Home
This year's Symphony Sessions feature a selection of classical music inspired by life's great themes, from the heart-wrenching aria that is Henry Purcell's Dido's Lament and the achingly beautiful Song to the Moon from the opera Rusalka to Beethoven's powerful Coriolan Overture.
Each of our four programmes will be dedicated to Love, Death, Power and Nature which have inspired composers to write music that can excite the senses and stir the passions.
Barry Douglas will present the series once again and conduct the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra as well as performing himself in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 among other pieces.
Barry's musical experience will be accompanied and complimented by four young sopranos all blazing their own highly successful trail into the music world.
- Mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught from Dundalk, a prizewinner at the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, will perform Purcell's Dido's Lament from Dido and Aenaes;
- Celine Byrne from Naas in Co. Kildare, who has sung for Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI, will perform Dvorák's 'Song to the Moon' from the opera Rusalka.
- Mozart's 'Queen of the Night' Aria will be sung by prize winning soprano Katy Kelly from Dublin;
- And New Zealand born Rebecca Ryan who first came to international prominence when she gave the UK premičre of the newly rediscovered Gloria by Handel at London's Royal Academy of Music will be accompanied by Barry Douglas when she performs Mozart's Ch'io mi scordi di te?
This year's series will again include interviews with orchestra members as well as the sopranos and you will be able to catch all the behind the scenes action in the build up to the music performances.
