 4 times a week.

“For me – and I’m only speaking for me – all other art forms seemed to miss something: theatre lacked music, art galleries lacked action; I always preferred classical music to musical theatre – opera had everything for me.”

A fellow M.A. student was working part-time at the ROH and through her Orpha began volunteering at the education department.

“I passed Domingo in the corridor - absolutely thrilling! But I also learned the constituent parts of opera – what the lighting designer did, watching a repetiteur at work, how the set was built and assembled, and I had a little epiphany – somebody has to put all this together… the director.”

Upon graduation, Orpha worked in a music publishers – and went to opera as much as possible in her spare time.

“I liked my job well enough, but I saw people who didn’t enjoy what they did at all, but loved their hobbies. I decided I wasn’t going to spend all day, every day doing something I didn’t love and going to see opera in the evenings. But I wasn’t sure how to achieve that. And then I met this inspirational woman, a music lawyer, and I said to her ‘what I really want to be is an opera director’ and she advised ‘then you must at some stage stop saying “I want to be” and simply state “I am an opera director”’.

“At age 22, I took her advice, and took a long holiday from my job, having convinced Almeida Opera to let me work for them for free – I got to work as an Assistant Director for free on condition that I also worked as a music archivist for free! I filed scores of scores, but it was quite fun really, seeing a lot of early drafts of operas, and most importantly I began to learn the craft of director. These were the best weeks of my life, so I returned to my job only to hand in my notice.

“To some extent I think my naivety sustained me during this time – or maybe my stupidity! I had a vision of myself as Bohemian artist in the attic. But in reality, I was very lucky with my music publishing employers: they still gave me once-off jobs of work when they were available and, combined with waitressing jobs, this meant I managed to survive and continue to work – unpaid – as Assistant Director on an ever-increasing number of opera productions, including the Gate London, RCM and Castleward in Ireland.

“My big break came over a year later at Opera North, when I was finally paid to be Assistant Director!”

My next conversation with Orpha will look more closely at her opera experience and her approach to directing – and perhaps also anticipate OTC’s production of Così.

I want to know the highlights of her ten years of directing opera internationally; the impact, if any, on her opera direction that her study of Noh Theatre has had; and if directing at The Sydney Opera House was quite as thrilling as running into Placido Domingo in the ROH corridor…

Photo: Nick Gurney

Link to Orpha Phelan's biography.

A Guest Post from our Intern

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 23:00:00 GMT

Opera Theatre Company has a long tradition of offering internships. Traditionally these vary between recent graduates looking for specific professional experience in the arts, or in PR and marketing, and young professional arts workers from other countries seeking a work environment that allows them to perfect their English within their chosen industry. We also sometimes provide internships for specific production roles. This year, for the first time, we accepted an undergraduate intern, with no particular background in the arts, who wanted general work experience in Ireland, and we were well-rewarded for our risk. Texan Ian Wilson studies Sociology and Business and applied both these disciplines to his work with us, but also brought with him a large amount of common sense, a sense of humour and a willingness to work that proved invaluable. Here’s what Ian made of OTC:

When I first started working as an intern for Opera Theatre Company, there were a few disclaimers I had to mention. One, I didn’t know very much about Opera. Two, I knew even less about Opera Theatre Company.

Opera has never been a field I chose to familiarize myself in. I was fortunate enough to see OTC’s summer production of Orfeo and, though I might not appreciate it as much as some other opera lovers in the crowd, I still found it thoroughly enjoyable. Even if you don’t have an ear for opera, you still know a great performance when you see it. And Opera Theatre Company makes some great opera.

After working here for a summer, it’s apparent why Opera Theatre Company delivers great operas. Many would say that of course it’s the music, acting, singing and staging, and in a sense they are right. However, what I think continues to make Opera Theatre Company produce great shows are the individuals that I work with behind the scenes. They make all of this possible - which, by the way, isn’t an easy task.

I had no idea how much planning, organizing, and communication it takes to put on an Opera. Operas must be started at least a half-year in advance, and from then until opening night, a many multitude of things must occur. Singers and band must be cast, resources (props and costumes) have to be bought and shipped, finances must be kept in order, the opera must be marketed and advertised, and many more things need to happen – all of which my team must do. It’s a tremendous job but they do it extremely well. I saw one of my colleagues work to the point of illness. It’s that kind of dedication that makes these operas so good.

