Events and Tickets
Celebrating the Voice: A Professional Development Programme for Singers
Celebrating the Voice: A Professional Development Programme for Singers
Celebrating the Voice: A Professional Development Programme for Singers runs from Monday 10th February to Friday 14th February 2025.
NCH Artist-in-Residence Tara Erraught and a team of international guest artists and industry experts lead an immersive professional development programme comprising masterclasses, vocal coaching, talks, discussions and performances.
This intensive programme is uniquely tailored to classical singers, giving them the supports and resources they need both on and off the stage to navigate their professional careers.
Guest international artists and industry experts include:
- Tara Erraught, mezzo soprano and NCH Artist-in-Residence 24-25
- Dearbhla Collins, pianist, Head of Artistic Administration at the National Opera Studio, and Senior Vocal Coach at the Royal Irish Academy of Music
- Morgane Fauchois-Prado, pianist and Head Vocal Coach for Opera Productions at the Paris Conservatoire
- Dr. Paul Kwak, a laryngologist and laryngeal surgeon at the NYU Voice Center and world authority on vocal health
- Alexander Neef, Director General of the Paris Opera
- Gaby Smyth, financial and tax consultant specialising in literary, music, film, theatre and visual arts
- Andreas Massow, Artist Manager and former Casting Director at the Bavarian State Opera, Frankfurt Opera and Zurich Opera
- RTÉ lyric fm’s Liz Nolan will host talk events, panel discussions and performances during the week
Tara Erraught
mezzo soprano, NCH Artist-in-Residence 24-25
Hailed as ‘one of opera’s chosen’ (Arts Desk) and ‘the new bel canto queen’ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Tara Erraught is a mezzo-soprano at the very top of her game.
With a repertoire stretching from the Baroque to bel canto, Tara’s outstanding voice has taken her to the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls. This season she will sing in France, Germany, Spain, England, America and Hong Kong.
As an NCH Artist-in-Residence this season, Tara returns home for three major events spotlighting her own outstanding talent and allowing audiences and young artists to explore the world of opera with creative and practical insights.
Her dazzling coloratura will be heard in virtuosic works by Mozart, Haydn and the pioneering Marianne von Martínez (November 1), her lyrical and dramatic gifts in arias by Mozart and Puccini and the lavish bel canto of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini (Limerick, May 1; Dublin, May 2).
Morgane Fauchois-Prado
Pianist and Head Vocal Coach for Opera Productions at the Paris Conservatoire
French pianist Morgane Fauchois’s career has taken her from opera theatres to concert stages, vocal recitals and chamber music projects.
She collaborates with internationally acclaimed singers including Roberto Alagna, Aleksandra Kurzak, Rolando Villazón, Natalie Dessay, Tara Erraught, Joseph Calleja, Véronique Gens, and Karine Deshayes.
With a repertoire spanning late Baroque to new music, she works as a coach for the Opéra de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra-Comique, Théâtre du Châtelet, operas in Lyon, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Tel Aviv, Riga, as well as renowned festivals such as Salzburg or Aix-en-Provence, and collaborating with conductors such as Louis Langrée, Carlo Rizzi, Daniele Gatti, Alain Altinoglu, Thomas Hengelbrock, Peter Eötvös and Marc Minkowski.
Morgane Fauchois was a member of the Young Artists Program at Paris Opera, and was awarded first prize in opera coaching at the International Belvedere Competition in Vienna.
Committed to nurturing the next generation, Morgane Fauchois is now on the faculty of the vocal department at Paris Conservatoire, where she has also been appointed head coach for opera productions.
Dearbhla Collins
Pianist, Head of Artistic Administration at the National Opera Studio, and Senior Vocal Coach at the Royal Irish Academy of Music
Dearbhla Collins is one of Ireland’s finest musicians. She enjoys collaborating with singers who have a real passion for song, among whom are Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Tara Erraught and Nicky Spence.
Dearbhla is Artistic Director of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. She is passionate about mentoring young vocal talent and is Artistic Consultant at the National Opera Studio, London. She has for many years been a vocal coach at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin and is also visiting coach to Mascarade Opera Studio, Florence and the YAP Opera Academy of the Polish National Opera, Warsaw.
Dearbhla founded Dublin Song Series in 2013 and continues to curate it in partnership with the National Concert Hall and the Hugh Lane Gallery. The concerts in 2024/25 at the NCH feature mezzo soprano, Paula Murrihy, and the Irish debut performances of American baritone, Sean Michael Plumb and the tenor, Anthony Leon, winner of Operalia Competition 2022.
