Daire Halpin - Soprano

Orpheus and the Underworld – four star review!

dairehalpin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:49:53 +0000

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/sep/09/orpheus-in-the-underworld-review

Scottish Opera/ Northern Ireland Opera: Orpheus and The Underworld Appearances Announced….

dairehalpin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 09:54:18 +0000

I’m currently enjoying the final stages of rehearsals for Scottish Opera and Northern Ireland Opera’s new co-production of Offenbach’s Orpheus and the Underworld. Directed by Oliver Mears and with a new translation by Rory Bremner, this version looks to revive some of the scandalous and satirical qualities of the original by taking a closer look at the celebrity obsessed and consumerist culture of the present day. Be warned, the production is high energy, very funny and even a little rude. I’m singing the role of Diana, goddess of chastity and the hunt. Come see us at the following venues:

8/10/11 September Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

13 September Nevis Centre, Fort William

15 September Aros Centre, Portree

17 September An Lanntair, Stornoway

20 September Wick High School

22 September Duthac Centre, Tain

24 September Dalrymple Hall, Fraserburgh

27 September One Touch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness

29 September Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy

1 October Linlithgow Academy

4 October Macrobert, Stirling

6 October Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries

8 October Gardyne Theatre, Dundee

12 October Garrison Theatre, Lerwick

15 October Desside Theatre, Aboyne

18 October Tait Hall, Kelso

20 October Magnum Theatre, Irvine

22 October Victoria Halls, Helensburgh

27 October Downpatrick

28 October Armagh

31 October Newtownabbey

2 November Derry

4 November Omagh

1/2/3/4/6/7/8/9/10 December Young Vic, The Cut, London

And after all that, I’ll definitely need a rest!

Summer Recital in Wexford

dairehalpin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:28:02 +0000

I seem to be singing lots of recitals at the moment which is great as it gives me a chance to look at the song repertoire which often gets pushed aside when you’re spending all your energy throwing yourself around on stage. I’m currently exploring Schumann’s masterpiece Frauenlieben und Leben which I will sing along with a selection of arias with Mairead Hurley at the piano at St Iberius Church in Wexford Town on Wednesday the 20th of July (1.05pm).

Orpheus in the Underworld at the Young Vic

dairehalpin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:21:49 +0000

In a few weeks I will be heading to Scotland to sing Diana in Scottish Opera’s new production of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. This is a new version which satirises today’s media and celebrity obsessed culture with a new translation by Rory Bremner and directed by Oliver Mears. We will be performing the production on tour in Scotland, Ireland and London. Tickets for the Young Vic performances went on sale yesterday and are selling out fast. Click here for further details.

‘The Other Woman’ Recital Goes International

dairehalpin — Mon, 30 May 2011 07:20:26 +0000

After a hugely successful performance at the National Portrait Gallery on the 18th of March, my ‘The Other Woman’ recital programme has been included in the events atthe IASIL (International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures) 2011 Conference at the Catholic University of Leuven on the 21st of July. This programme is an exploration of women as represented in the (mostly male dominated) art song tradition. Women abound in this tradition but are usually represented as lovers or objects of desire. I was interested in seeking out songs and texts which look at other representations of women; as victims, spirits, mothers and also how women represent themselves in song. The programme includes new work by Nico Muhly and Lori Laitman as well as Irish composer TC Kelly and Schumann and Liszt. Russian pianist Sergey Rybin joins me in Belgium. Ja Yeon Kang will perform with me on the 17th of June when we give the same programme at Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough.

L’Elisir D’Amore Performances Announced

dairehalpin — Mon, 30 May 2011 07:07:54 +0000

I’m slap bang in the middle of production rehearsals for Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore. Adina in this production is everything you’d expect – smart, sassy and a whizz at tap dancing. I admit, it’s taken me a little while to get the hang of the steps but dancing on tables seems to come naturally to me! Performances will be at Yarlington House on 19th of July, Sandringham on 1st of July, Thorpe Tilney Hall on 10th of July. Tickets and further information available here.

The end of an Indian summer….

dairehalpin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:51:43 +0000

It’s been a crazy six months. I have been involved with two huge projects at English National Opera – the sold-out phenomenon of Punchdrunk’s Duchess of Malfi and the rather more sedate but equally thrilling Radamisto at the Coliseum. Radamisto still has three more shows in the run so hurry if you want to catch David Alden’s eastern vision of this rarely performed Handelian masterpiece.

Working with Punchdrunk proved to be every bit as exciting as promised. The sheer number of people involved in bringing this vast creation to light was astounding. Apart from the usual orchestra, singers, dancers, crew and production team we had an army of set builders and prop makers who dressed an entire office block complete with secret rooms, wolves dens, orchard with 300 trees, hidden bars and more. We even had ‘smell specialists’ who would tour the set each day adding the detail so that every room had it’s own distinctive scent and every perfume bottle was unique. The masked audience were encouraged to explore everything in detail – every scrap of paper left lying around had relevant text written on it, every cupboard contained a relevant object. This could be a bit awkward in the middle of your performance when you find the bed you’re about to perform your love scene on has twelve masked strangers sitting on it or the props you’re about to work with have all been moved or even stolen. But all this detail and the unknown element of the audience reactions meant that every performance was completely unique and totally ‘live’. We had spent weeks in our rehearsal studio building up a language of hierarchy so we could improvise interactions with other characters as they arose during the shows. My favourite unplanned encounter was a vicious attack by two wolves who dragged me to the floor, terrifying me before I met the Cardinal and my death – the moment was never repeated in another show.

