The National Concert Hall will stream four live concerts, starting on Friday 29 May on 8pm, as part of their new NCH Live Stream Series - the series will be available to watch live here at RTÉ Culture.
Up first are celebrated Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught and pianist Dearbhla Collins performing Songs of Comfort and Hope. To celebrate the occasion, We asked Tara for her choice cultural picks...
FILM
Waking Ned - a brilliant Irish comedy with a stellar cast. I watch it at least once a year when I am traveling and missing home.
MUSIC
Too much to pick from... I am a huge Gavin James fan, and recently I discovered Allie Sherlock from Cork through Instagram. So many brilliant Irish singers! Since the lockdown, I haven't been able to listen to anything classical... but Mozart’s Don Giovanni finale is a huge favorite of mine and to get myself motivated I listen to the late, great Jessie Norman sing Dich teure Halle.
BOOK
During my last contract in New York I finished the third book (Once, Twice, Three Times An Aisling) in the OMGWACA book series! I am a big Sarah Breen and Emer Mc Lysaght Fan! Have been for the entire series.
THEATRE
I was so lucky to get to attend the opening night of Conor McPherson's latest show Girl From The North Country at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway, New York. The intensity of the show touched me, the singing was astounding and the entire audience was living every moment alongside the cast.
TELEVISION
The A Word on BBC is a wonderful drama, and I would never miss Grace & Frankie on Netflix. I rewatch Irish Gogglebox, I have also recently rewatched The Crown on Netflix and Downtown Abbey.
GIG
I don’t know when I will next perform myself, or be able to attend a live performance... the sooner we get back on stage and back into the rehearsal room, the better.
TECH
I would be lost without Netflix (traveling it’s so wonderful to continue to watch a series and keep some kind of continuity). I love my Fitbit, and have used it since 2013, the app is especially helpful when I am jet-lagged and working, I can figure out how much I slept on a flight or if I have had enough sleep to do a show. And lastly Duo Lingo! When you travel as much as I do, it’s so important to have a certain ability to speak the language of where you are working. I always try and keep German, French and Italian up to conversational level, beginners Spanish, a few phrases of Russian... It really works!
Big news for our Arabic course: we've added lots more content (15 new skills!) and updated its text-to-speech to a more simplified version.
— Duolingo (@duolingo) May 22, 2020
In honor of #Ramadan and #EidAlFitr, join 2.3 million learners to start or continue learning today! https://t.co/WK8jWeba6V pic.twitter.com/LxOshV7w8A
THE NEXT BIG THING...
Allie Sherlock! I have had more time recently to cruise social media, I heard this young lady singing, and I was simply blown away. Such soul and a colorful voice! Check her out!
Tara Erraught performs live from the National Concert Hall stage on May 29th at 8 pm - the performance will available to view on the NCH Facebook and YouTube pages, and here at RTÉ Culture.
