7pm – An Oriental Romance: Thomas Moore’s Lalla Rookh.
200 years after it was published, An Oriental Romance tells the story of Thomas Moore’s epic poem Lalla Rookh, a tale of Arabian princesses, adventure and the exotic East, and explores the music it inspired. Most people associate Thomas Moore with his Irish Melodies, some of which are still very well known centuries after they were written, but his work Lalla Rookh has been largely forgotten. At the time, however, it was a cultural phenomenon, repeatedly reprinted, translated into various languages, and a source of inspiration for painters, playwrights and, above all, composers, including Robert Schumann, Charles Villiers Stanford, Félicien David and many others. Contributors include mezzo sopranos Martha O’Brien and Helen Aiken, pianist Aoife O’Sullivan and music students at Queen’s University Belfast who perform some rare musical works inspired by Moore’s poem.
Presenter/Producer: Claire Cunningham
Sound supervision: David Bird, Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen’s University Belfast
A Rockfinch Production for RTÉ lyric fm made in collaboration with the Horizon 2020-funded project ERIN ‘Europe’s Reception of the Irish Melodies and National Airs: Thomas Moore in Europe.
8pm Wexford Festival Opera presents Stanford’s Veiled Prophet
The 2019 Wexford Opera Festival exclusive concert performance of The Veiled Prophet by the Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford, presented in association with Heritage Music Productions, headed by international pianist and Irish music specialist, Una Hunt. This performance marks the first time the opera will be sung in English since its performances in Hanover in 1881 in German. Our cast tonight features Thomas D Hopkinson as Caliph Mahadi, Simon Mechlinski as Mokanna, Sinead Campbell-Wallace as Zelica, Mairead Buicke as Fatima, Gavan Ring as Azim, John Molloy as Abdullah and Dominick Felix as a young watchman. David Brophy conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Wexford Festival Opera.
(Recorded on 27th October 2019)
RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 9th November, 7pm-10pm