Jose Carreras at Kilruddery House
More photos:
Wednesday September 01 2010
'MAGICAL' was how spellbound audience member Conor Doyle described an evening with Jose Carreras at Killruddery House and gardens in Bray last Saturday. The Catalan tenor performed at the inaugural Killruddery Festival and shared the bill with Kildare soprano Celine Byrne. Families quietly shared picnic baskets in the grounds of the stately home, while couples wrapped arms around one another to shelter from a cool breeze dancing through the trees.
The romance of the thing was not lost on one young pair, who sat beneath an oak tree apart from the crowd to enjoy the music alone.
Lord and Lady Meath took their seats to preside over the first occasion of its kind at Killruddery. Casino Royal star Eva Green also came to Bray for the evening.
Trio of pals Maureen Keenan, Marie Galligan and Teresa Ormonde were amongst the 5,000 strong crowd. ' We absolutely can't wait,' said Maureen. 'We've all been fans for a long time.'
The three Bray ladies were seeing their favourite tenor for the first time and were anticipating an excellent performance .Robert McNally and John Hartnett from Delgany got the tickets from their wives Emer and Grace as Father's Day gifts. 'Because we appreciate them so much!' insisted the ladies.
'It's fantastic to have international artists like Carreras come to Killruddery, just on our doorstep,' said David Kelly, there with his wife Annemare for her birthday.
Carreras treated listeners to pieces from La Bohème, Tosca, Werther, Don Carlo and more. Celine Byrne was captivating, singing a selection of arias from the operas, as well as slightly more contemporary songs from stage musicals.
As night closed in, bats flitted across the sky, and moths were drawn to the dazzling stage lights, with the house itself immersed in blue light and forming an enchanting backdrop to the performance and the rain held off too! The weekend-long festival also included a concert on Sunday by singer Michael Ball who was joined by the Dublin Gospel Choir for the show.
- 'MARY FOGARTY
