Written for the party goers of the 1639 Venice Carnivale, Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses was said by one scholar to have enough sex, gore and elements of the supernatural to satisfy the most jaded Venetian palate.

The Cork International Choral Festival kicks off today with plenty of events lined up to keep everyone entertained. Check out some of the highlights here. 

Cork will come alive with the sound of music next week as 5,000 singers arrive from all over the world for the annual International Choral Festival.

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"A rotted body politic riven with lies and factions and a sense that debauchery, despotism and tyranny governs all," is how director, Michael Barker-Caven describes the background of The Rape of Lucretia.