Cork Opera House has launched its autumn and winter season, an eclectic mix of musical and theatrical events as the theatre seeks to make good on the success of its summer musical, The Sound of Music.

Ferdy Murphy expects Kalahari King to need the outing when the Queen Mother Champion Chase hopeful has his first race for almost 10 months at Doncaster tomorrow.

THE build-up to Cork’s 30th jazz festival began yesterday with the first of a series of free public concerts designed to broaden its appeal.

THE employers body IBEC yesterday came out in favour of the sell-off of Limerick docks for development as a major property area.

Silca’s Sister, Opera Cape and Palace Episode, three of Godolphin’s high-profile acquisitions last autumn, all came out on top in their respective racecourse gallops on the Nad Al Sheba grass today.

Rising star Emmy Rossum took the preparation for her role as Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s big screen version of The Phantom Of The Opera very seriously.

RENATA TEBALDI, the Italian soprano who was one of the biggest stars at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Italy’s La Scala, died yesterday. She was 82.

THE rapidly improving Callow Lake struck a blow for the four-year-olds when leading his rivals a merry dance in the Nire Hurdle at Clonmel yesterday.

Italian singer Andrea Bocelli was among hundreds of mourners paying homage to tenor Franco Corelli, one of the top opera stars of the 20th century, at his funeral in a Milan church today.