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Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival: What's still available to book
Understandably, this performance of a mainly Irish cast, supported by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, is completely sold out, but for those who didn't catch the early opera treats, there is still time to dive in to the event, which runs from May 27 to June 2. With 23 events, two full opera productions, and over 100 world-class artists performing in ticketed and free events across 12 unique venues, it is the most ambitious programme in the festival's 15-year history, say organisers. There are performances in a castle, a cathedral and a 19th century farmhouse, as well as in historic homes. The festival will also bring live performances to Cappoquin, Dungarvan, Stradbally, Youghal, and Castlemartyr. So if you haven't yet planned your trip, here are some hidden gems you can still get to see. Opera in the cathedral Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, featuring Paula Murrihy, Dean Murphy, Kelli-Ann Masterson, and the Irish Baroque Orchestra, will showcase the expressive beauty of baroque opera, offering a striking contrast in musical style and atmosphere across the festival. Tuesday, May 27's showing still has limited tickets available. It takes place at St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore, Waterford. Tickets €20-€40. Concerts at Dromore Yard A romantic, semi-restored 19th-century farmyard on the banks of the River Blackwater sets the scene for two of the festival's most anticipated performances, headlined by internationally celebrated Irish mezzo-sopranos Paula Murrihy and Niamh O'Sullivan. Ms O'Sullivan's Where Birds Do Sing recital with pianist Gary Beecher from 3pm on Sunday, June 1 promises to be a standout moment – following their acclaimed appearance at Wigmore Hall, London. Some limited €35-€60 tickets are still available, but you will have to be quick. Paula Murrihy returns to the same venue for the festival finale, Baroque Hits, on Monday, June 2 from 8pm, performing with the Irish Baroque Orchestra under the baton of Nicholas McGegan. A handful of €25 tickets remain. ADVERTISEMENT Free outdoor recitals Throughout the week, a series of intimate classical performances will take place in historic homes and venues across the Blackwater Valley. The programme highlights include Shakespeare in Music, The Tinker and the Fairy, and a special poetry and music recital honouring George Bernard Shaw, with tickets starting at €25 for unallocated seating. However, there are also four lunchtime recitals that are free to attend on Tuesday, May 27 at Millenium Park in Lismore, on Friday, May 30 at at Walton Park in Dungarven, on Saturday, May 31 at Green Park in Youghal and on Sunday, June 1 at Castlemartyr Resort. They all start at 12pm and run for one hour, with the exception of Castlematyr, which starts at 1pm. Although there is no charge, attendees do need to book online at Witness the talent of tomorrow The festival supports emerging talent through four bursary awards, recognising exceptional promise in young artists and performers. This year's recipients will appear alongside Irish Heritage award winners in live performances during the week. Tickets for the recital of soprano Aimee Kearney and pianist Georgina Cassidy on Wednesday, May 28 from 1pm at Tourin House in Waterford are still available at €25 plus booking fee. Indulge in fine food – or a picnic Food lovers can look forward to a feast of flavours throughout the week, including a Midsummer-inspired menu created by celebrity TV chef Eunice Power, served in tents on the grounds of Lismore Castle. This three-course Italian-style meal is sold-out on Wednesday, May 28, but you can book for Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Dinner starts at 5.15pm and costs €85 per person for the standard menu or €75 for vegan. A booking fee is also added. Pre-show gourmet picnics are also available to order for Lismore Castle on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, or at Dromore Yard on Sunday and Monday. There's also an option at that location to pay a corkage fee of €10 to bring your own picnic. At Lismore Castle the picnic boxes showcase Comeragh lamb, Clare Island salmon and Irish cheeses, with a plant-based option also available. Both cost €55 plus a booking fee. At Dromore Yard, the menu includes either a chicken or falafel mezze costing €45 plus booking fee. Those heading to recitals can avail from some set menu deals at local eateries like The Saucy Hen in Villierstown, Barron's in Cappoquin, and Fuller's Bistro and The Vault Café in Lismore. All menus and prices are on the festival's website, where you can book meals.
