Stuck for plans this week? Des O’Driscoll has five great ideas to fill up your week.

Despite success with previous productions, John O’Brien’s new opera wasn’t granted the funding for an extended run, writes Cathy Desmond

MAIREAD Buicke, star of the operatic stage and concert platform, reveals that her first ensemble experience was as a member of the Newcastle West Pipe Band. 

Cork Midsummer Festival

When Cara O’Sullivan was diagnosed with nodes on her vocal cords, she knew that the slightest slip during the operation would end her singing career, writes Jo Kerrigan

Here’s some great things to do around the country this weekend.

Rachel McAdams wore a chic black jumpsuit by Noam Hanoch to the Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York.

England U21s 1 Italy U21s 3: England have once again fallen short at a major tournament after Gareth Southgate’s side capitulated against Italy, resulting in a third successive group-stage exit at the U21 European Championship.

Like Jim Hawkins at the end of Treasure Island, I sometimes dream of my youthful voyage far from home. I dream of trains and pizzas and penalties and the Egypt match. And I start upright in my bed with that familiar, unlovely chat ringing in my ears. Olé Olé Ofeckinlay.

Hands up: Jack Black stars alongside Tim Robbins in new comedy series The Brink on Sky Atlantic on Monday.

CRUISE THE MED

Check out our guide to the best of today's TV.

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Your guide to tonight's television.

Italy gave us the Roman empire and the Renaissance two of the most influential forces in European history. Has this legacy coloured Italians’ perception of themselves and their place in the world, wonders Marjorie Brennan.

Amazon staff at German warehouses extended a strike yesterday in a long-running dispute over better pay and conditions, but the online retailer promised it would be able to deliver Christmas orders on time.

Workers went on strike at German sites of Amazon yesterday to increase pressure on the US online retail giant during the busy Christmas period in a long-running pay dispute.

OTC’s touring production of The Elixir of Love is set in a university , writes Jo Kerrigan

AN 80 year old from Naples has delved into an old box of sentimental ephemera and turned it into a book. 

Jo Kerrigan reveals why the pioneering Met: Live in HD has become a global phenomenon since it began back in 2006 and set a template for a whole new way of experiencing live entertainment. 

Our suggestions for five things to do this week.

All the news form the world of music and arts.

Fancy watching opera at one of Europe’s top venues this autumn? Cathy Desmond selects six of the best, from Barcelona to a floating stage on Lake Constance

Never mind the gondolas, Venice has gone mad for currachs.

Ukraine has been in the news recently because of political strife, but this week we can see a different side to the country — its artistry and cultural heritage, embodied in the Ukrainian National Opera of Kharkiv, which is performing a stunning production of La Bohème at Cork Opera House on Friday, March 28.

Cork Opera House’s spring line-up of events kicks off on Sunday with a concert in honour of Luke Kelly.

The 62nd Opera Festival, in Wexford, was true to form in unearthing rarely heard works.

Opera buffs should be well pleased this week with Ellen Kent’s Opera & Ballet International staging two legendary Verdi productions plus a Puccini from the Chisinau in Moldova.

Acclaimed tenor Ronald Samm describes Orpheus, in which he plays the lead role, as “a loving and stately opera”.

Anti-war oratorio ‘A Child of Our Time’ will open Cork choral festival, says Jo Kerrigan.

If you want a waspish one-liner delivered with impeccable timing and venom, gift it to Dame Maggie Smith.

A History of Opera The Last Four Hundred Years

Henry Kissinger! Pele! Douglas Fairbanks Jnr! Robert De Niro! Ray Charles! Marcello Lippi! King Leopold Of Belgium!

Montecatini last night literally rolled out the green carpet, as Giovanni Trapattoni, Marco Tardelli and the Ireland squad were formally welcomed to this beautiful Tuscan spa town, the reception committee including the Lord Mayor Giuseppi Bellandi and the reigning Miss Italy Stefania Bivone.

Goodness gracious, great squalls of friar... holy man Alessandro Brustenghi has become the first friar in the world to land a major record deal.

I have read all of the articles which you published in respect of the Mahon Report.

Maria Tsonina stars in La Traviata and La Boheme at Cork Opera House next week, Colette Sheridan reports

Listening to Mozart improves the outlook for mice undergoing heart transplants, a study has found.

'The Dark Knight Rises' will have a Goldfrapp-inspired score.

A TRAGIC heroine killed by her own hand.

TO lose one of the world’s great managers may be regarded as a misfortune.