Additionally, what drives their dedication is their love for opera. Many I work with have been working in the opera arena for years. They have an absolute love and passion for this art and are true believers in the saying, the show must go on. Simply said, it’s the people that make the show. It’s their heart and hard work that enables Opera Theatre Company to continue producing great operas. Don’t miss out the next time Opera Theatre company comes by your city. You surely won’t regret it.

Having inventoried all our in-house costumes for us, it seemed only fitting (pun intended) that Ian [right] should get to try them on! Pictured with his sister Katherine and brother-in-law Andrew.

Guest Blog from Ben Barnes, director of ORFEO & Director of Waterford's Theatre Royal

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:00:00 GMT

Opera Theatre Company is Ireland's National Touring Company.

We are delighted this year to have our production night and opening week in Waterford's Theatre Royal.

Ben Barnes, who directs this production of Monteverdi's Orfeo, is the Director of the Theatre Royal. He has kindly agreed to blog for us:

The Theatre Royal Waterford is very pleased and excited to have the Opera Theatre Company premier its new production of Orfeo by Monteverdi at our venue.

There is something appropriate about the 'first' opera being presented at the oldest performing arts venue in the country.

The Theatre Royal has been entertaining audiences for over 220 years now and the venue, which sits at the heart of the historic cultural quarter of the ancient Viking city, has been splendidly restored over the past five years. Indeed the whole cultural quarter boasting Christchurch Cathedral, The Bishops Palace, the Theatre Royal, the Waterford Glass, Reginald's Tower and the soon to be opened medieval museum, the Choristers Hall, is fast gaining a reputation as one of the most vibrant and exciting cultural and historic square miles in the whole country.

We hope our local patrons and visitors from around the country and from abroad will take the opportunity on the weekend of June 9th/10th to visit and stay in Waterford at one of our partner hotels and in addition to attending the performance of Orfeo join us for a special concert on Saturday morning, June 9th at Christchurch Cathedral and sample some of the other cultural gems on offer in and around The Mall in Waterford City.

Ben Barnes

DirectorTheatre Royal

1st May 2012

Annilese Miskimmon | Opera Theatre Company | 2003-2012

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:00:00 GMT

Annilese Miskimmon will be leaving OTC, at her contract-end this September, to take up her new role as General Manager/Artistic Director of Danish National Opera.

Our season launch for 2012 being the last such occasion she attended as our Artistic Director, we took the opportunity to bid her a formal farewell, including making this slideshow of images from some of the many productions she directed for us.

Below is a full list of productions Annilese Miskimmon directed for Opera Theatre Company.

This list does not fully signify the impact of Annilese's vision, skill and enthusiasm as Artistic Director of Opera Theatre Company. In particular, there are many Young Artists who will be ever-grateful for her direction.

Mozart - THE MAGIC FLUTE - national tour 2011/2012

Donizetti - PASQUAL€ - national tour 2011

Frid - THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK - national tour 2010 - international tour 2011

Mozart - THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO - national tour 2010

Handel - ALCINA - national tour 2009 - Buxton Festival 2010

Handel - ACIS & GALATEA - national tour 2009

Debussy - PELLÉAS & MÉLISANDE - site-specific Dublin & Belfast 2008

Mozart - BASTIEN & BASTIENNE - national tour 2008 - revived 2009 & 2010

Handel - ORLANDO - national tour 2007 - Buxton Festival 2009

Mozart - FIDELIO - site specific Dublin, concert performance Derry 2006

Mozart - APOLLO & HYACINTHUS - national & international tour 2006

Monteverdi - THE CORONATION OF POPPEA - national tour 2005 - Buxton Festival 2006

Puccini - LA BOHÈME - national tour 2005

Hagen - VERA OF LAS VEGAS - national tour 2004

Rossini - CINDERELLA - national tour 2003

On 27th August 2012, Annilese Miskimmon conversed with Aedín Gormley on RTÉ Lyric FM, now available to hear on RTÉ RealPlayer.

Allison Cook in The Coronation of Poppea

Mozart - the Dublin connection

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Frank Hopkins, author of the best-selling Rare Old Dublin: Heroes, Hawkers & Hoors and Hidden Dublin: Deadbeats, Dossers and Decent Skins has kindly agreed to contribute to our guest blog.

Frank's son Jack, along with trebles Gavin Jones and Ferdia Peelo-Walsh, made his professional opera debut in our recent tour of The Magic Flute. Conversations in the rehearsal room led to the mention of Michael O'Kelly - Dublin's very own link to Mozart.

Jack Hopkins, far left, in the final scene of The Magic Flute, which was Mozart's last opera.