Irish Post
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Proms go Baroque with Irish orchestra set to perform rare Dublin Handel piece
IN A LANDMARK moment for Irish classical music, the Irish Baroque Orchestra (IBO) will make its debut at the BBC Proms this summer, performing the 1742 Dublin version of Handel's Alexander's Feast at the Royal Albert Hall on August 30, 2025. It will be only the second time an orchestra from the Republic has performed at the Proms, following the New Irish Chamber Orchestra's appearance in 1979. The performance will be conducted by Peter Whelan, Artistic Director of the IBO, who described the invitation as a 'dream come true.' The version of Alexander's Feast being performed is unique to Ireland, reconstructed by the IBO using manuscripts uncovered at Pearse Street Library in Dublin. 'We made some discoveries… It was a bit like Indiana Jones, dusting off these old manuscripts,' Whelan said. 'There's extra material, and it's distributed in a different way. Even Handel scholars are finding it very exciting.' The IBO's Proms invitation followed a performance with Irish National Opera at the Royal Opera House last year, attended by Proms Director David Pickard. Aliye Cornish Moore, CEO of the IBO, said: 'He was blown away and confirmed almost straight away that he wanted the Irish Baroque Orchestra to appear.' The Proms appearance caps a period of growing international recognition for the IBO. In 2022, they won an Olivier Award for their work on Bajazet with Irish National Opera, and were nominated this year for L'Olimpiade . They have also released a string of recordings on Linn Records highlighting Irish classical music history, including The Hibernian Muse , Rachel Baptist: Ireland's Black Syren , and Welcome Home Mr Dubourg . Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan TD called it 'an important milestone in the history of classical music in Ireland.' Baroque & roll and Irish trad Baroque music is a style of Western classical music that originated around 1600 and lasted until roughly 1750. It's known for its ornamentation, contrast, and expressive intensity, and it laid much of the foundation for modern classical music. Famous Baroque composers, alongside Handel, include Bach and Vivaldi. Baroque music has a footnote in Irish traditional music. In the 18th century, for various reasons, Ireland was home to many European composers. It has been suggested that the rich ornamentation of Irish traditional music owes as much to Baroque music as it does to Celtic motifs. Ornamentation is a defining feature of both Baroque and Irish traditional music. In Irish music, ornamentation includes techniques like rolls, cuts, triplets, and crans, which add expressive nuances to melodies — or in the vernacular, 'they humour a tune.' Similarly, Baroque music is characterised by its elaborate ornamentation, such as trills and mordents, used to embellish musical lines. The shared emphasis on ornamentation suggests a stylistic overlap dating back to the 18th century. Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738), an Irish harper and composer, also displayed a debt to European Baroque music. Harp playing was not, strictly speaking, folk music — it was written for the Irish aristocracy. But O'Carolan's compositions often combined traditional Irish melodies with the Baroque style, reflecting the influence of composers like Vivaldi. To some extent, he can be seen as a bridge between the native Irish harping tradition and the European Baroque style. Handel's Messiah Alexander's Feast is not one of the best-known Baroque pieces, but it was the success of this composition that allowed Handel to compose more oratorios — including Messiah . This received its world premiere in Dublin on April 13, 1742, at Neal's Music Hall on Fishamble Street. The concert was organised to support local charities and drew a packed audience, with ladies asked to forgo hooped skirts and men to divest themselves of their swords to allow more people in — estimates put the crowd at 700. Handel had been invited to Dublin by the Lord Lieutenant and found the city's musical life vibrant and welcoming. The oratorio, composed in just 24 days, features the 'Hallelujah' chorus. Dubliners were the first to hear a work that would go on to become a global classic. Karen Ní Bhroin Irish conductor Karen Ní Bhroin will also make her Proms debut this year. On July 26, she will conduct the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers in a performance inspired by the BBC's reality show The Traitors . Presented by Claudia Winkleman, it will feature both afternoon and evening performances. Ní Bhroin, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Kent State University, is the first Irish female conductor to appear at the Proms. She is a recent recipient of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship and will also work this year with the Welsh National Opera, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Irish National Opera. This summer, she makes her debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele with a new opera by Irish composer Éna Brennan.