And from that other worldly experience, it has been an absolute pleasure to be back in the Coliseum. For me, it is one of the most beautiful theatres in the world and I am constantly astounded by the abilities of the people on staff there. They all undertake such a huge workload, working on several shows in quick succession – from the technical team to the music staff – it’s a wonder they never get completely mixed up! Radamisto itself was not a piece I was familiar with before we started rehearsing but it is full of magnificent music even if the story is a little wooly. It is a kind of parable of Kingship and was Handel’s first opera for the Royal Academy but as such it’s very dramatic plot fizzles out to a not very satisfactory ending – but I won’t give the game away completely. There’s a lot of gorgeous music and some truly excellent singing too so well worth a look.

In the middle of all this I’ve managed to fit in a few recitals (including an unforgettable evening at the spectacular Houghton Hall) a workshop for Nico Muhly’s Metropolitan Opera/English National Opera comission Two Boys and some charity concerts for Live Music Now. It’ll definitely be winter by the time I’m done with all of this!

Punchdrunk/ENO Duchess of Malfi – tickets on sale now!

dairehalpin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:49:28 +0000

Finally, it is with great excitement that I can announce my involvement in the upcoming world premiere production of Torsten Rasch’s Duchess of Malfi at English National Opera. This is a co-production with Punchdrunk Theatre Company and the buzz surrounding this project is so huge that already the Sunday Times and the Guardian are calling it the not-to-be-missed event of the summer. Tickets are extremely limited and go on sale today. I will be singing the matinee performances on the 17th and 24th of July. Click here to book.

Punchdrunk are the theatre group of the moment and Duchess of Malfi follows on from their stunning success with Adam Curtis’ It Felt Like a Kiss at last summers Manchester Festival. Audience members are promised a totally unique opera experience.

This week I’m also preparing Nico Muhly’s Two Boys which I will be singing in workshops with the composer next week at English National Opera. A busy and challenging time but so thrilling to be working with this exciting new music.

Exciting new projects at English National Opera

dairehalpin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:43:55 +0000

Exciting things will be happening over the next few months. After singing a number of cover contracts at English National Opera (Cosi fan Tutte, Dido and Aeneas, Le Grand Macabre), Daire has now been cast in an new production at English National Opera . This innovative production is to be directed by theatre group Punchdrunk. Fresh from the success of Adam Curtis’ It Felt Like a Kiss at last summer’s Manchester Festival, Punchdrunk promises to bring an unual perspective to the opera.

Daire also recently sang for New York composer Nico Muhly with a view to performing in his new opera Two Boys. This promises to be a thrilling piece centering on the relationship between two teenage boys which turns macabre when one begins to groom the other on the internet. It is based on the true story of two boys in Manchester which ended in a brutal stabbing and the arrest of one of the boys for orchestrating his own murder. To read more see here http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/may/29/crime.uknews. Two Boys will be a co-production between English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

There are a few more projects in the pipeline but unfortunately it’s too early to give any details. In the meantime, Daire is exploring the Spanisches Liederbuch of Hugo Wolf for a recital in aid of the Yorke Trust. This is a very generous organisation which supports young singers by producing an opera each summer. Young singers are invited to take part and receive all tuition, room and board completely free for the duration of their stay in the blissful surroundings of South Creake in Norfolk. Daire has sung Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) and Theodora (Theodora) at Yorke Trust summer opera and is delighted to be able to support this worthwhile organisation. Details are available here.

Grand Macabre and Fura del Baus

dairehalpin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:32:35 +0000

It’s been an incredible summer with one project seeming to merge into another. After the intense but sublime Heures Romantiques festival in France – three weeks spent exploring Romantic Lieder and Melodie in the picturesque Loire Valley – Daire was plunged into the challening and surreal worlds of Ligeti’s Grand Macabre and Barcelonan ‘guerrilla theatre’ group Fura del Baus. This is quite possibly one of the most difficult scores in the history of opera. Daire understudied Rebecca Bottone in the role of Amanda, one of a pair of lovers who carry the moral of this apocalyptic tale. Fura del Baus used cutting edge technical theatre to bring the piece to life. The “set” was a giant revolving naked woman and the staging involved climbing in and out of various orifices, a flash mob disco with Michael Jacksonesque overtones as well as more conventional theatrical devices including the chorus rampaging through the audience and flying cast members. All in all, a thrilling and memorable experience. Daire is now taking a well earned break which will include time spent in Paris and New York for a number of auditions before returning to the UK to sing Faure’s Requiem and Haydn’s Marie Therese Mass with Pershore Choral Society on the 14th of November and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast with Eastbourne Choral Society on the 21st of November.