Cork Opera and Irish National Opera are joining forces to produce and present a pilot event at Cork Opera on Saturday 10 July.

The event will be the first live opera performance with a gallery present and will feature Cork’s own Majella Cullagh.

This will follow the country’s first music festival at Royal Hospital Kilmainham on July 3, while Christy Moore is also set to perform an indoor concert at INEC Killarney this weekend.

Casta Diva, An Evening with Majella Cullagh and Guests will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday July 10.

Some of the country’s top lyric talents including soprano Emma Nash, mezzo-soprano Niamh O Sullivan, tenor Gavan Ring and baritone Brendan Collins will join Majella for the show.

“My colleagues and I are very excited to be singing in front of a live audience again. We missed the energy and atmosphere of the live concerts and we missed singing together. We can’t wait to share our favorite tunes and duets with the audience and we look forward to returning to the Cork Opera stage for this special and historic event, ”said Ms Cullagh.

The program will include the magical aria Casta Diva by Bellini by Norma and the famous quartet by Rigoletto by Verdi as well as many other special lyrical moments.

Although official attendance has not been confirmed, the event will have reduced capacity due to social distancing guidelines. This will be the first live opera performance to an audience since March 2020.

“This is a great moment for the Cork Opera House. It symbolizes the beginning of our return to performing arts and is an important step towards the end of this very difficult time for the artists, the audience and the staff,” said Eibhlin Gleeson, CEO of Cork Opera. mentionned.

“We are privileged to work with the Irish National Opera and delighted to once again welcome one of our all-time favorite divas, Majella Cullagh and her guests to our stage. There is no better artist to welcome the people of Cork to the Cork Opera House than Majella. We know it will be a special and poignant evening and we look forward to welcoming our clients back to their opera house, ”said Ms. Gleeson.

Fergus Sheil, artistic director of the Irish National Opera, said the return of live opera will be a “moving and memorable experience”.

“The pandemic has taught us to be resourceful, resilient and imaginative as we have produced concerts and productions online, made films, planned site-specific projects, and did all we could to keep the opera flame alive. life. But first and foremost everyone craves one thing: the chance to enjoy exciting lyrical performances with artists and audiences in the same space, ”said Mr. Sheil.

Tickets for this event will go on sale Monday June 28 at www.corkoperahouse.ie. Due to the reduced capacity, guests are advised to book early.