Irish Independent
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Festivals in Waterford: your guide to summer fun in the Deise
Whether it's dancing in the streets of Ireland's oldest city, listening to classical music while fine dining, or dressing up for the races, here are five summer carnivals to suit every taste in Waterford. International Festival of Time Waterford city is welcoming the return of the International Festival of Time, set to take place on Friday and Saturday, May 23 – 24. This globally celebrated event brings together master watchmakers, horology enthusiasts, collectors, and artisans for an unparalleled celebration of timekeeping excellence. The city is home to Ireland's only dedicated museum of watches and clocks, The Irish Museum of Time in the Viking Triangle, and is just a short distance from New Geneva, where Genevan watchmakers had decided to relocate their entire industry in 1784. The festival highlights for 2025 include Exhibitions of Rare and Exquisite Timepieces, which will showcase a breathtaking collection of handcrafted mechanical watches and antique timepieces. 'The International Festival of Time is a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the world of cutting-edge horology while experiencing the vibrant culture and heritage of Waterford,' said a spokesperson. Tickets at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Black Valley Opera Festival (BVOF) is returning to Waterford from May 27– June 2 for its fifteenth anniversary. Ireland's summer opera festival offers a richly-curated programme of opera and classical music set in 12 historic homes and venues across the Blackwater Valley. 'Join us for a week of 23 special events including full-scale operas, intimate concerts, bespoke dining experiences and free open-air recitals,' said an organiser. 'This year's programme has something for everyone, from opera fans to new audiences, from families to foodies.' The festival has evolved from a 2010 pop-up event into a flagship festival for Waterford, attracting thousands of visitors each year. The festival celebrates opera, classical music events, and dining at venues including Lismore Castle and the semi-restored Dromore Yard. Highlights this year include Benjamin Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream on May 28, 30, 31 and June 1, for which there are limited tickets remaining. Lismore Castle will play host to conductor David Brophy and director Patrick Mason, with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, while Henry Purcell - Dido and Aeneas are on May 27 and 29 in St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore, with Paula Murrihy, Dean Murphy, Kelli-Ann Masterson, the Irish Baroque Orchestra, and Nicholas McGegan. The Dromore Yard hosts on Niamh O'Sullivan and Gary Beecher with When Birds Do Sing, on June 1 and on June 2 it is Paula Murrihy, Irish Baroque Orchestra, and Nicholas McGegan. Recitals are from May 27 –June 2 in Salterbridge House, Tourin House, Villierstown Church, St Carthage's Cathedral, and Woodhouse Estate, with bespoke dining experiences at Lismore Castle. Final tickets are now on sale. Contact the box office at +353 87 407 9250 or visit Spraoi International Street Arts Festival Spraoi International Street Arts Festival transforms Waterford city from Friday to Sunday, August 1 - 3 into a giant stage where artists from around the world perform for free. The festival attracts audiences of all ages with an exciting programme of street performers, contemporary circus, music, dance, fireworks, and the Spraoi Festival Parade. This year is Spraoi Festival number 33, it began life under the wing of Red Kettle Theatre Company before flying on its own. The name was suggested by Dáithí Kimber. Since then thousands of performers have featured at Spraoi, audiences numbering hundreds of thousands have delighted in the magic, and Waterford is established as Ireland's street performance capital. See events at Tramore Horse Racing Festival The four-day August festival at Tramore Racecourse brings the seaside town alive, with racing each evening leaving days free to explore the coastline or Tramore's many bars and restaurants. Running from August 14-18, the Friday evening will be BBQ night at the racecourse, and on Saturday evening it's all about style as the winners of the lucrative best dressed competitions will be crowned. There is racing over the jumps on Thursday evening too and a final afternoon card of racing, again over jumps, on Sunday. Tickets at Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival Set in one of Waterford's most-loved seaside towns, the Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival brings together musicians from all over the world to celebrate their take on bluegrass or country music. Headliners last year included young US duo Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small, who hail from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwest Virginia and singer songwriter Hank Wangford from the UK. The 30th renewal is set for August 22, 24 and 24, with the line-up of acts and events to be revealed soon at
Irish Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘It's really a coup': Irish Baroque Orchestra to make BBC Proms debut with Handel ‘Dublin' oratorio not performed since 18th century