"Dublin-born Michael Kelly, also known on the continent as Ochelli or O’Kelly, was one of the foremost tenors of his day and was also an accomplished thespian and composer, and he was also one of Mozart‘s best friends.

Kelly, the eldest of fourteen children, was the son of a Mary Street wine merchant, Thomas Kelly, who was also Master of Ceremonies at Dublin Castle, and his mother was a McCabe from a wealthy Westmeath family. Both Kelly’s parents were accomplished musicians and singers and they met while his mother was attending a convent on Arran Quay.

Michael Kelly was born on Christmas day in 1762 and from an early age he and several of his siblings showed great musical promise. Michael was said to possess a powerful soprano voice and he was sent at a very early age to study with a number of Dublin’s leading music teachers. One of these was the eccentric singing master, Morland, who spent his days sleeping in a cellar and began his classes at eleven o’clock at night. It wasn’t unusual for the young Kelly to be given his music lesson at one o’clock in the morning under the direction of Morland, who was usually half out of his mind on a lethal concoction of whiskey and punch.

Kelly later studied under another singing master, Signor St. Giorgio, who had rooms at the Rotunda on Rutland (now Parnell) Square, and he revealed in later life that he once saw the great man eating peaches, nectarines and a pineapple in a Dublin fruit shop. The young Kelly said that this incident left such a deep and lasting impression on him that he at once resolved to work hard at his music so that he too, would be able to “lounge about in fruit shops, and eat peaches and pineapples as well as Signor St. Giorgio.”

Kelly was later sent to Dr. Burke’s Academy for young gentlemen and also studied under Cogan, the piano teacher, and the singing-masters Peretti and Passerini.

Kelly made his singing debut in Fishamble Street Theatre in 1777 and also performed at Crow Street theatre during that year.

On the recommendation of the famous castrato Rauzzini, Kelly’s father dispatched him to Italy to further his musical studies there and he departed Dublin on May 1st 1779 and arrived in Naples a month later, where he underwent further training.

Between 1783 and 1787 Kelly was the leading tenor at the Vienna Court Theatre and one of his greatest claims to fame was his friendship with the composer Mozart, whom he met in Vienna.

Kelly tells us that when Mozart wasn’t composing, he was ‘remarkably fond of punch’, of which he often drank copious draughts, and he also reveals that Mozart was an excellent billiard-player.

Kelly was fond of a good story and his memoirs include a humorous tale involving a Dublin saddle-maker called Lennan who fancied himself as an actor: Lennan - after much lobbying - eventually landed himself a part in a play called The West Indian of Cumberland in the role of Major O’Flaherty. Kelly describes Lennan’s debut performance as ‘truly execrable’. After the show, Lennan moved on to a watering hole called the Cockle Club, where he proceeded to get extremely intoxicated, and insisted on giving the members a repeat dose of his earlier performance. The club members had the last laugh however, when they handed him over to the parish watch, informing them that the ossified saddler had murdered Major O’Flaherty earlier in the evening. The watchmen kept Lennan locked up all night and when he was released the next day he returned to his former occupation of saddle-making.

Kelly retired from the stage in 1808, although he continued to manage the King’s Theatre, and did some directing at Drury Lane until 1820. During his final years, he suffered from severe gout and died October 9th 1826 at Margate in Kent. He was buried at St Paul’s Churchyard, Covent Garden."

Guest Blogger - The Hungry Soprano

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:43:00 GMT

Our Queen of the Night, Allison Bell, has also begun a blog under the name The Hungry Soprano...

THURSDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2012

So I figured it's about time I started telling people about some of the great places I find as I travel about the place as a freelance singer. Varied - often good and sometimes great, and mostly never boring - gastronomic experiences are one of the great perks about my profession. At the moment I'm in Ireland singing Queen of the Night for Opera Theatre Company's Magic Flute and with up to 4 different venues in one week, one is confronted with a lot of different food options. One place in particular this week has been rather special - Fishy Fishy in Kinsale on the County Cork Coast. And I'll tell you all about it after my performance tonight because now it's time to warm up! "

A FRENCH QUEEN IN WEXFORD, A SCOTTISH KING IN DUBLIN, A WONDERFUL WITCH IN CORK & A LEGEND AT THE NATIONAL CONCERT HALL

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hello to all our friends at Opera Theatre Company and Greetings from Kilkenny!

What a time we have had with flu and floods and then the snow – so it has been a while since we have told you about our operatic adventures. And we have an awful lot to tell you.

Dropping off our last blog at the OTC offices. Here we are with Teresa and Brendan.