In October 2017 she was awarded an honorary doctorate for her services to music in Ireland from the National University of Ireland.
Dr Paul Kwak
Laryngologist and laryngeal surgeon at the NYU Voice Center and world authority on vocal health
Dr Paul Kwak is a laryngologist and laryngeal surgeon at the New York University Voice Center, and Assistant Professor in the NYU Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, specializing in care of the professional voice. He treats patients with vocal cord cancer, vocal cord paralysis, and laryngeal papilloma, and is experienced in surgical techniques for laryngeal microsurgery and use of the KTP laser.
He is also a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he earned a master’s degree in Collaborative Piano with Margo Garrett, studying vocal accompanying and opera coaching. Dr. Kwak’s clinical and research interests center on the care of the professional voice, and his most recent publications examine physiologic and acoustic effects of opera performance, in ongoing collaborations with The Juilliard School, The Metropolitan Opera, and the Houston Grand Opera.
Alexander Neef
Director General of the Paris Opera
Alexander Neef was born in Germany in 1974. He began his career at the Salzburg Festival before joining the artistic administration of the RuhrTriennale, a multidisciplinary festival in Germany. He served as Casting Director of the Paris Opera from 2004-2008. From 2008 to 2020, he was General Director of the Canadian Opera Company where he developed co-productions with, among others, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, London's Royal Opera House, Madrid's Teatro Real and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Alongside his management of the Canadian Opera Company, in 2018 he was appointed the first Artistic Director of Santa Fe Opera in the United States.
In 2020, Alexander Neef was appointed Director General of the Paris Opera. Alexander Neef was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in September 2018, and named Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in July 2022.
Gaby Smyth
Financial and tax consultant specialising in literary, music, film, theatre and visual arts
Gaby Smyth studied at UCD (B. Sc Hons, HDE), University of Limerick (M.A), Leinster School of Music (LLSM), and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, also qualifying as a Certified Mediator (CEDR, London). He has been in financial and taxation consultancy for over thirty years, specialising in the literary, music, film, theatre and visual arts – representing and advising many of the major Irish and international practitioners in these areas.
Gaby has also been involved in the leadership and governance of many arts organisations in Ireland; he has been the chairman of the boards of Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, Corn Exchange Theatre Company, and TEAM Educational Theatre Company. He was also chairman of the boards of the Dublin International Film Festival and Opera Theatre Company; and was inaugural chairman of Irish National Opera. Additionally, he was non-executive chairman of Boulder Media Ltd., a major Irish animation company, and the first independent chair of Screen Producers Ireland, the umbrella organisation for the film, animation and TV industry in the state.
Furthermore, he has chaired the board of Amnesty International Ireland between 2001 – 2005, and again from 2010 to 2014. He was also chair of the International Chairs’ Forum for Amnesty International.
Andreas Massow
Artist Manager and former Casting Director at the Bavarian State Opera, Frankfurt Opera and Zurich Opera
Andreas Massow was born in Hamburg. In his hometown he studied musicology, economics and sociology, and during the course of his studies also gained experience at the Hamburg State Opera and Komische Oper Berlin. Andreas Massow began his career in the Company Office of Frankfurt Opera in 2003. In 2012 he was appointed to the Zurich Opera as consultant for artistic planning and casting. In 2014, Andreas joined the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as Head of Casting, and has worked at ARSIS Artist Management in Vienna since 2019.
Liz Nolan
Presenter, RTÉ lyric fm
Liz Nolan hails from Co. Wicklow, where her childhood was largely spent warbling at local Feiseanna, reading Tolkien and lip-synching to Callas LPs in her bedroom (also, planning her wedding to the frontman of pop group A-ha, but that's a whole other story).
Following an English Literature degree from Trinity College Dublin, Liz officially became a full-time music head: obtaining a research M.Phil in French song from the TU Conservatoire Dublin, plus diploma as singing teacher. One more post-grad in Arts Administration (UCD), and she became Education Officer at the Association of Irish Choirs.
It was at this stage that a chance phone call with RTÉ lyric fm resulted in Liz filling in at very short notice as presenter on a daytime show. Before long, Liz became part of the lyric furniture, and has since presented a succession of frontline lyric shows- including Classic Drive, Daybreak, Lunchtime Choice, and these days, The Full Score. She’s also busy as a concert MC, mediator, lecturer and writer. And Liz is busiest of all being a mum to Seán, who is a much, much cooler teenager than she ever was.
