Future Northern Ireland Opera Performances
It’s 1971 and the girls of Weismann’s ‘Follies’ are returning with their partners to the decaying theatre on Broadway which holds so many memories for them, for one last time before it is demolished.
Time may have moved on, but inside the theatre old connections stir, rivalries flare and ghosts of the past are woken. By the time they leave the theatre for one last time, their world’s will have shifted and nothing will be the same again.
With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Goldman, this legendary work features unforgettable songs including ‘Broadway Baby’, ‘I’m Still Here’, ‘Could I Leave You’, and ‘Losing My Mind’.‘Follies’ will be directed by Cameron Menzies, Artistic Director of Northern Ireland Opera. His production of ‘Into The Woods’ at The Lyric Theatre, also with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, was awarded Best Production at The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards in 2022.
We’re excited to be auditioning soon in Northern Ireland and London and will be sharing casting news in a future newsletter…
Listings information:
Box office: 028 9024 191
Venue: The Grand Opera House, Belfast
Dates: 6 performances: 13, 16, 18, 19, 20 September 2025
Time: 7.30pm on each date, including a 2.30pm matinee on 20 September
Prices: From £17.50 to £60.00 including booking fee.
Music for Good Friday – Haydn’s ‘The Seven Last Words of Christ’
Northern Ireland Opera soloists and the NI Opera Chorus are performing a concert with The Ulster Orchestra on Good Friday, April 18 at The Ulster Hall.
Soprano Mary McCabe, mezzo Jenny Bourke, tenor Euan McDonald and baritone Seamus Brady will be our soloists for this deep, contemplative drama based on the events leading up to the crucifixion and the earthquake that marked the moment of Jesus’s death.
Tickets are £9 to £40 including booking fee, and the evening includes a performance by the Ulster Orchestra of Richard Strauss’s ‘Metamorphosen’.
Applications to enter the 15th Glenarm Festival of Voice Competition are now open!
If you are aged 18 to 28 and were born on the island of Ireland, are pursuing a career in opera or studying voice or piano at third level, you are eligible to apply.
This year’s festival will take place from 22-24 August 2025 in the historic coastal town of Glenarm in County Antrim. The vocal finalists and piano intern selected from applications will spend four days working with professional opera coaches before performing in a live competition finale in front of an audience and judging panel.
Find out more details in the link – and do put the festival dates in your diary – information about the BBC recitals and other events during the Glenarm Festival will be coming soon.
‘La Voix Humaine’ touring to Cork
Our production of Poulenc’s ‘La Voix Humaine’ will be performed at the Everyman Cork on 5 June.
We’re excited to be taking this phenomenal work to new audiences after performances in Hillsborough Castle, The Playhouse Derry/Londonderry, The MAC Belfast and Narrow Water Arts Festival in Warrenpoint to date.
Performed by soprano Mary McCabe and pianist David Quigley and directed by Cameron Menzies, this highly charged one-act, one-woman opera is based on a play of the same name written by Jean Cocteau, who directed the first production in 1959.
We look forward to showcasing Northern Irish talent in The Everyman, Cork. Find out more and book via the link.
Northern Ireland Opera recommends…
NI Opera Chorus members and regular soloists soprano Susan Shepherd, mezzo-soprano Jenny Bourke and pianist Tristan Russcher are performing Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ on 12 April.
Tickets are available on the door at First Church, Rosemary Street for this recital of Lenten music.