The last time we told you all about our trip to Barcelona. Well we were only catching our breaths and showing off our tans when Alan and Brendan told us that we had to pack our bags and we were off again and this time we were going to Wexford. We love Wexford and visiting our Auntie Mairead who puts us up for the festival every year.

Here we are with Brendan and our Auntie Mairead

There were four operas to see – Maria Padilla by Donizetti, Une Education Manquee by Chabrier, La Cambiale di Matrimonio by Rossini and finally The Ghosts of Versailles by Corigliano. Art wasn’t too sure about the last one but when we heard that the great cuddle-giver, Owen Gilhooly, was going to be in it he cheered up. It was wonderful. Owen was a King and some of the ghosts were very funny. It was a strange story about Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Beaumarchais, the playwright and characters from some of his plays all mixed together with ghosts at the palace in Versailles. To tell the truth we were slightly confused but the music was lovely and the production as a whole was fabulous.

Here we are with Owen in the Wexford Opera House

We also saw Owen singing in concert with Paula Murrihy, the Irish Mezzo – this was a brilliant concert and one of the highlights of the festival. Paula was in the Ghosts of Versailles also but had a bigger role in Une Educatione Manquee where she shone on a rather otherwise dull night.

Cuddles from Paula Murrihy in St Iberius’ Church, Wexford

We were brought to another concert entitled – A Postcard from America – all the American singers who were at the festival sang songs from American Operas. We loved this because two of Alan’s favourite composers are Barber and Adams. We got to meet all the singers and the incredible American Tenor, Jason Ferrante agreed to have his picture taken with us.

Look at us sitting on a piano with the hugely talented Jason Ferrante

The final opera we saw and which was the unexpected hit of the festival was Maria Padilla. The lead role was sung by Barbara Quintiliani - a wonderful performer in an opera that deserves to be seen more. The story is about a woman who is secretly married to the King and the tragedy that unfolds because of this secret.

Well we were only back from Wexford when the order came to pack again and off to the train station with Alan and Brendan. Our destination was Cork for the last night of Opera Theatre Company’s tour of Handel’s Alcina. Once again Art was not impressed with the idea of spending an evening with a witch and her sister, specially when we heard that she turned people into stone and wild animals. But this turned out to be one of the best nights we ever had at the Opera. The production was splendid and all the cast were excellent but special praise must be made of the three singers who played the characters caught in the love triangle. Doreen Curran as Bradamante, Steven Wallace as Ruggiero and Sinead Campbell-Wallace as Alcina were all brilliant and could easily hold their own on any opera stage in the world. We had a lovely time after the show with all the cast and we had loads of photos taken but we can’t show them to you because Sinead lost the disc. Silly Witch!!! But we’d forgiven her by the time we met her again at Handel’s Messiah in the RDS, where once again the audience was wowed by the stunning performances of both herself and the cuddly Owen Gilhooly.

A few weeks later we were taken to Dublin to see the Opera Ireland production of Verdi’s Macbeth. This was another great night of Opera. Bruno Caproni in the title role was outstanding. The Opera tells the story of Macbeth and his wife and how they come to the Scottish throne. Unlike Shakespeare, who had Macbeth meet three witches, Verdi had Macbeth meet a whole chorus of witches – poor Art was petrified and hid under the seat for nearly a whole act. We also saw the concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold. It was a pity that this was only a concert performance, as the mainly Irish cast were very good. Special mention should be made of Imelda Drumm and Gerard O’Connor.

Our friend Sandra Oman sang the role of Lady in Waiting in Macbeth – here we are with her and Alan and Brendan

The week before we went to see Opera Ireland, we had great excitement when we were told at the last minute that we were to see one of the all-time greats of the Opera Stage – the American Mezzo, Frederica von Stade. What a wonderful night we had at the National Concert Hall. We even got a wonderful cuddle from Ms. von Stade after the concert.

Here we are with Ms. Frederica von Stade at the National Concert Hall

Well that was what we got up to at the end of 2009. We are looking forward to 2010 and trips to Madrid for Der Fliegender Hollander by Wagner, London to see the countertenor David Daniels and Paris for Don Carlos by Verdi.

Congratulations to all the nominees for the Irish Times Theatre Awards specially to OTC who received two nominations – one for Alcina and one for the Judges Special Award for the work done with the Young Associated Artists Programme – Hurray! Looking forward to seeing you all at the Opera To Celebrate night at the National Concert Hall on the 6th of April if not before. Don’t forget to say hello to us on Facebook – Art&Music

Until then,

BIG HUGS,

Art and Music.

