CULTURE FILE PRESENTS: THE COMFORT ZONE
Another guest brings a good reason for Colm Tóibín and everybody else to leave their culture comfort zones. This time, drummer-vocalist and member of contemporary Irish supergroup Oxn, Eleanor Myler suggests the essential Krautrock of Neu!
A Soundsdoable production for RTÉ lyric fm
Produced and presented by Luke Clancy
Associate producer: Niamh Daly
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RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 11th October, 6.30pm-7pm
OPERA NIGHT WITH PAUL HERRIOTT
Paul Herriott looks back at Wexford Festival Opera 2024 again this week. Tonight Donizetti's Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Conventions and Inconveniences of the Stage) a two-act farce takes to the stage and shines an exaggerated spotlight on the behind-the-scenes working of a theatre and the rehearsal process, showing what can go wrong when the egos of the performers get in the way of putting on a good show. A regional (and mediocre) operatic troupe is rehearsing a new work and faces numerous obstacles. The prima donna acts every bit the diva, refusing to rehearse. The tenor finds himself in the wrong production and quite out of his depth. The Seconda Donna's mother (played by a baritone) demands that her daughter be given a more prominent role, before deciding to take on several roles herself. Not to be outshone, the Prima Donna's husband takes to the stage too. When the show eventually collapses and the company tries to flee under cover of night, rather than pay back all the investors (whose money has already been spent), the Impresario has other plans... Danila Grassi conducts the Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra and Chorus. (First broadcast 26th October 2024)
RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 11th October, 7pm-10pm
VOX NOSTRA WITH VLAD SMISHKEWYCH
A celebration of indigenous Peoples' contributions to the early music of the Americas is on the playlist for Vox Nostra, ahead of October 12 and the Day of Cultural Diversity, a holiday which celebrates the mix of Indigenous, European, and African heritage in the Americas. Multiple early music recordings since the 1980s and 1990s have delved into the amazing repertoire by indigenous people, who absorbed and modified the musical language of Europeans in the Americas. Exquisite harmonies and intriguing rhythms and melodies abound with choral music, consort pieces for winds, and works for organ - just a few of the jewels in the treasure trove of music this Sunday morning on Vox Nostra. Plus, Vlad prepares listeners for the offerings at this year's East Cork Early Music Festival.
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 12th October, 7am-10am
THE LYRIC FEATURE
Connie Gets A Rewrite
Limerick-born Constance 'Connie' Smith's meteoric entry into the movie business - under contract to 20th Century Fox and under the eye of film producer Darryl F. Zanuck, an instant 'it' girl - set a course for Hollywood stardom. But things don't always work out the way you hope. Connie Gets A Rewrite tells the sad, tragic story of Connie - a story which might finally have an exultant third act. In 2025, Constance "Connie" Smith is being celebrated on the walls and in the streets of Limerick, as well as in Connie, a new immersive theatre show by Limerick playwrights, Ann Blake and Joanne Ryan. Historian Sharon Slater leads us through the streets of Limerick to tell the story of a lost Irish icon and those working to bring her back into the spotlight.
Connie Gets a Rewrite is a Soundsdoable Production
Presented by Sharon Slater.
Produced by Luke Clancy.
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 12th October, 6pm-7pm
THE FULL SCORE WITH LIZ NOLAN
The Irish Chamber Orchestra celebrates thirty years of music making in Limerick this week and we are delighted to salute our nearest musical neighbours on RTÉ lyric fm. All week on The Full Score with Liz Nolan we'll have concerts featuring this wonderful orchestra. Today's concert was recorded live in St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny as part of Kilkenny Arts Festival.
Journey with us into the night - from the inventive inner worlds of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 to the dusky hues of Schoenberg's Notturno. Lay awake and feel the lush warmth of Amy Beach's Romance, before the searing heartbreak of Barber's Adagio for Strings. Then gaze into starlight for the night-inspired miniatures of Henning Kraggerud's Equinox and Lili Boulanger's Nocturne. Mahler's Adagietto speaks of sleepless nights, and love, and timeless longing. Finally, Bach's Violin Concerto in A minor brings the programme full circle, back to the lyrical brilliance of the Baroque.
