Gibert O’Sullivan, Tommy Tiernan, and a wealth of opera, musicals, and theatre are just some of the highlights at Cork Opera House this year.

A fuming husband, a wife with a guilty secret and a jilted lover on the verge of a nervous breakdown are the main protagonists in a pair of short operas on the theme of love and lies presented by Opera Theatre Company at the Watergate Theatre during Kilkenny Arts Festival.

The opening performance of Der Vampyr was late at night and the auditorium was transformed into a broodingly mysterious forest. The audience was riveted by the action, which was melodramatic and fast-moving.

Michael Barker-Caven hopes to draw new audiences with a production of Der Vampyr, his take on a rarely-seen German opera, writes Colette Sheridan.

For me, walking on stage means stepping out into a place where I feel very comfortable.

Live music: Whelan’s Ones To Watch - Whelan’s, Dublin

ACCLAIMED coloratura soprano, Kim Sheehan, will make her Cork professional debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro at the Curtis Auditorium in the CIT Cork School of Music, from Jan 10-12.