Barceloooonaaaaa, Barcelooooonaaaaaa!!!!

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hi again!

Greetings from Kilkenny to all our friends and to everyone at Opera Theatre Company. We have been very very busy little bears over the last number of weeks. We were taken on holidays to Spain and because we were sooooo good, we were brought to the Opera. More about that in a little while.

When we came back from Spain we were taken for another little holiday to the Wexford Opera Festival. Then we had an overnight in Cork where we saw the incredible Opera Theatre Company Production of Alcina by Handel. Finally we had a lovely evening in Dublin where we saw and met and were cuddled by the most wonderful American Mezzo, Frederica von Stade. We will give you all a full report on all those adventures over the next couple of weeks.

So now back to our adventures in Spain. As you can probably guess from our tribute to Montserrat Caballé at the beginning of our blog we found ourselves in Barcelona.

Here we are at the old box office of the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona.

It is a most beautiful Concert Hall built between 1905 and 1908 for a choral group called Orfeo Catala by the architect Llius Domenech i Montaner. In 1997 the Palau de la Musica was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every year over half a million people attend concert performances here. Many world premieres have been performed here including Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo which was on the programme the night we were so lucky to attend. We also heard the wonderful guitarist, Ronaldo Saad play Bizet’s Carmen Suite and Espana by Chabrier.

Here is a photo of the Concert Hall

The next night was even more exciting. We were overawed to find ourselves at the Liceu – Barcelona’s most amazing Opera House. We discovered that we were to see an opera called L’Arbore di Diana by a Spanish Composer by the name of Vicente Martin y Soler.

Here we are with our friend Alan outside the Liceu.

Vicente Martin y Soler was born on 2nd May 1754 and lived until 30th January 1806. This, of course, means that he was a contemporary of Mozart. In fact, at that time in Europe he was more famous than Mozart. The famous librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote for Mozart, also wrote librettos for y Soler including the opera which we saw. Another of his librettists was Catherine the Great of Russia – that’s real famous!

L’Arbore di Diana is about the Orchard which belongs to the goddess Diana. She has an apple tree that keeps a check on all the goddess’s nymph to make sure they have all been good girls. If the nymphs have been bold girls, the apples turn black and the tree hurls the apples at the poor nymphs. As you can imagine Art was not impressed with this and remained under his seat for some time. Then along came the Shepherd, Endimio and with the help of Amor wins Diana’s heart. She gets rid of the apple tree and they all lived happily ever after. Now we are just not sure if everyone is being good or bold and without the tree how can they tell. We asked our friend Alan to explain all this to us but all he said was that we shouldn’t worry our young little heads about such things and just enjoy the music instead. Anyway we enjoyed the music very much – it was a wonderful opera.

Here are Soprano, Laura Aikin and Countertenor, Michael Maniaci in the lead roles of Diana and Amor.

After all that excitement we were taken to Sitges to spend a couple of relaxing days by the beach – lovely!

On our Balcony in Sitges.

Wexford, Cork and more soon, until the next time,

HUGS

Art and Music.

New Season - New Baby - New Friends - New YAAPs

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hello again and greetings from Kilkenny!

We are so excited that a new Opera Season has begun and we have been in the swing of things already.

Our first day out was on Tuesday 8th September when we were taken to the National Concert Hall to see the wonderful Dublin Soprano, Sandra Oman, sing with the National Symphony Orchestra. It was incredible - and even more so when the presenter, Eileen Dunne, reminded us that Sandra had given birth to a beautiful baby girl just four week before. We were very privileged to meet Sandra and her family after the concert.

Art and Music with Sandra, her husband, Conor Farren and their beautiful Baby Emily Nuala.

The following evening we were warned to be on our best behaviour and discovered we were on our way to the RHA to attend the Opera Theatre Company launch of the 2009/2010 Season. It was so exciting. There were lots of people there and some of them even gave us cuddles. We were the belles of the ball until that witch, Alcina, arrived. Well, actually, it was Sinead Campbell-Wallace who will play Alcina – don’t know how she will do it – OTC will have to spend a fortune on make-up! She is very beautiful and she was accompanied by her very handsome husband, the counter-tenor, Steven Wallace. They both enthralled the gathering with arias from Handel’s great opera. We are so looking forward to seeing Alcina, even if Art is a bit scared of the idea of a witch and her sister turning men to stone. But after a hug from Sinead, Art felt a little better.