Master Classes
Monday 10th February 2025
10.30pm - 1.40pm Masterclass: Tara Erraught, Dearbhla Collins and Morgane Fauchois-Prado with a selection of participating singers.
3.00pm - 6.10pm Masterclass: Tara Erraught, Dearbhla Collins and Morgane Fauchois-Prado with a selection of participating singers.
Observer tickets: €5
Tuesday 11th February 2025
10.30pm - 1.40pm Masterclass: Tara Erraught, Dearbhla Collins and Morgane Fauchois-Prado with a selection of participating singers.
3.00pm - 6.10pm Masterclass: Tara Erraught, Dearbhla Collins and Morgane Fauchois-Prado with a selection of participating singers.
Observer tickets: €5
Talks, Conversations & Panels
Monday 10th February 2025
Talk: Vocal Health and Voice Care with Dr. Paul Kwak. To include audience Q&A moderated by Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm.
A leading laryngologist at the NYU Voice Centre and consultant to the Metropolitan Opera, Dr. Paul Kwak specializes in the care of the human voice. This talk is a must not only for professional singers but anyone who uses their voice as part of their work or for enjoyment and who need to know how to take care of it – including amateur singers and choral enthusiasts, actors, public speakers, fitness instructors and those in noise-filled environments.
Tickets: €10 (concessions available)
Tuesday 11th February 2025
Keynote Conversation: Alexander Neef, Director of the Paris Opera, in conversation with Tara Erraught. To include audience Q&A moderated by Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm.
As General Director of the Paris Opera, Alexander Neef holds one of the most prestigious leadership positions in the arts world. His career has spanned roles at the Salzburg Festival, Canadian Opera Company, and Santa Fe Opera to name but a few. An innovator in the industry, he is also passionate about nurturing the next generation, leading initiatives such as the Paris Opera Youth Orchestra, as well as a major outreach project in French Guyana. In this wide-ranging conversation with Artist-in-Residence Tara Erraught, he will share his insights into the international world of music and opera, and today’s ever-changing industry.
Tickets: €10 (concessions available)
Wednesday 12th February 2025
Conversation: Tara Erraught, Dearbhla Collins and Morgane Fauchois-Prado in conversation with all participating singers.
Moderated by Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm.
Free, but ticketed event.
Wednesday 12th February 2025
Talk: Accountancy and Personal Business Management for Artists with Gaby Smyth.
This essential talk will equip arts professionals with expert information and advice on the business side of the profession: self-employment, finance management and taxation, both at home and abroad.
Tickets: €5
Thursday 13th February 2025
Conversation: Andreas Massow in conversation with Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm.
Andreas Massow is an Artist Manager at ARSIS Artists Management, and a former casting director of the Bavarian State Opera, Frankfurt Opera and Zurich Opera. In this discussion, he will share his insights on the casting process and audition preparation, and will bring his wealth of experience on the European opera system and employment opportunities for singers. An essential session for professional opera singers, emerging professionals and advanced vocal students.
Tickets: €10
Thursday 13th February 2025
Discussion: Building a Career in the Vocal Arts, From Every Perspective
Panel Discussion with Tara Erraught and Celebrating the Voice participating experts joined by Fergus Sheil, Artistic Director of Irish National Opera; Cathy Stokes, National Symphony Orchestra Concerts & Planning Manager; Anu Tali, conductor. Moderated by Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm.
Tickets: €10
Concerts
Celebrating the Voice: A Valentine’s Day Song Recital
Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52
Schubert Erlkönig, D. 328
Duparc Chanson triste
Schubert ‘Erstarrung’ (from Winterreise), D.911, No. 4
Bachelet Chère nuit
Debussy La romance d’Ariel
Schubert Gretchen am Spinnrade
Celebrating the Voice: A Valentine's Day Opera Gala
Mozart Le nozze di Figaro Overture
Mozart ‘Sull’aria… che soave zeffiretto’ (Le nozze di Figaro)
Mozart ‘Ach, ich liebte, war so glücklich’ (Die Entführung aus dem Serail)
Donizetti La favorite Overture
Donizetti ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ (L’elisir d’amore)
Donizetti ‘Caro elisir! Sei mio!’ (L’elisir d’amore)
Bellini I Capuleti e I Montecchi Overture
Bellini ‘Qui la voce sua soave’ (I Puritani)
Bellini ‘Mira, o Norma’ (Norma)
Dvořák ‘Song to the Moon’ (Rusalka)
Offenbach ‘Galop Infernal’ (Orpheus in the Underworld)
Verdi ‘Parigi, o cara’ (La traviata)
Rossini ‘Nacqui all’affanno e al pianto...Non più mesta’ (La Cenerentola)
Eiméar Harper
Eiméar Harper is a Wicklow-born coloratura soprano. She made her operatic debut in the role of ‘Gretel’ in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with Lyric Opera Ireland. Other roles include ‘Mary Crawford’ in the Irish premiere of Dove’s Mansfield Park, ‘Cousin’ in Madama Butterfly and ‘Yum-Yum’ in The Mikado at the National Concert Hall.