There must be nearly 50 people in Litton Hall. Stacks of chairs are pushed to the side of the audience area of the performance space at Wesley House, in Ranelagh in Dublin , which is often used for rehearsals. The curtains to the stage are closed, and sunlight is coming through a couple of high windows where the blinds aren't down. There are plenty of backpacks, jackets and instrument cases. On a large desk near the door sit a few copies of the vocal score for Bach's St Matthew Passion. Here, amid the clutter of the 21st century, period instruments and voices fill the room, soaring, powerful, moving, both grave and graceful. They are transporting the few of us listening at the edge back to the early 18th century. Not for nothing does the Irish Baroque Orchestra call itself Ireland's time-travelling orchestra. We're here on foot of the news, still under wraps on the day of this rehearsal, that they are to play at the BBC Proms this summer, performing a 1742 'Dublin version' of Handel's Alexander's Feast, dating from the period when the composer lived in Dublin, and pieced together for the first performance since that time. Today the ensemble is rehearsing Bach's great choral work for Easter. Twenty or so instrumentalists are sitting in a curve around their artistic director, Peter Whelan, who's both conducting and dipping down regularly to play harpsichord. There are two basses at the back, the organ in between, violins, violas and cellos in front. Four flutes (made of wood, as for Irish trad), a viola da gamba (similar to a cello) and four varieties of baroque oboe. READ MORE When the musicians change which ones of these they're playing, it's as if they're taking 'different instruments from a forest', Whelan says. Some are old, dating back to the 1700s; most are copies of period instruments, made using 18th-century techniques. 'We try to copy the sounds from that time, to make the music we do – music by Handel, Vivaldi, Bach – sound like you're hearing it for the first time. So the ink is fresh on the page, and that's how the audiences are hearing it. That's the plan. That's what we hope to do with our work.' At the front, facing the instrumentalists, are eight adult singers, in two groups of four, and eight children from the choir of St Patrick's Cathedral. The young choristers, who handle themselves thoroughly professionally, are here for the first part of the rehearsal, working on the sections they sing in, their voices sweet and pure. The Irish Baroque Orchestra in rehearsal at Litton Hall, Wesley House Leeson Park, Ranelagh. Photograph: Alan Betson Whelan envelops them into the larger ensemble. As rehearsal progresses, he is everywhere, hands, face, and body expressively bringing forward various sections, vigorous, animated. His hands twitch and sweep. He seems to have springs under his feet as he almost bounces or sways. His intake of breath is audible – pfff – or, as a movement subsides: oh . He encourages, praises, instructs. 'Lighten it.' 'That's tricky.' 'Make sure you hear their voices first.' 'The last note is a bit shorter.' This Passion is almost perfect, ready to go. Whelan talks later about the concept of rehearsal – 'Probe' in German, 'répétition' in French. The English derives from the medieval term for 'harrow again' – 'like pulling a plough through a field, and to do that again and again. That's where 'rehearsal' comes from. 'That's what we do, just keep dragging through the process and finding where there's weak spots, and trying to get the most out of the drama and get everybody on the same page. It's just about pulling all the people together and getting the same idea from them.' The mood is concentrated but confident. These are top-level musicians and singers, at ease with their skill and with each other. Occasionally, there's a moment of laughter as something unexpected happens. They have been rehearsing St Matthew Passion all week, and are polishing long sections at this stage, teasing out tricky intersections of the 70-plus short movements, chorales and arias. It's in glorious shape, exulting to hear up close and to witness how they bring it together. There's a sort of pleasing disjuncture between then and now: the sounds of the 18th century on baroque instruments, and the lives of the present. Almost as a reminder of this, as a powerful Bach chorus fills the hall, a young woman appears for a few moments, listening unseen at the door, with a tiny infant in her arms. This is Aoibhe Kelly, whose sister Doireann, the orchestra's general manager, is busy at the desk beside us; Kelly is minding four-month-old Orlando, who's travelled from Denmark with his mother, the mezzo-soprano Laura Lamph; she is singing her soul out inside. During a break, Whelan talks about the Irish Baroque Orchestra's Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London on August 30th. It will be just the second time that an ensemble from the Republic of Ireland has performed at the annual eight-week summer festival, which has been showcasing classical music to wide audiences since the BBC began broadcasting it in 1927. It marks a milestone for the orchestra, following on from an Olivier award in 2022 for their work on Vivaldi's Bajazet, an Irish National Opera and Royal Opera co-production, and another Olivier nomination this year, for Irish National Opera's production of another work by Vivaldi, L'Olimpiad, in collaboration with the orchestra. The German-British Baroque composer George Frideric Handel moved to Dublin, bringing his harpsichord with him briefly; he lived on Abbey Street for a period from late 1741. The first performance of his Messiah was at the New Musick Hall (Mr Neale's Great Room) on Fishamble Street on April 13th, 1742. That year also saw two Dublin performances, in February and March, of Handel's oratorio Alexander's Feast. They were acclaimed at the time, reflecting growing appreciation of his work. Handel's setting of Dryden's ode, Alexander's Feast, was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre in 1736. The libretto describes a banquet held by Alexander the Great and his lover Thaïs in the captured city of Persepolis, where they are entertained by the bard Timotheus, whose music evokes emotions of joy, love, sorrow and anger in Alexander. Dryden's text was adapted by Handel's friend Newburgh Hamilton, the Irish writer, who 'took care not to take any unwarrantable liberties' with the poet's original. The version the Irish Baroque Orchestra will perform at the Proms is different. 