Music, Sinead Campbell-Wallace, Steven Wallace and Art

Art and Music with some new friends of OTC, Aoife O'Sullivan (repetiteur), Tim Sweetman and our Brendan

We were informed by Dermot that the Spring Production from OTC will be Gianni Schicchi by Puccini. It’s a comedy about a man who has just died – we’re not sure about this one but maybe it will be dead funny!

We also met Imelda Drumm who was OTC’s Xerxes. She was in mighty form and told us she will be Carmen for Lyric Opera in the National Concert Hall in a few weeks time.

Imelda Drumm with Music and Art

The following evening – what busy bears we are – we met Imelda again when she replaced Virginia Kerr at the fund-raising night for Dublin Simon in Trinity College. Poor Auntie Virginia wasn’t well but she is fine again, we are pleased to say. Imelda joined the Young Associate Artists for a night of popular opera arias.

What a wonderful night it was. Imelda gave us a taster of what Carmen will be like and she threw us a kiss as she made her exit – if only we could blush!!! Dean Power and Gavan Ring were as brilliant as ever and we were delighted to see two new young ladies who gave us, among others, a wonderful rendition of the ‘Flower Duet’ from Lakmé. We even got cuddles – look!

Music with Chloe Hinton and Art with Gabriela Istoc

We have two pieces of big news to share with you. We are off to Spain with our friends Alan and Brendan and we have been told if we are very good we will be brought to the Liceu in Barcelona to see a performance of L’Abore di Diana by Martin y Soler. He is a Spanish composer we have never heard of but the libretto is by da Ponte who wrote for Mozart. As always we will bring you a full report and let you all know how it went.

Our second piece of news is that we can now be found on Facebook. If you have a problem you can contact us at ArtandMusic@eircom.net and we will send you a link. We can’t promise a prompt reply as we are not allowed to turn on the computer ourselves and have to wait for Alan to do it. But we will definitely get back to you.

Until then,

HUGS

Art and Music

Singing by the Shannon

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Hello again!

Greetings from Kilkenny! Hope this finds all at Opera Theatre Company and all our Blog readers well and enjoying the summer weather.

We never forget what lucky Bears we are. After all the wonderful Opera at Kilkenny Castle we were brought to Limerick to the MBNA Limerick International Music Festival. We had a wonderful weekend listening to some of Ireland’s finest voices - Cara O’Sullivan, Carolyn Dobbin, Robin Tritschler and Owen Gilhooly.

On Saturday 11th July, accompanied by the amazing Sonia Rahman on Piano, our four sensational soloists brought us back to the banks of the Danube with a Viennese Opera Gala. It brought us back to our lovely holiday earlier in the year.

Robin, Art, Carolyn, Sonia, Cara, Music and Owen

They sang lovely songs and arias by Rudolph Sieczynski, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Lehar and Johann Strauss II.

Art thinks that Cara is a bit like Music – we will say no more! But she made sure that the other three stood in a straight line. Our friend Brendan had a funny look on his face – we thought he was asleep with his eyes open – but he told us later that it was because Cara is his favourite and that he was entranced.

We are not sure whether we should tell you this or not! Ok! But you can’t tell anyone else! We think that Carolyn Dobbin stole her voice. Shhhhhh!!! Let us tell you a secret. We Bears are able to hear things and hold conversations with things that you humans would find impossible. We know what Dark Chocolate sounds like and we are convinced that there must be a bar going around that no longer has a voice. From now on we shall we shall only speak of Carolyn Bourneville Dobbin.

But whether a voice robber or not we can categorically state that both Carolyn and Cara give wonderful HUGS. Mmmmmmmmmmm! Here we are with the Lovely Ladies.

Carolyn Dobbin and Cara O’Sullivan with Art and Music

The Boys were wonderful as well. Robin Tritschler sang with clarity and conviction and filled the old Franciscan Church with a sound most melodious.

For Owen this concert was a home-coming as he is from Limerick. He really let the people know he was home. He sang his heart out and was better than he ever was.

On Sunday the 12th July we had a different but just as wonderful evening. It started off with members of the Irish Chamber Orchestra led by very talented Anthony Marwood on violin playing a violin concerto by Kurt Weill. We actually heard it one and a half times because Mr. Marwood broke a string on his violin and had to replace it and start again.

Then the highlight of the evening – our four sensational soloists joined the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the National Chamber Choir to perform Josef Haydn’s Harmoniemesse . What a wonderful piece! Once again our four singers excelled themselves. Then in the middle of the Sanctus, Art let out a little squeal – there in the middle of the National Chamber Choir was another old friend of Opera Theatre Company – the tenor, Eugene Ginty! Do you remember him in Vera of Las Vegas? Eugene was also a very convincing ‘Drunken Cossack’ in Opera Ireland’s.