She has also joined the chorus of Irish National Opera for their 24/25 season. As a concert soloist, Eiméar has performed with Le Foyer des Artistes, Sestina Music and Lyric Opera Ireland. Eiméar was the winner of the Gervase Elwes Memorial Cup at Feis Ceoil 2024.
Éadaoin Hassett
Irish Soprano Éadaoin Hassett hails from Co. Kildare. Having graduated from the Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with First-Class Honours, Éadaoin continues her studies at the RIAM on the Master's degree in Vocal Performance. There, she studies with Mary Brennan, Andrew Synnott and Dearbhla Collins.
Recent professional engagements include singing as Soprano Soloist in Mozart's Coronation Mass with Diva Voces, Dublin and various roles in Purcell's The Fairy Queen in collaboration with Sligo Baroque Music Festival, London Handel Players and the Croatian Baroque Orchestra, with performances in Korčula, Croatia and Sligo, Ireland.
David Kennedy
Irish baritone David Kennedy, from Galway, is an INO Studio member for the 2024/25 season. He recently performed ‘Belcore’ in L’elisir d’amore and ‘Silvio’ in Pagliacci at Wexford Opera Festival 2024 as part of the Factory.
He was the first Irish scholar at the Heidelberger Frühling LiedAkademie, studying under Thomas Hampson in 2022/23 and 2023/24. He also trained at LIEDBasel with Julius Drake and Ian Bostridge. Concert highlights include performing at Berlin's Pierre Boulez Saal with Susan Manoff during Schubert Week 2024. David was a recent semi-finalist at the Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition 2024. He is grateful for the primary mentorship he receives from Owen Gilhooly-Miles, Dearbhla Collins and Brenda Hurley.
Maria Matthews
Maria Matthews is an Irish soprano and graduate of the TU Dublin Conservatoire of Music and Drama. She also holds a Master of Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Maria is a Wexford Opera Festival Factory Artist for the 2024-25 season where she will perform the roles of Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and both Adina and Gianetta in Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore. Maria performs regularly with Irish National Opera as chorus member, most recently in their productions of Gounod’s Faust, Puccini’s La bohème and Verdi’s La traviata. In opera scenes Maria has portrayed roles including: Mimi (La bohème), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes).
Maria took part in the 2021 “Raise Our Voices” and the 2023 “Celebrating the Voice” concert series, both curated by Irish mezzo- soprano Tara Erraught. In 2021 she was the winner of the Birr Lyons Vocal Bursary in conjunction with the Trench Award, and in 2023 Maria was a Camerata Ireland Young Artist and a Voice Fellow at Opernfest Prague where she had the opportunity to sing with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in Smetana Hall.
Anna-Helena Maclachlan
Anna-Helena Maclachlan is a mezzo-soprano from Westmeath, Ireland. She is currently enrolled in Royal Academy Opera at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Anna-Helena studies with Susan Waters and Jonathan Papp. She previously graduated from the Royal Irish Academy of Music with a First Class Honours Bachelors degree.
Anna-Helena has a variety of experience on the opera, song and oratorio platforms. Upcoming engagements include Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel and Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Royal Academy Opera.
Anna-Helena is currently a recipient of the 2024 Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Bursary. At the Royal Academy of Music she is also a recipient of the Knights of the Round Table Award and the Charles Mackerras Opera Scholarship.
Ellen Mawhinney
Soprano Ellen Mawhinney studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has now graduated from the Royal Academy of Music Opera School after studying with Kate Paterson and Ingrid Surgenor. Ellen is the winner of Northern Ireland Opera’s Young Opera Voice of the Year award, the Deborah Voigt Prize at Northern Ireland Opera’s Festival of Voice, and the inaugural Charles Wood Song Competition. She has been a featured artist live on BBC Radio 3: In Tune and spotlight recitalist for Classical Connections with BBCNI. She is a Leeds Lieder Young Artist, a Josephine Baker Trust artist and a member of the Academy Song Circle. This past summer she was also a fellow young artist at the Toronto International Song Festival with her duo partner. She is the grateful recipient of the John Talbot Collender Award.
