Question of Taste: Cork opera singer Sinéad Ní Mhurchú selects her cultural highlights
Sinéad Ní Mhurchú will perform at Glen River Park in a free concert as part of Magic Nights by the Lee.
Sinéad Ní Mhurchú is a soprano from Cork who has performed in opera and concert at home and abroad. As part of Magic Nights by the Lee, she will perform a selection of opera arias at the Glen River Park on Saturday, September 4, in a lineup which includes Keith Pascoe of the Vanbrugh String Quartet and singer-songwriter Jack O’Rourke. Sinéad is married with two daughters and teaches at Cork City Music College.
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Brilliant story weaving and vibrant characters allow you to feel the true emotional impact of the horrors of war. A work of fiction based on true events and first-hand testimony.
Covid era films have been very family-oriented (suffice to say I know ALL the Marvel characters by name!). That said, Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems sticks out in recent memory as something that was thrilling in pace and intensity - up there with Whiplash for dry-mouth, adrenaline discomfort.
Streamed gigs left me a bit sad and wanting, and very grateful for the real thing because a live show is an experience that I don’t think can be adequately portrayed on screen. Before lockdown, I got to hear Anita Rachsvelishvilli sing Amneris (Verdi’s Aïda) in Verona. It was a visceral experience - totally unforgettable.
Blood on the Tracks. I’m a latecomer to Dylan, among others, having been long obsessed with opera and classical. As my tooth grows, I gain a better appreciation of the urgency in his message. In contrast, I’ve fallen in love all over again with Cesaria Evora. Her vibe has been the perfect backdrop to our recent heatwave - evocative of sunsets, holiday cocktails, the smells and sounds of hot summer nights.
I distinctly remember a performance of Peter & the Wolf in the City Hall as a child and being thrilled by the characters having their own instrument or motif. However, it was through Dead Poets’ Society with Robin Williams that I discovered the Adagio from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 5. I was enthralled by its heart-squeezing beauty and simplicity.
John O’Brien’s treatment of I Pagliacci in the Everyman. I mean, talk about turning opera on its head & recalibrating the art form to be a completely immersive experience for the audience. His innovation has brought the wow factor to opera in Cork.
Unorthodox on Netflix ignited a fascination (in Yiddish) for similar stories of religious oppression and rebellion within ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. Also, Call My Agent was such a great idea for a series - a veritable who’s who of French cinema, it gave me some great laughs.
In the car, I listen to Lyric FM unless it’s John Creedon. He educates my ear and soothes my soul in equal measure. For the school run, I’ve cried listening to heartwrenching stories on Joe Duffy, but mainly cried laughing - I get a fierce kick out of Joe!
I dip into podcasts that are trying to figure out what it’s all about: Pat Divilly, Russell Brand, How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, and a bit of Motherfoclóir with Darach Ó Séaghadha.
Lise Davidsen, Anita Rachsvelishvilli, Piotr Beczala - I’d listen to any one of them singing pretty much anything but I’d settle for all three in Il Trovatore by Verdi.
I spent a summer aupairing in Paris back in the day. It turned out they were celebrities and their friend was Omar Sharif, hence afternoons spent at a pool in Deauville being regaled with tales of his Hollywood adventures and what it was like to play opposite Barbra Streisand! There were photos; my mother was ecstatic.
1920s Paris - to experience the raw energy of the Roaring '20s, the birth of European jazz, café culture in “the navel of the world”.
That the arts be treated as air supply for the human soul and not just an afterthought as we’re seeing with this pandemic. That music be core curriculum from early years with tuition, an instrument, and support for every child. That’s after we overhaul the whole system to ensure a minimum living wage for creatives, at least on a par with the European average.
After all, what got people through the dark days of Covid? Now, where is my magic wand…
