Dowdall family in harmony at Lismore Music Festival

Violinist Aoife will lead her sisters Jenny and Lisa, and father William, in the orchestra at Lismore Music Festival, says Nicki ffrench Davis.

LISMORE Music Festival returns for its fifth year, from Thursday, bringing quality opera to one of Ireland’s prettiest villages. This year’s centrepiece is the much-loved Magic Flute, by Mozart. The opera will be set in a circus big-top tent, thanks to a collaboration with Fossett’s Circus.

Leading the instrumental ensemble, a lean and nimble nonet whittled from the orchestral score, is Aoife Dowdall.