Intriguing programme of contemporary works performed with flair by Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Distant Plains: Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble (Aisling Agnew [flute], Sarah Watts [clarinet], David McCann [cello], Daniel Browell [piano], Michael Trainor [violin] / Matthew Lynch [conductor]. Harty Room, Queen’s University, Belfast, 13.12.2024. (RB)

Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble

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Sestina Music convey the intense spirituality of music by Charpentier and de Brossard in Belfast

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Sestina Music’s Lux et Umbra – Charpentier, Sébastien de Brossard: Sestina Music (Mark Chambers [musical director / countertenor], Sarah Keating, Áine Smith [sopranos], Laoise O’Brien, Elisabeth Vogel [recorders], Sarah Groser [viols], Tristan Russcher [keyboards]). Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, Belfast, 19.9.2024. (RB)

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NIO’s Eugene Onegin in Belfast – 14 to 21 September 2024

NORTHERN IRELAND OPERA PRESENTS EUGENE ONEGIN at The Grand Opera House Belfast

Directed by Cameron Menzies and conducted by Dominic Limburg

Featuring the Chorus of Northern Ireland Opera and the Orchestra of Northern Ireland Opera on 14, 17, 19, 21 September 2024 at 7.30pm

Love, friendship and fidelity collide with devastating consequences.
A story of passion, pride, a moment’s madness, a duel and a true love lost.

Northern Ireland Opera today announces Principal Cast and Creatives in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece Eugene Onegin this September in Belfast. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s classic novel in verse, one of the most lyrical and beautiful pieces of literature adapted for opera, this stunning production will be directed by the renowned national opera company’s Artistic director Cameron Menzies (Nominated Best Director for Into the Woods Irish Times’s Irish Theatre Awards 2022 and Winner of three Paris Short Film Awards for film Old Friends and Other Days).

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Soprano Wendy Ferguson and pianist Ruth McGinley breathe fresh life into some iconic songs in Belfast

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Gershwin, Porter and Sondheim, ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’: Wendy Ferguson (soprano), Ruth McGinley (piano), Connor Quinn (baritone), John Gillen (drumkit), Peter Doherty (bass), Cameron Menzies (director), Nuala Campbell (hair and make up designer). MAC Theatre, Belfast, 13.4.2024. (RB)

Soprano Wendy Ferguson and pianist Ruth McGinley

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Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble’s highly creative and inventive way to celebrate International Women’s Day

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Plugged in: International Women’s Day Concert: Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble / Sinead Hayes (conductor). Sonic Lab, Queen’s University Belfast, 8.3.2024. (RB)

Daniel Browell (piano), David McCann (cello), Daniel Browell (piano) and Joanne Quigley McParland (violin)

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Belfast Philharmonic Choir’s accomplished performance of Stanford’s rarely performed Requiem

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stanford, Requiem, Op.63: Mary McCabe (soprano), Cicely Hé (mezzo-soprano), Aaron O’Hare (tenor), Brendan Collins (baritone), Belfast Philharmonic Choir, Ulster Orchestra / James Grossmith (conductor), Ulster Hall, Belfast, 5.11.2023. (RB)

James Grossmith conducts the Belfast Philharmonic Choir

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