A ONE OFF concert of international class Limerick and Irish opera singers and pianists will take place in St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday June 15, 8pm, pouring sweet music for mid Summer.
Bringing it home is bass-baritone Kevin Neville, a Corbally man about to spring for scholarship study and performance at Germany’s Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. Having completed his 1st class Masters in Music Performance at DIT Conservatory, this evidently able singer has bagged a bursary from The Arts Council and a scholarship to the Studio.
There’s a camber to lilt this troubadour stride, however. Fees are an extraordinary €7,000.
This student graduate has serious deficit ‘twixt the support monies in and the outlay required in a vocation for which training is monstrously expensive. The Weimar faculty “is a feasible one” compared to industry standard, Kevin Neville makes clear.
Thus, friendships rally.
Limerick women Sinead Fitzpatrick, who like Neville began with Olive Cowpar; Sarah-Ellen Murphy and Martha O’Brien are joined by Dubliners Amy Ní Fhearraigh and Peter O’Reilly. There are two professional pianists to accompany them, Aoife O’Sullivan and Adam McDonagh at St Mary’s Cathedral on June 15.
“I applied for Lyric Opera’s course last year quite late in the year. I couldn’t go due to financial restraint and they got back to me this year with the offer of two operas and not one.
“They have offered me the roles of Leporello in ‘Don Giovanni’ and Sarastro in ‘Die Zauberflöte’ [The Magic Flute], which will be sung in German, obviously. Leporello sings a very famous aria, ‘The Catalogue’ which is all the women that Giovanni has been with through Europe – Italy and France and Spain.
“Lepello has been keeping a book and in Spain alone the number was 1003.”
Strewth. Through this electrifying list of names, we hear that the Don tries them all: “fat women, skinny, rich women and poor – anything with a skirt on” . Or off.
Support will be most welcome to hear the Cathedral’s six trained operatics with piano accompaniment. Anticipate Schumann duets and Liebeslieder Waltzer by Brahms.
€20 on the door for 8pm.
