Kathriona Devereux: I was among 38,000 who thrilled to The Sound Of Music in Cork..bravo! 

As a child, I owned a VHS copy of The Sound Of Music and watched it repeatedly. The Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics and tunes are engraved on my brain since.

A snippet of ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria’ is as likely to bubble to the surface of my brain and emerge while doing the washing-up as any catchy modern pop tune.

Any time I climb a mountain, or just a significant hill, ‘The hills are alive’ is playing in the background - sometimes I’ll sing it out loud depending on the company.

‘Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens’ are some of the most recognised lines from the show, but I could equally launch into a rendition of ‘high on a hill lived a lonely goat-herd’ while going about my daily business.

That a 1965 movie should have such an influence on a 1980s kids is difficult to explain, but I overdosed on The Sound Of Music as a child and suffered life-long consequences. The songs are the default hold music of my brain. They tumble about, emerging at unexplained times.

I wish for a cooler background brain soundtrack, but to give them credit, apart from ‘ Do-Re-Mi’ and the goatherd number, the rest of the songs are stone cold classics offering some solid life advice.

‘ Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ - work hard to find purpose and meaning in life. ‘ My Favourite Things’ - focus on the positives and beauty in the world when you’re feeling down.

I was first enthralled by the movie by the sheer number of child actors. Oh, to have been lucky enough to play the role of Brigitta or Marta and lark about marching up steps and singing with pretend siblings (I’m an only child!) and a kindly governess.

Well, all this personal back-story and connection to The Sound Of Music was roiling about as I and my family descended upon the Cork Opera House for the final performance of this year’s successful summer production of the classic Broadway show.

It was a full house for the last glimpse of a 38-show run. The audience ranged in age from five to 95, and everyone was captivated by the music, songs, set design, choreography, and vocal performances of an excellent cast.

The songs arrived one after another like old friends and you could hear people suppress the urge to sing along. But, despite the familiarity of the tunes and storyline, the emotions that were evoked on stage felt new.

I’ve never seen a stage production. The first Broadway show ran in 1959, the film followed in 1965, and I hadn’t watched it since childhood, when I had only a superficial grasp of the politics behind the Von Trapps’ flight from Austria.

Seeing the Nazi flags unfurled on stage now landed differently - a reminder that, alongside the war in Ukraine, other parts of 21st-century Europe are once again threatened by menacing forces.

In real life, the von Trapp family left Austria after the Anschluss in 1938, going by train to Italy then travelling on to London and the United States (where they established a mountain lodge in Vermont that you can still visit). But to make the story more dramatic, the Broadway producers had the family flee soon after Maria and the Captain’s wedding and escape over the mountains to Switzerland on foot.

Because stories of families fleeing war in Europe and elsewhere feel so immediate right now, rather than safely consigned to history, it felt almost flippant at moments to be watching this as a musical - but the gravity of the situation was conveyed well by all the actors, particularly the children.

There’s also a moving scene where the grieving and repressed Captain Von Trapp hears his children singing for the first time since his wife’s death, releasing his emotions and starting the repair of his relationship with his children - I may have shed a little tear at that point too.

Majella Cullagh playing the Mother Abbess could blow you over with the power of her voice, but there were superb vocal performances throughout the cast.

I was particularly impressed by the acting performances; I often think musical theatre performances can be a bit toothy, but there was a sincerity and depth of feeling to the characters that had me entirely convinced - hence the occasional shed tear.

The sheer quality of talent on display over the lengthy performance was so impressive. Every number was bursting with energy and colour.

The slick 16-piece orchestra really elevated the whole experience, and the off-stage and pre-production talent involved in the costume, stage, and set design was excellent too. (I’ve never enjoyed watching stairs being moved around as much).

Attending on the closing night of a big production is always special. This was the largest in-house musical the Cork Opera House has ever produced, with 38,000 people watching the show over its run.

There was a rapturous standing ovation, all the main performers got bunches of flowers (some of them were crying now instead of the audience) and the director Davey Kelleher came on stage to thank the army of people who make a production of this scale and quality happen.

He was also full of gratitude to the audience for buying tickets, showing up, and appreciating the artistic efforts on display. And then, of course, he wished us ‘So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye’.

In a changing world - music continues to offer us hope and joy and this production of The Sound Of Music has ensured the songs are embedded in my head, and heart, for another 40 years.

Bravo to all involved!