Songs for Ronnie: A recital of songs and arias dedicated to the memory of the great soprano and singing teacher Veronica Dunne (1927 &ndash\; 2021)\, to include arias by Bizet\, Massenet and Tchaikovsky\, as well as songs by Irish composers Thomas Moore\, Percy French\, William Balfe\, Joan Trimble\, Ina Boyle\, Hamilton Harty\, Herbert Hughes\, T.C. Kelly\, E.J. Moeran\, William Vincent Wallace and a selection of traditional Irish airs.
\n\nNiamh O&rsquo\;Sullivan &ndash\; Mezzo-Soprano
\nGary Beecher &ndash\; Piano
Songs for Ronnie
\n\nCork native mezzo-soprano \;Niamh O&rsquo\;Sullivan \;is praised for her &ldquo\;bewitchingly beautiful\, dark vibrant voice&rdquo\; (Sü\;ddeutscheZeitung). A 2023&ndash\;2025 BBC New Generation Artist and former studio member of the Bayerische Staatsoper\, O&rsquo\;Sullivan has quickly established herself as one of the most exciting mezzos today.
\n\nThe 2024/25 season sees O&rsquo\;Sullivan make a series of house and role debuts\, including her house and role debut as Ino \;Semele \;for Thé\;â\;tre des Champs-Elysé\;es\, and as Olga \;Eugene Onegin \;for Canadian Opera Company\, Ino \;Semele \;in her return to the Royal Opera House\, and role debuts as Ursule \;Bé\;atrice et Bé\;né\;dict \;and Maddalena \;Rigoletto \;for Irish National Opera.
\n\nO&rsquo\;Sullivan continues as a 2023&ndash\;2025 BBC New Generation Artist\, with plans to include a gala concert with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales\, and recitals at the Wigmore Hall with pianist Gary Beecher and St George&rsquo\;s\, Bristol\, alongside her recital work in the UK and at home in Ireland.
\n\nIn the 2023/24 season\, O&rsquo\;Sullivan made her role debut as Wellgunde in a new Barrie Kosky production of \;Das Rheingold \;at the Royal Opera House\, Wellgunde in \;Das Rheingold \;and \;Gö\;tterdä\;mmerung \;and Mercé\;dè\;s \;Carmen \;for Opernhaus Zü\;rich\, and her role debut as Carmen \;La tragé\;die de Carmen \;at the Buxton Festival.
\n\nOther recent plans have included Meg Page \;Falstaff \;at Opernhaus Zü\;rich\, Mercé\;dè\;s \;Carmen \;at English National Opera\, Mirza \;Lalla-Roukh \;and Paulina \;Ein Wintermä\;rchen \;with Wexford Festival Opera. O&rsquo\;Sullivan&rsquo\;s close association with Irish National Opera has seen her sing Charlotte \;Werther\, Mercé\;dè\;s \;Carmen\, Tisbe \;La Cenerentola\, Third Maid \;Elektra\, Asteria \;Bajazet \;and Alva in the world premiere of \;The First Child \;for the company.
\n\nIn concert\, O&rsquo\;Sullivan has performed Elgar \;Sea Pictures \;at the Prinzregententheater for the Munich Festspiele\, Mozart \;Requiem \;and Handel \;Messiah \;with the Mü\;ncherHofkantorei\, the main role of Cain in Scarlatti \;Il primo omicidio \;with The Jakobsplatz Orchester conducted by Daniel Grossmann\, Cousser \;The Applause of Mount Parnassus \;at the Wigmore Hall with Ensemble Marsyas conducted by Peter Whelan\, \;The Messiah \;with the Ulster Orchestra\, Second harlot in Handel \;Solomon \;with the English Concert and Mahler Symphony No.2 with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anja Bihlmaier.
\n\nAs a member of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper from 2016 to 2018\, O&rsquo\;Sullivan&rsquo\;s roles included Hä\;nsel \;Hä\;nsel und Gretel\, Kate Pinkerton \;Madama Butterfly\, the Secretary in Menotti \;The Consul\, Flora \;La traviata\, Barena \;Jenufa \;and a concert performance of \;Der Rosenkavalier \;at Carnegie Hall conducted by Kirill Petrenko.
\n\nO&rsquo\;Sullivan studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin and was a participant of the Acadé\;mie du Festival d&rsquo\;Aix-en-Provence in 2023.
\n\nInternational award-winning pianist \;Gary Beecher \;is one of Ireland&rsquo\;s most versatile musicians\, with a varied career as a soloist\, collaborator\, musical director and educator.
\n\nGary is passionate about collaborating with singers and has had several international competition successes in recent years\, including 1st Prize at the International Nadia and Lili Boulanger Voice-Piano Competition (France)\, the Rudolf Jansen Pianist Prize at the 53rd International Vocal Competition LiedDuo (Netherlands)\, and Pianist Prize at the International Helmut Deutsch Song Competition (Austria). Additionally\, Gary enjoys working as an assistant conductor and repetiteur. He has worked on several productions as repetiteur\, musical director and curator at the Cork Opera House\, and with Irish National Opera and Blackwater Valley Opera Festival\, among others.
\n\nAs a soloist\, Gary was a winner of the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year among several other national awards. He has recorded and performed as a soloist with both the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and RTÉ\; Concert Orchestra and has also performed with Camerata Ireland &\; Southbank Sinfonia London as an orchestral pianist. Venues he has performed in include the Barbican Centre and Wigmore Hall\, London\, the National Concert Hall\, Dublin and all major venues across Ireland as well as several venues across Europe.
\n\nRadio broadcasts include both live and recorded performances on BBC Radio Three\, Classic FM\, RTÉ\; Radio One and RTÉ\; Lyric FM.
\n\nGary trained at the MTU Cork School of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama London. Gary is now a member of the Keyboard Faculty at the MTU Cork School of Music and has given masterclasses to the MA Piano Accompaniment students at Guildhall in London.
\n LOCATION:Triskel Arts Centre\, Tobin Street\, Cork City UID:e.2489.34210 SEQUENCE:3 DTSTAMP:20260525T170516Z URL:https://chamber.corkchamber.ie/events/details/spotlight-chamber-music-series-iv-12-14-2024-34210 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR