Latest news with #MastersofTradition
Irish Independent
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Cork singer takes starring role on Opera House stage amid array of concerts celebrating its 170th
Corkman Today at 08:00 Cork Opera House continues to keep the people of Leeside and those further afield entertained as the venue unveils three shows as part of its 170th anniversary celebrations. Following a Gala Concert earlier this year and the launch of its Send It Home campaign to collect historic memorabilia, the venue continues to entertain. The first of the unique shows, Hänsel und Gretel, takes to the stage on Sunday, August 24. The classic opera will be performed by members of the Cara O'Sullivan Associate Artists programme. Cork mezzo-soprano Niamh O'Sullivan (Hänsel) and Wexford soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson (Gretel) debut in the title roles of this fairy tale opera. They are joined by Rory Dunne, Bríd Ní Ghruagáin and Emma Nash and the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra conducted by Elaine Kelly. A night celebrating Cork and Irish traditional music swiftly follows on Wednesday, September 10, as a collaboration with Masters of Tradition, an internationally renowned Bantry-based festival. Martin Hayes is the Artistic Director and he is set to curate an evening full of music with several special guests, including Hayes' long-time collaborator, the acclaimed pianist, composer, and arranger Cormac McCarthy. The third instalment of this special 170th announcement will present a dazzling evening of music that pays tribute to Cork Opera House's rich jazz heritage. Swingin' & In Time – Jazz Giants at Cork Opera House Through the Decades - is a high-energy, glamorous celebration of jazz, featuring the dynamic Paul Dunlea Big Band and curated by acclaimed trombonist, arranger and composer Paul Dunlea. He will recreate some iconic jazz moments that blessed the Opera House stage over the decades with esteemed performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, and Blossom Dearie. Swingin' & In Time will hit the stage on Saturday, September 27. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Cork Opera House CEO and Artistic Director, Eibhlín Gleeson said the newly announced productions are 'a celebration of opera, traditional music and jazz.' 'Created in collaboration with some of Ireland's most esteemed artists and musicians, these performances reflect Cork Opera House's commitment to celebrating everything that makes Cork unique—its culture, its creativity, and its community. 'Each production is a testament to the innovation and artistry at the heart of Cork Opera House. As we mark 170 years of performance, we invite you to join us in celebrating this milestone with works that honour our past, resonate in the present, and inspire the future,' she concluded. Tickets are now on sale for these performances from and Box Office (021 4270022).
Irish Examiner
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Home pays homage to tradition in West Cork town that hosts 'Masters of Tradition' amongst other festivals
IF ever there was a home in tune with the festival ethos of its locality, it must be this one-off in triple-festival-blessed Bantry. The house is suitably elevated above the town, at Seskin, for the best bay views. Desperately seeking Seskin 'No detail has been left to chance; it really is a gem,' says estate agent Brendan Bowe, of this 1996-built home. It integrates architectural salvage and a Georgian lodge flair in to its design and finishes to put a twist on one of Bantry's trio of summer celebrations, so it is, in its own, sweet way, a master of tradition, as per the Masters of Tradition music festival. Sweet surrounds Summer festivities, worth an impressive €5m per season to the local economy, kick off later this month (June 27 July 6) with the 30th anniversary West Cork Chamber Music Festival, which consists of 60 performances in 10 venues, from otherwise private settings to the impressive Bantry House, with its 300 years of history. Keeping up with the Joneses? Better not try with venue Bantry House... Pausing for breath for less than a week, Bantry follows with the week-long West Cork Literary Festival, which has been graced in the past by Booker Prize winners, as well as facilitating workshops for budding writers of all ages, with a now almost annual benediction from local resident, international celebrity, and best-selling author, Graham Norton. Untraditional: local resident Graham Norton is almost a hardy annual at Bantry festivals Then, after a break of a month, the vibrant cultural hub rekindles with the Masters of Tradition Irish music festival, from August 20-24. Phew. And here's just the place to enjoy future summers of music and words down in the town, in a home that itself is crying out for the adornment of an Irish harp, harpsichord, or a piano — its own forte is harking back to the past. Now an executor sale, and having been in the one set of owners' hands since it was delivered in 1996, this is a home that's otherwise hard to date, such is the attention to detail and proportion. It has a slate roof, weighted over six sliding sash windows and feature demi-lune gable windows, ornamental detailing, ceiling cornices and plasterwork, salvaged staircase and refinished old wood floors, plus fine fireplaces, including one thought to be a genuine Adam chimneypiece, in white marble with brass insert and another in pitch pine in the principal bedroom, one of four bedrooms, in a c 2,476 sq ft house. Listed with a €850,000 price guide, its selling agent, Brendan Bowe, says that it is 'a property that was meticulously planned, detailed, and appointed by its original home owners, who fastidiously set about presenting a very interesting property, with many genuine Georgian period features, to deliver a home that is, quite simply, handsome and hypnotic'. Mr Bowe highlights its gracious rooms, ornate plasterwork, wainscoting, fireplaces, Georgian fanlit door case with old brasses/ironmongery, plus further fanlight over an inner hall door, reclaimed slate roof, ornate fascias, and ochre-tinged lime harling or external render. Make a grand entrance It's set on the higher end of its 1.6 acre of grounds, all inside automated electric gates, which are useful, since staff to open up the gates to visiting charabancs and carriages can be in rather short supply at times like this, of full employment and high-minded festival fun. VERDICT: A Regency timepiece, reinterpreted.
