Europe’s Finest come to Kilkee

OPERA fans in Clare are in for a treat on the Bank Holiday Monday, when vocal students of an intensive opera-training programme in the University of Limerick perform in Kilkee.

The concert, called Europe’s Finest, will feature students from Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany and Portugal who are involved with The European Opera Centre, which is undertaking its second intensive training programme this week in UL.
The singers on the programme are among the best opera students on the continent and this week they are working under the guidance of the European Opera Centre’s Head of Singer Development, Laurent Pillot.
This is the fourth collaborative project between the Liverpool-based EOC and University Concert Hall. In 2008 the European Opera Centre performed the Irish premiere of Offenbach’s rarely heard opera Un Mari a la Porte and Les Fables de la Fountaine. In March 2009, University Concert Hall hosted the Irish leg of the European auditions for entry to the eminent week-long training programme and in June of last year, the training programme itself took place on the University of Limerick campus, culminating in a wonderful finale Summer Opera Gala.
Mr Pillot, under whom the training takes place, founded the opera studio of the Bavarian State Opera and was previously musical assistant to Kent Nagano and Placido Domingo at the Los Angeles Opera. He will be joined by the distinguished movement coach, Berlin-based John Norris. Local singers and those involved with training singers will have the chance to observe the final stages of the course.
The singers taking part, including Dublin native Rachel Kelly, have been individually selected by Laurent Pillot through the EOC’s extensive audition programme.
A Night of Opera with Europe’s Finest will be held in Kilkee Church, Kilkee on Monday.
Presented by the Kilkee Civic Trust, in conjunction with UCH and the EOC, this performance by the best of young European opera talent will be a popular programme of arias, duets and ensembles.
Tickets for the performance are available from www.uch.ie or from Williams’ Pharmacy and Nolan’s Delicatessen, Kilkee and on the door of Kilkee Church on the night.