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3
Schoenberg: Notturno
Amy Beach (orch. Trotman): Romance, Op.23
Barber: Adagio for Strings
Kraggerud: Equinox, Night - Concerto in F sharp; F sharp minor (Puerto Vallarta)
Lili Boulanger (arr. Lund): Nocturne
Mahler: Adagietto
J.S. Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Henning Kraggerud Director/Violin
RTÉ lyric fm, Monday 13th October, 1pm-4pm
NIALL CARROLL'S CLASSICAL DAYTIME
Niall Carroll plays music from the heart of the classical repertoire, with Sounds on Screen, a piece from the big or small screen each day at 11am, and each day at midday one of Niall's Five of a Kind. This week Niall chooses five movements from Hector Berlioz's symphonic works.
RTÉ lyric fm, Tuesday 14th October, 10am-1pm
LORCAN MURRAY’S CLASSIC DRIVE
Classic Drive brings you the perfect musical soundtrack, including Lorcan's Pick of the Week: Antonín Dvorák's Slavonic Dances come to life in a vibrant new recording by the Czech Philharmonic, led by Simon Rattle. These vivid orchestral gems, full of rhythmic vitality, folkloric colour, and lyrical charm, are central to Dvorák's legacy and pivotal in defining a Czech national sound. And with news, weather and sports, Lorcan's with you all the way!
RTÉ lyric fm, Tuesday 14th October, 4pm-7pm
MARTY IN THE MORNING
Join Marty as he takes the chill out of your early mornings with music, news, weather and travel updates.
RTÉ lyric fm, Wednesday 15th October, 7am-10am
THE FULL SCORE WITH LIZ NOLAN
The Irish Chamber Orchestra celebrates thirty years of music making in Limerick this week and we are delighted to salute our nearest musical neighbours on RTÉ lyric fm. All week on The Full Score with Liz Nolan we'll have concerts featuring this wonderful orchestra.
Deirdre McKay's Meltwater evokes the fragile beauty of ice slowly melting, an emotional reflection on water in a time of climate change. With subtle, shimmering textures, it captures both the wonder of nature and the quiet urgency of a warming world.
In contrast, Handel's Water Music offers a lively dance-driven celebration of nature's beauty drawing on historical grandeur and dance rhythms, for performance on the Thames. It's music that dances, dazzles, and delights.
Deirdre McKay: Meltwater
Handel: Water Music
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Richard Egarr, conductor
RTÉ lyric fm, Thursday 16th October, 1pm-4pm
AEDÍN IN THE AFTERNOON
A special edition of Aedín in the Afternoon as we broadcast live from the Spiegeltent on Wexford Quay for a live programme celebrating the opening of Wexford Festival Opera - and musical life in Wexford.
RTÉ lyric fm, Friday 17th October, 1pm-4pm
RTÉ LYRIC LIVE WITH PAUL HERRIOTT
Live from Wexford Festival Opera 2025
Live from the National Opera House in Wexford Paul Herriott brings us the much anticipated opening night production of Verdi's Le Trouvère. Two brothers, separated at birth under tragic circumstances, who unknowingly become enemies. Manrique sung by Eduardo Niave, has been raised by the gypsy, Azucena (sung by Kseniia Nikolaieva), as a troubadour, while the other, the Comte de Luna (sung by Giorgi Lomiseli), grows up as a nobleman. Their rivalry leads to war and love triangles where both turn out to be in love with the same woman, Leonore (sung by Lydia Grindatto). Tragically, the Comte's determination leads him to order the execution of Manrique, before discovering his real identity. Marcus Bosch conducts the Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Tonight's opera will be broadcast across the European Broadcasting Union as part of the Euroradio Opera Season.
RTÉ lyric fm, Friday 17th October, 7pm-10pm
Photo | Gerard Collett