Little-known Irish opera Lurline returns to Dublin after nearly 90 years
Grand romantic opera by Waterford-born composer to be brought back to life in co-production by National Symphony Orchestra and Heritage Music Productions
The National Symphony Orchestra and Heritage Music Productions have today (05.07.24) announced additional details of an upcoming concert performance of the Irish grand romantic opera Lurline by Waterford-born composer William Vincent Wallace (1812-1865), which will take place at the National Concert Hall (NCH) on Friday, 26th July 2024.
Based on the Lorelei legend of the Rhine mermaid, the three-act opera was first performed in London in 1860, where it received rave reviews, and subsequently went on to be staged in Dublin, Sydney, and the United States. However, despite these auspicious beginnings, Lurline soon sank into almost complete obscurity and is little-known today.
One of the last known performances of the opera took place in the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin almost 90 years ago, in 1939, and it is likely that it was shortened for this performance by the Dublin Opera Society. For the upcoming performance at the NCH, Wallace’s opera will be performed in its entirety.
Lurline composer first Irish musician to extensively travel the world
Wallace was one of Ireland’s most distinguished nineteenth-century opera composers and led a fascinating and colourful life. Often considered the first Irish musician to extensively travel the world, Wallace visited Australia in the early 1830s, then still a penal colony. He set up a music school in Sydney with his wife, but soon left the colony to travel first to New Zealand and then across the Pacific to Chile, Argentina, Peru, Jamaica, and Cuba, before eventually arriving in New York, where he performed in the inaugural season of the New York Philharmonic. In 1845, he returned to Europe and settled in London, where he produced his most famous opera, Maritana, in the same year. Two years later, in 1847, he began composing Lurline.
Mother and daughter join forces to bring Lurline to NCH stage
In a partnership with the National Symphony Orchestra and with funding from the Arts Council, Lurline is produced by Heritage Music Productions, which is headed by concert pianist, Irish music specialist, and author, Una Hunt. The cast is led by her daughter, Irish soprano Rachel Kelly, and includes Portuguese Tenor, Luis Gomes; UK bass-baritone, Ashley Riches; and Irish mezzo-soprano, Gemma Ní Bhriain. The performance also marks the Irish debut of the highly regarded Péter Halász, principal guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera.
Producer Una Hunt is a leading authority in the field of historic Irish music, specialising in the rediscovery of important Irish composers and performers and bringing their music before audiences once more. During a consultancy with the National Library of Ireland (NLI), she undertook two detailed studies of its collections (2001 and 2004) and devised and set up the NLI’s first digital music archive, reclaiming a substantial amount of music that had slid into obscurity. Hunt has curated and performed this music at home and abroad, and produced several recordings of lost and forgotten repertoires. Her great passion lies in reclaiming the legacy of Ireland’s greatest opera composers who enjoyed flourishing careers in the nineteenth century but whose achievements are now almost completely forgotten.
Commenting on the upcoming performance of Lurline, she said: “We are very excited to partner with the amazing National Symphony Orchestra to bring this wonderful Irish opera back to the stage after a hiatus of so many years. People don’t think of opera as synonymous with Irish composers when, in fact, Ireland had an exceptionally talented collection of operatic composers throughout the nineteenth century. It’s important that we now reclaim our musical and operatic heritage and bring it before audiences again.
“Personally, Wallace is one of my musical heroes and Lurline is among his most beautifully lavish and lyrical works – and it can hold its own with the best of romantic operas from all over the world. We are grateful for the opportunity to bring so many hugely talented musicians together for this production and look forward to presenting the whole opera at the National Concert Hall – in its entirety and exactly as Wallace composed it all those years ago.”
Rachel Kelly, who takes the lead role, is an accomplished soprano, who has been credited with “sheerly lustrous singing” (Arts Desk) and “credible, touching” portrayals (Guardian) in an impressive range of repertoire. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Kelly decided to become a medical doctor and is currently pursuing her studies in Dublin. She is returning to the stage for the concert performance of Lurline this month.
The performance of Lurline will take place at the NCH on Friday, 26th July 2024 at 7pm. Tickets (€15; €23.50; €31; €38.50) are on sale and available via nch.ie of from the NCH Box Office (Tel: 01-4170000).
For further information, please visit nch.ie.
ENDS
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