With the Royal Academy of Music, she performed the role of Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, Miss Wordsworth in Britten’s Albert Herring and the role of Josephine in Martinu’s Comedy on the Bridge.
Other operatic performances include Falsirena in La fiera di Venezia with Bampton Opera, Annina in La traviata with Northern Ireland Opera and Chorus in Die Fledermaus with Northern Ireland Opera, Alice in Wonderland with Opera Collective Ireland.
Diana Salop
Diana Salop is a third-year student at TU Dublin Conservatoire, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in vocal performance under Mairèad Buicke. Throughout her years of studying music, she has participated in many festivals and concerts, achieving great success in competitions, most notably at Feis Ceoil and within TU Dublin Conservatoire. Diana was a member of the Irish national television choir: RTÉ Cór Linn Choir. She also has experience as a soloist with vocal ensembles and has been involved in various other chamber music. Additionally, Diana attended the Oxenfoord International Summer School in Scotland in 2024, where she performed in masterclasses and had coaching sessions with some of Britain’s most prolific vocal coaches.
Ami Hewitt
Ami Hewitt is a soprano from Dublin, Ireland. Her recent roles include Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri (Rossini) and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) at Wexford Festival Opera, The Controller in Flight (Dove) with Opera Collective Ireland, Sophie in Lyric Opera Ireland’s production of Werther, and Kitty in retrospect opera's recording of Stanford's Shamus O'Brien with the orchestra of Scottish opera conducted by David Parry. Ami was a studio member with INO, a young artist with Wexford festival opera, and a member of the young singer’s collective with Le Foyer des Artistes. She is currently participating in a concert tour of France and Italy with Opera for Peace.
Deirdre Higgins
Soprano Deirdre Higgins is in her second year of the Irish National Opera Studio and looks forward to her Irish National Opera debut this summer, where she will sing Gianetta in L’Elisir d’Amore (Donizetti). She has also worked with Wexford Festival Opera, and in 2024 performed Eileen O’Doherty in the premiere of Caruso’s Lady Gregory in America.
Deirdre has received many awards including the Gervase Elwes Memorial Cup (2023), Birr Lion’s Club Bursary (2023) and the Bernadette Greevy Bursary (2024).
In July 2024 Deirdre made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as part of their Summer Lunchtime Concert Series.
Cathal McCabe
Cathal McCabe is a tenor from Dublin. He is a Studio Artist with Irish National Opera for the 2024/25 season. He obtained a first-class honours from the TU Dublin Conservatoire of Music and Drama, where he received the Michael McNamara award for the highest performance mark, as well as the Anne Leahy award for highest dissertation mark.
In 2023, he won the Song Prize at the NI Opera Glenarm Festival of Voice. He has won multiple awards at the Feis Ceoil, including the John McCormack Cup, the Dermot Troy Cup, and the Count John McCormack Recital Medal.
Cathal performs regularly with Irish National Opera and Northern Ireland Opera. In 2024, he will sing the role of Shouter #1 in Lady Gregory in America at Wexford Festival Opera.
He sang the role of Nanki-Poo in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado in the National Concert Hall, and the role of Henry Crawford in the Irish premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park.
Bláthnaid Nicholson
Bláthnaid Nicholson is a soprano from Co. Kildare with first class honours from University College Dublin in both BA Music & Drama and Bachelor of Music. She is currently studying with Orla Boylan, James Smidt and Aoife O’Sullivan. Some recent engagements include Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, La Zia in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Julia Bertram in Dove's Mansfield Park and cover for Lurline in Wallace's Lurline. She has sung as a member of the Irish National Opera Chorus in their productions of Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict and Verdi's La Traviata, and in the BVOF Chorus in their recent productions of Verdi's Macbeth and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. Bláthnaid has represented the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival at their recitals in conjunction with The Castlemartyr Resort and Waterford Whisky Distillery in 2023/2024 and performed a Young Artist Recital as part of Boyle Arts Festival 2022.
Patrick McGinley
Patrick McGinley is a tenor from Donegal. He first began piano lessons at the age of 6, eventually attending Maynooth University to study piano. He joined the Maynooth University Chamber Choir, where he fell in love with and decided to focus on singing. He was a member of Anúna for four years, performing around the world including the BBC Last Night of the Proms and on Japanese television. Since then, he has focused on the classical repertoire, working professionally in both opera and choral music with Irish National Opera, Northern Ireland Opera, the Ulster Consort, Sestina and as a soloist in C.V. Stanford’s Stabat Mater with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
