Robert Beattie

A sparkling, delightful, though small-scale, INO The Bartered Bride full of zest and energy

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IrelandIreland Smetana, The Bartered Bride: Soloists, Chorus and Ensemble of Irish National Opera / Richard Peirson (piano, conductor), Garage Theatre, Monaghan, 27.11.2025. (RB)

Amy Ní Fhearraigh (Mařenka), Egor Zhuravskii (Jeník) and John Molloy (Kecal) © Patricio Cassinoni

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An outstanding account of Handel’s Deidamia at Wexford

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IrelandIreland Wexford Festival Opera 2025 [3] – Handel, Deidamia: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera / George Petrou (conductor). O’Reilly Theatre, Wexford, 26.10.2925. (RB)

Bruno de Sá (l, Achilles) and Sophie Junker (c, Deidamia) and members of the cast of Deidamia © Pádraig Grant

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An excellent Wexford performance cannot disguise the flaws in Delius’s The Magic Fountain

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IrelandIreland Wexford Festival Opera 2025 [2] – Delius, The Magic Fountain: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera / Francesco Cilluffo (conductor). O’Reilly Theatre, Wexford, 25.10.2025. (RB)

Wexford Festival Opera’s The Magic Fountain © Pádraig Grant

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An intriguing, virtuoso Belfast celebration of the Boulez centenary

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Boulez: Anthems and Dialogues: Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble (Aisling Agnew [flute], Sarah Watts [clarinet], Darragh Morgan [violin], David McCann [cello], Daniel Browell [piano]), Xenia Pestova Bennett (magnetic resonator piano), Peter O’Doherty (electronics). Sonic Lab, Queens University, Belfast, 19.10.2025. (RB)

Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble’s Boulez: Anthems and Dialogues

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A fine concert performance of Carmen in Dublin

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IrelandIreland Bizet, Carmen (concert performance): Soloists, Chorus Ireland (chorus director: David Young) and Cór na nÓg (chorus director: Mary Amond O’Brien), National Symphony Orchestra / Jessica Cottis (conductor). National Concert Hall, Dublin, 10.10.2025. (RB)

Soloists, choruses, conductor and the National Symphony Orchestra performing Carmen in Dublin @ Caoimhe O’Carroll

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