While the Temple House Festival was brought forward from its September date last year to beat Oxegen to the punch as the first Irish festival of the summer, those of you who want music without mud will be happy to know that the Killruddery Festival of Arts (which, this year, features Il Divo, Colm Wilkinson and ‘As You Like It’) will begin next Sunday, July 17th, with Veronica Dunne’s renowned Opera at the Orangery.
Since 2005, Ireland’s Grand Dame of opera, Veronica Dunne (who talked to us last year about the festival & Irish Opera), has hosted these wonderful operatic garden parties.
The two-evening extravaganza, now in its 6th year, once again features the winners of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition and has proven in the past to be a platform from which a career can be launched. Each night has a different programme, promising to both delight audiences and bring the Elizabethan surrounds of Killruddery vibrantly to life.
On July 17th audiences have the chance to hear arias and duets from soprano Sandra Oman and mezzo soprano Deirdre Masterson; while on July 24th the event features the internationally successful mezzo soprano Imelda Drumm, who hails from Wicklow and will just have finished singing Die Fledermaus at Niall Morris’ Loughcrew.
The concerts are supported by soprano Edel Shannon, tenors Aaron Cawley and Ryan Morgan, baritone Rory Musgrave and piano accompaniment comes from Dearbhla Collins and Mairead Hurley who are no strangers to working in Killruddery and with Ronnie’s protégés.
Audiences can expect a broad selection of operatic work, ranging from Mozart (Idomeneo and La Clemenza di Tito) to Massenet (Manon), Elgar (Sea Picture) to Puccini (La Bohème). No evening of opera would be complete without a little bit of Carmen to really get those toes tapping and, of course, Ronnie never disappoints in her programme.
The magnificent voices and stunning accompaniment of a well-balanced and extensive programme in the breathtaking surroundings of the Orangery at Killruddery House guarantee both these Sunday afternoons of opera a ‘must-see’ event on the opera music diary.
Opera at the Orangery runs from 3pm-6pm Sunday July 17 & 24, 2011 at Killruddery House and Gardens, Bray, Co Wicklow.
Tickets are priced at €60, including wine & canapés, and advanced booking is required on (01) 415 0445.