'We're incredibly proud to bring this music back to life with parts made specially for this occasion – and to do it on such an acclaimed stage is a dream come true,' Whelan says. Re-creating the Dublin version involves marrying scholarship and musical excellence; Whelan tells a good tale about it. 'A lot of the work we've been doing here is to find out what Handel found when he was in Dublin. Who are the musicians he was working for, what kind of music was going on? 'We've been on this big journey around Messiah, and we've discovered so much about the Irish musicians at the time that he found ... We made some discoveries in Pearse Street Library. It was a bit like Indiana Jones, dusting off these old manuscripts. People know Alexander's Feast, but this Irish version will be something new for a lot of people. We're really excited.' Conductor Peter Whelan directs musicians during rehearsal. Photograph: Alan Betson In this version's libretto, 'the words are subtly different. And the big difference is that the version most people know is in two parts, and this Irish version is in three parts. There's extra material, and it's distributed in a different way. It's quite an exciting thing for everybody. Even Handel scholars are finding it very exciting. And just to know that we have something that's Irish, that the rest of the world doesn't know about. 'We're proud about classical music. When I was a kid, I felt classical music was extra: it belonged somewhere else and not to us as Irish people. And now we look back and you see these great figures who are here performing, writing special pieces for Irish audiences. I think that's just great. It brings it home. We've owned this music. It belongs to us. It was written for us for 300 years or more. We have a right to be proud about it.' The newly discovered version is pieced together from 'two sets of dusty manuscripts'. The library's scholars and other staff – 'the real heroes behind this story' – found 'a word book, basically programme notes from the day, just the libretto and no music. That's where we found that there's three parts.' Some of the music turned up at the Royal College of Music in London, 'but not the complete bit of the music, only a bass line that one of the cellos would have been playing, with some of the words written. 'We could piece the two together', working it out, 'so those words more or less fit there. We had to kind of reconstruct it, and then it becomes clear that way. It's like two little bits that we can join together. It's a long process, but the bits came together in concrete form over the last year or so.' Whelan talks about how 'some sleuths pointed them out – scholars dragging these things to our attention – and then all the parts just came together. 'Oh, we could do this ...'' The musicologist Donald Burrows – 'he's Mr Handel' – has been supervising Whelan's reconstruction of the work. The Royal Albert Hall invitation came about after the orchestra's chief executive, Aliye Cornish Moore, invited the director of the Proms at the time, David Pickard, to hear them play at the Royal Opera House in London last year. 'We had been trying to get him to a performance for a while, so we were delighted when he accepted the invitation. He was blown away, and confirmed almost straight away that he wanted the Irish Baroque Orchestra to appear in the 2025 season. It was just a question of what we would perform,' she says. Cornish Moore is a musician too: she was guest principal violist with the orchestra a few times before taking on the management role, which she says is 'a golden opportunity to develop a national period orchestra, and work alongside lovely musicians'. The workload means it's not feasible for her to play with the orchestra any more, 'but I do occasionally fill gaps in our education and participation programming, which I love doing'. Royal Albert Hall: a Proms concert in 2022. Photograph: Mark Allan/BBC The Dublin version of Alexander's Feast will be an hour-and-a-half to two hours long, Whelan reckons. It will be a big operation getting the orchestra to London; Culture Ireland is providing support. The Irish Baroque Orchestra will have to grow for the occasion, to well over 100 musicians and singers. 'It has to be huge, because it's in the Albert Hall,' he says. 'It's the biggest version of ourselves there's ever been.' In the rehearsal, he's just stepped out of 'it's basically one person singing each part'. For the Proms, 'there will be a big choir, a full choir to fill that space. It'll be just a big crowd of people. We need to be a giant version of ourselves.' The Ulster Orchestra has performed at the Proms; the only other orchestra from south of the Border to have been invited was the New Irish Chamber Orchestra , which performed way back in 1979. Lindsay Armstrong, that ensemble's cofounder, first manager and oboe player, recalls their all-Bach programme that evening, conducted by the noted Irish Bach interpreter John Beckett. Mary Gallagher was the orchestra's leader; the singers were the soprano Irene Sandford, the contralto Bernadette Greevy, the tenor Frank Patterson and the bass William Young, along with the Cantata Singers. Armstrong and his wife, Gillian Smith, who are now friends of Whelan's, are 'delighted for Peter and the IBO'. Whelan was a piano student of Smith's for years at the Royal Irish Academy of Music; she was involved in him getting his first bassoon. The Irish Baroque Orchestra is vowing to do more than celebrate a forgotten version of a masterpiece: it also plans to 'remind audiences that baroque music is anything but modest: it's thrilling, dramatic and alive with energy and emotion. The IBO is on a mission to demystify the genre, inviting music lovers of all backgrounds to experience its raw power.' Whelan says, 'It's really a coup.' The BBC Proms 2025 run from Friday, July 18th, until Saturday, September 13th. The Irish Baroque Orchestra 's performance of Alexander's Feast will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, August 30th, at 7.30pm
