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19 May 2023

Chorus! 2023

An evening of opera choruses

Chorus! 2023

Following on from the huge success of the 2022 Opera Chorus Development programme and their performances in the highly acclaimed production of ‘La Traviata’ at the Grand Opera House Belfast, we proudly present our 2023 Northern Ireland Opera Chorus as the feature of this very special showcase.

Our choristers have become one of the greatest assets for our company and through this specialised programme they have worked with industry professionals including vocal coaches, conductors, language coaches, choreographers and movement directors from highly prestigious operas house all over the UK and Europe.

For this concert they will be working with conductor Jac van Steen. Jac is Music Director and Chief Conductor of the National Ballet of The Netherlands, the orchestras of Bochum, Nürenberg, the Staatskapelle Weimar, The Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra of Dortmund, Musikkollegium Winterthur and Principal Guest conductor at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. At present he is Principal Guest conductor of the Ulster Orchestra and the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

This concert puts these highly accomplished artists as the centre focus of opera and allows us to perform many varied styles and periods of writing for an opera chorus. Come and enjoy well-loved favourites as well as some lesser known delights from Monteverdi, Wagner, Puccini, Verdi, Smetana and Leonard Bernstein.

Chorus Reviews

The locally based NI Opera chorus is, post-Covid, new, recruited through open auditions earlier this year yet already able to produce the vital, full-bodied sound needed for Verdi’s beloved work.’ The Observer

‘Ravishing choruses, as hypnotic as the marquee arias, inject peroidic brio into the musical narrative.’ Theatre News

Find out more about the Chorus Development Programme by clicking here.

Creative Team

Conductor
Jac van Steen

Assistant Conductor
Matthew Quinn

Pianist
Tristan Russcher

Repetiteur
Michael Harrison

Soprano soloist
Mary McCabe

Tenor soloist
Aaron O'Hare

Soprano
Erin Kennedy

Soprano
Marcella Walsh

Soprano
Melanie Topley

Soprano
Niamh Lavery

Soprano
Petra Wells

Soprano
Rachael Heater

Soprano
Sarah-Jane Cooper

Soprano
Susan Shepherd

Mezzo Soprano
Áine Brolly

Mezzo Soprano
India Chapman-Webb

Mezzo Soprano
Jenny Bourke

Mezzo Soprano
Naomi Cantley

Mezzo Soprano
Sheelagh Greer

Mezzo Soprano
Susie Hunter

Mezzo Soprano
Caroline Woods

Tenor
Charlie Clarke-Hughes

Tenor
David Corr

Tenor
Desmond Havlin

Baritone
Connor Campbell

Baritone
James Cooper

Baritone
Conor Foster

Baritone
Matthew Jeffrey

Baritone
Paul McQuillan

Baritone
Seamus Brady

Event Partner