Despite fine musical performances, Brett Dean’s Hamlet from the Met fails to appeal  

United StatesUnited States Brett Dean, Hamlet: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / Nicholas Carter (conductor), Broadcast Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, to the Dundonald Omniplex, Belfast, 4.6.2022. (RB)

(Back l-r) Dame Sarah Connolly (Gertrude); Rod Gilfry (Claudius), William Burden (Polonius) and Brenda Rae (Ophelia) © Karen Almond / Met Opera

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NI Opera returns to Belfast’s Lyric Theatre in February 2022 with Into The Woods

Northern Ireland Opera (NI Opera) announces its return to Belfast’s Lyric Theatre next February 2022 to stage Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s Into The Woods, one of the most iconic and popular shows in the musical theatre canon, richly laden with symbolism, magic and metaphor. (Sadly, Sondheim passed away recently and for Seen and Heard‘s tribute click here.)

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Conor Mitchell’s new opera for children is not without a dark side

IrelandIreland Conor Mitchell’s The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children: Soloists, The Belfast Ensemble / Tom Brady (Conductor), Livestreamed from Belfast’s Lyric Theatre as part of 2021 Belfast Children’s Festival, 12.3.2021. (RB)

Conor Mitchell’s The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children (c) Neil Harrison

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