DON CARLO – VERDI
Presented on Apr 10, 12, 16, 23 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Walter Donati – Carlo
Lorenza Canepa – Elisabetta
Carlo Cava – Filippo
Licinio Montefusco / Frank O’Brien[Apr 16, 23] – Rodrigo
Jadranka Jovanovic – Eboli
Armando Caforio / David Gwynne[Apr 23] – Inquisitore
Kathleen Tynan – Tebaldo
Gianfranco Rivoli – Conductor
Giampaolo Zennaro – Producer
TOSCA – PUCCINI
Presented on Apr 11, 13, 19, 26, 27 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Radmila Bakocevic – Tosca
Giorgio Tieppo – Cavaradossi
Attilio d’Orazi – Scarpia
Armando Caforio / Carlo Cava[Apr 26, 27] – Angelotti
Peter McBrien – Sacristan
Brendan Cavanagh – Spoletta
Frank O’Brien – Sciarrone
Stephen Barlow – Conductor
Ben Barnes – Producer
MACBETH – VERDI
Presented on Apr 17, 20, 22, 24 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Giovanni de Angelis – Macbeth
Radmila Bakocevic – Lady Macbeth
Walter Donati – Macduff
Carlo Cava – Banquo
Ted Ryan – Malcolm
Thérese Feighan – Lady in waiting
Frank O’Brien – Doctor
Giovanni Veneri – Conductor
Dario Micheli – Producer
Rosalind Plowright (soprano) with Geoffrey Parsons (piano)
National Concert Hall Dublin 2nd March 1985
The Cork operatic scene, meanwhile, had undergone a significant change with the establishment of Cork City Opera, but the DGOS had gone ahead nevertheless with plans to visit the southern capital in that spring of ’84 where they would present “Aida”, “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “La Gioconda”. The latter, as it turned out, was regarded as the most successful production of the week, partly due to Patrick Murray’s visually striking sets as well as the impassioned singing by Lorenza Canepa as Gioconda and Licinio Montefusco as the spy Barnaba. Harold Johnson, chairman of the Opera House Board of Directors, compared the performance with among the best given by the DGOS in Cork but like his co-directors worried whether Cork had sufficient opera fans to support two spring seasons. It was inevitable that comparisons would be made; indeed this was being done already, for after the opening night of “Aida”, for instance, Cork Examiner critic Tomas O’Cannainn noted that the first act set was uninspiring and fell below the standard by the Cork City Opera in a recent staging of “Carmen”. However, matters improved apparently for “Lucia” and especially in the cast of “Gioconda” and both musically and dramatically there was, according to O’Cannainn, ‘a sparkle about the productions’ with Maria Angela Peters showing star quality as Lucia.
In Dublin the operatic scene was also changing, mainly due to the Arts Council’s pressure on the DGOS to adopt a more professional approach. The first steps in this direction were taken with the appointment of English-born Philip Gilbert as full-time chorus master – he had worked with Welsh National Opera and in Wexford. … Nonetheless, the 1985 spring season, reduced by now to three productions, went ahead without an artistic director. The choice of operas, “Tosca”, “Don Carlo” and “Macbeth” seemed to lack contrast and one missed a Rossini or Donizetti comedy. Not that the casting lacked enterprise; indeed Frank O’Brien sang two performance of “”Don Carlo” and acquitted himself admirably. ‘Frank’s voice sounded very good on the night,’ said Barry Hodkinson, a chorus member. ‘He did himself proud.’ “Macbeth” was voted by the critics as the most rewarding production of the season. Under the heading ‘MAGNIFICENT MACBETH’, Mary MacGoris in the Irish Independent stated that the drama and excitement of the music was brilliantly conveyed in the singing of the principals. Giovanni di Angelis made a stalwart Macbeth, his strong baritone coping exceptionally with Verdi’s music, while as his goadingly ruthless Lady, Radmilla Bakocevic was magnificent. The conductor Giovanni Veneri and the RTE Symphony Orchestra treated the score with sensitivity as well as colour. In her view, the chorus unfortunately continued its sub-form of the season. Irish artists could hardly complain of lack of opportunities. Ben Barnes was engaged to direct “Tosca” and Wendy Shea was the set designer.
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
Opera in Ireland 