Theatre Nights: Musical blockbuster, opera show, and festivals in Cork

Excitement is building about The Sound Of Music, opening in just three weeks at the Opera House, and we have to warn you that the first FIVE performances are already fully sold out, plus several others.

Get on to them right away and make sure of your seats now!

In the meantime, rehearsals are proceeding apace with that wonderful cast: Wendy Carr as Maria, Matt Blaker as Captain Von Trapp, and our own international star, Majella Cullagh as Mother Abbess.

I simply can’t wait to hear her singing that spine-tingling Climb Ev’ry Mountain, can you?

The Sound Of Music opens on July 23 and runs to August 23 with different daytime and evening performances. Perfect for these summer months! Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie.

At the Everyman, Through Irish Eyes is bringing in the crowds all this week, with both Corkonians and visitors delighted with its powerful theatrical celebration of our country’s music, song, and dance.

These, after all, are art forms that remain central to our identity and have inspired audiences around the world for generations.

With six world champion Irish dancers and four world-class musicians, it’s a revelation of the richness and variety of Irish performance, exploring styles and traditions often overlooked by other shows. 8pm tonight, 8.30pm Friday and Saturday.

But we also wanted to highlight a very special (and intensely Irish) event coming up here on August 13. Get it in your diaries now, as that’s when you can witness a rehearsed reading concert performance of Cú Chulainn, a new opera by Éadaoin O’Donoghue and John O’Brien.

This, a sequel to the 2022 opera, Morrigan, is based on the characters of the Táin, and all the tragedy and violence of that great epic. Cú Chulainn will star Niamh O’Sullivan, Rory Dunne, Gavan Ring, Ronald Samm, Rachel Croash, Brendan Collins, Gráinne Gillis, Viktor Priebe and chorus, with the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra, conducted by John O’Brien himself. Aren’t we truly fortunate to have such genius fostered here in our own city? All bookings for Everyman on 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com.

There is still time to catch Bold at the Cork Arts Theatre, a play by Marion Wyatt that has more than a touch of the autobiographical about it. A young girl in late ’60s, early ’70s Ireland, refusing to be held down by social mores, strives to make her career in theatre.

It’s a story about persistence, self-belief, and the courage to stand your ground - even when no- one is listening. The cast includes Emely Tenhagen, Christopher McSweeney, Anne-Marie O’Brien, and Rob J. Cogan. Lunchtime performances today and tomorrow at 1pm, evening shows until Saturday at 8pm.

Next week, Featherbowl Theatre Group stages Broby Laundry Basket (Model 7800). For Noel and Lily, married 34 years, life is comfortable and predictable in the best possible way. That is, until a ghost from the summer of 1986 decides to sprint back into the spotlight…

For all bookings, 021 450 5624 or www.corkartstheatre.com.

That classic annual event, the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, has been drawing and delighting music aficionados all week in Bantry, and continues until this Sunday with a range of irresistible events.

Today, the Crespo Lunchtime Series in the Marino Church at 1.30pm will feature violin and lute in the works of early Italian composers, while The Archduke and the USA Attacca Quartet play the main evening concert in Bantry House at 7.30pm.

However, there is so much more going on that you should look up the website for yourself! https://www.westcorkmusic.ie/whats-on/chamber-music-programme/.

Right after that, they’ve got the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, from July 10-17. Full details on that next week.