Eugene Ginty

At the end of the performance, the audience went wild. They cheered and cheered and cheered.

Because we had been so well behaved we were invited to the wrap party and we met lots of lovely people including Margaret Kelly who works with the Irish Chamber Orchestra doing a similar job to the one our Georgina does for OTC.

We got to talk to Carolyn Dobbin again and she told us that Castleward Opera were bringing their production of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus to the Wexford Opera House at the end of August. She will be singing the role of Prince Orlofsky. We told her we would see her there and she gave us another HUG. Mmmmmmmmm! Cara told us she would be a big blog fan from now on and gave us a big HUG. Mmmmmmmmm! Robin said he would be spending some time singing in Germany but would also read our blog and we got a HUG. Mmmmmmmm! Owen said he was going back to London but would be back in September to rehearse for the Wexford Opera Festival. Art was not too impressed with Owen because he is going to be a ghost in Wexford but did not say no to a HUG. Mmmmmmmm!

Art and Music playing Hide and Seek in the Garden

We were sitting talking in the garden last night and reminiscing about all the wonderful opera productions we have seen and all the wonderful performances that have enthralled and entertained us over the years - Opera Theatre Company’s Fidelio by Beethoven and The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Opera Ireland’s Faust by Gounod and Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie, Wexford Festival Opera’s Der Silbersee by Kurt Weill, to name but a few, and what about the amazing performances.

Mary Hegarty’s amazing comic timing in OTC’s Orlando by Handel,

Auntie Virginia Kerr’s heartrending portrayal of ‘Mrs. Patrick De Rocher’ in the above mentioned Dead Man Walking

Franzita Whelan’s tour de force in Fidelio

Sandra Oman, stunning as ‘Despina’ in OI’s Cosi fan Tutte and her wonderful ‘First Lady’ in Lyric Opera’s production of The Magic Flute both by Mozart,

Gerard O’Connor’s menacing ‘Mephistopheles’ in Faust,

Martin Higgins’ side-splitting performance in The Barber of Seville and who can forget the ‘Barber’ himself - Owen Gilhooly’s acclaimed ‘Figaro’.

We are such very fortunate bears!

Until the next time,

BIG HUGS and LOTS OF LOVE,

Art and Music.

The Bestest Baritones – London Part 2

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:15:00 GMT

Hi again!

Greetings from Kilkenny where we are still on a high following the wonderful performances of Bastien & Bastienne and Acis & Galatea. The Young Associate Artists were just brilliant – one and all.

We promised, in this second part of our London Blog, to tell you of two wonderful Baritones we met. Here is the fabulously talented German Baritone, Matthias Goerne:

We had the privilege of seeing Matthias Goerne in concert at the famous Wigmore Hall in London. He sang the wonderful Schubert Schwanengesang. It was a powerful performance from one of the world’s greatest Baritones. Matthias Goerne is celebrated for his concert performances in such salubrious venues as New York's Carnegie Hall.

Matthias Goerne as Al Kasim and John Mark Ainsley as The Demon in Hans Werner Henze’s L’Upupa

He is also well known for his carefully chosen Operatic Roles. He has chosen such well known roles as ‘Papageno’ in Mozart’s Magic Flute but is better known for lesser known roles such as ‘Sebastiano’ in Eugen d’Albert’s Tiefland, ‘Al Kasim’ in Hans Werner Henze’s L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, and the title role in Alban Berg’s Wozzeck. We managed to speak to Matthias Goerne after the concert but we were not allowed by the staff of the Wigmore Hall to take a photo in the Auditorium but we did manage to get his Autograph and here it is.

Matthias Goerne signed our Programme

On the second last day of our visit to London we decided to visit the Handel House Museum because it is 250 years since Mr. Handel died. To our great surprise and absolute delight look who we met there.

Here we are with Owen Gilhooly

Irish Baritone, Owen Gilhooly, who is an old OTC friend, has recently been performing ‘Figaro’ in The Barber of Seville for Armonico Consort and ‘Don Alfonso’ in Cosi Fan Tutti (unwrapped) for Scottish Opera. Owen was very happy to meet us and said that he loved our blog. He also agreed to do an interview for our blog all about Handel and here it is.

Art and Music Hello Owen! It is very nice of you to speak to us today in this lovely setting of the Handel House Museum.

