RTÉ radio to air special on Cara

RTÉ Lyric FM is set to broadcast a special Lyric Concert remembering Cork soprano Cara O’Sullivan.

Cara Remembered will be broadcast at 7pm on Friday, February 6 in celebration of Cara O’Sullivan’s life following her passing on Tuesday.

Paul Herriott will be joined by presenters Marty Whelan, Evelyn Grant, George Hamilton, Liz Nolan, Niall Carroll and Aedin Gormley as they pay tribute to Ms O’Sullivan for the special Lyric Concert.

Cara Remembered looks back at two of her performances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. A lunchtime concert from 2009 with hits including Moon River, Bill from Showboat, Di Capua’s popular O Solo Mio and highlights from what is now, her last concert performance, with tenor Noah Stewart from June 2018.

Presenter of Weekend Drive on RTÉ lyric FM, Evelyn Grant, said the news of her untimely death at the age of 58 “shocked family, friends and fans”.

“Renowned for the beauty of her voice, and a wonderful technical mastery of her instrument, Cara had an extraordinary sense of fun and a way of connecting with an audience,” she said.

She said that Ms O’Sullivan had “a huge personality” and recalled hearing her voice for the first time at the Cork School of Music, when her teacher, Bob Beare, who sadly passed away just a few months ago proudly introduced her as “a student with exceptional talent”.

She said that sopranos Majella Cullagh and Mary Hegarty were emerging talents at the same time, and together with pianist Eleanor Malone, lifelong friendships were forged and that competition successes in the 1990s were followed by debut roles in major international opera houses “but Cork remained her bedrock, her lodestar”.

“She adored her daughter, Christine, and received much support from her close-knit family throughout her career. As we shed tears over the loss of a great friend, we cannot but smile at the shared memories, and hope that the outpouring of love and support from Cara’s fans on RTÉ lyric FM will comfort her family at this sad time,” she said.

Separately, a mass is being said for the late singer at St Finbarr’s South Church in Ballintemple on Saturday.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on the church’s YouTube and Facebook accounts from 6pm.