Owen Gilhooly Hello Boys! It is a pleasure to meet you both again. It seems such a long time since we were all in Vienna. I love your blog but must admit that I get a little jealous when I read about all the wonderful places you both get to and all the wonderful music and singers you get to hear.

A & M Yes! We are two very lucky Bears. And this is a great year because we love Handel. Do you like Handel and is there a Handelian role you would like to play?

OG I really love Handel. He wrote so many wonderful roles for Bass and Baritone, but sadly not for a high Baritone like myself: ‘Emireno’ in Ottone, ‘Araspe’ in Tolomeo, ‘Ormonte’ in Partenope, ‘Zoroastro’ in Orlando to name but a few.
‘Argante’ in Rinaldo is a role I would like to get my teeth into as it is both low and high – so it is a work in progress.

A & M Are you a traditionalist or do you like what some modern directors have done with Handel’s Operas?

OG It is good to see traditional productions of Operas from time to time as it is important for us to have an historical understanding of a piece. I see Opera as very much a living and breathing artform and therefore it must be seen to be relevant to life today. I feel updating many of the Baroque Operas is a very worthwhile exercise – I really loved what Glyndbourne did with Handel’s Theodora. There are many other Handel Oratorios which could be similarly staged. There are lovely Bass roles in Joseph and his Brethren, Esther, Judas Maccabaeus, and of course Saul. I also loved Opera Theatre Company’s Orlando. It is great to see it is getting a second outing this year at the Buxton Festival in England.

Opera Theatre Company’s Orlando

A & M There have been many famous singers who have sung Handel’s music down through the years. Anna Maria Strada, Senesino and Faustina Bordoni, are names we still hear today. Who in your opinion are today’s great Handelians?

OG There are a few I will name and the first two just happen to be Irish women - Ann Murray and Patricia Bardon are producing some of the most profound work around at the moment. David Daniels is fantastic – a real stage creature! The New Zealand Soprano, Rebecca Ryan, who recorded Handel’s Sileti Venti a few years ago is wonderful. I am also looking forward to hearing the tenor John Mark Ainsley sing Messiah at the ENO later in the year. Two names to look out for are also Irish women and both performing with English Touring Opera’s Autumn ‘Handelfest’ – Ann Marie Gibbons will be playing both ‘Teseo’ and ‘Ariodante’ and Carolyn Dobbin, who will be singing with me in my home city of Limerick in a few weeks time, will be playing ‘Bradamante’ in Alcina and ‘Teodata’ in Flavio.

A & M Finally Owen, what is your favourite Handel piece?

OG I love ‘Cara Sposa’ from Rinaldo, ‘Ch’ Io parta? si crudele’ from Partenope and of course the showstopper that is ‘Droppo Notte’ from Ariodante. I have had the honour of singing Messiah a few times and I really love ‘Why do the nations’ for all its drama.

A & M We loved hearing you sing that too. Thank you so so much for spending the day with us in this lovely house where Handel used to live. When will we hear you singing next?

OG I will be in Limerick as I said in a few weeks time for the MBNA Limerick International Music Festival. I will be singing with Carolyn Dobbin, Cara O’Sullivan and Robin Tritschler. We will be accompanied by pianist, Sophia Rahman for a Viennese Opera Gala on Saturday 11th July and on the 12th we will join the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Irish Chamber Choir for Haydn’s Harmoniemesse. Later in the year I will be at Wexford playing ‘Louis XVI’ in The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano and in Spring 2010 I will be singing the role of ‘Malatesta’ in Don Pasquale for English Touring Opera.

A & M We will look forward to seeing you again soon. Thanks again for the interview and for all the pleasure you give us when you are on stage.

That’s our interview with one of the bestest Baritones in the business. After a big hug Owen went on his way. We will be in Limerick to hear him and his friends sing. We, of course, will bring you all a full report.

Our friend Brendan Mills, Art, Music and Baritone, Owen Gilhooly outside the Handel House Museum

Before we go we have someone else for you all to meet. When we were on our way out from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden we heard another melodious Baritone voice humming in the crowd. Suddenly the crowd parted and there was Bobby Bear.

We stopped to talk. He is a Policeman and his beat takes him past Covent Garden every night. It turns out his Grandmother is from Wellingtonbridge, Co. Wexford and he visits there once a year and takes in the Wexford Opera Festival while he is there. He is a big Opera fan. We told him all about our Blog and he said he would send us reports now and then as to what was happening on the Opera Scene across the Irish Sea.

Until the next time,

BIG HUGS and LOT OF LOVE

Art and Music.