A scene from North West Opera’s La Boheme.
ONE of the highlights of this year’s Earagail Arts Festival promises to be Puccini’s classic opera La Boheme, which is being performed in the Pyramid Suite of Jackson’s Hotel Ballybofey by North West Opera, in association with the Cairo Opera Orchestra supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture on July 25 and 26.
For the past number of weeks, a team of local singers and actors have been working with NOW’s Artistic Director Ann Jennings and Director Gerard Doherty, and it’s clear the show will have a very strong local chorus.
Children form a key element of the chorus, with the street urchins and toy buyers adding a vital layer to the harmonies, and NWO is blessed to have the involvement of some wonderful local children (and their parents) to ensure that the street scenes of the second act are memorable.
And that’s just as well, because while the committed local chorus gives the show a solid base in keeping with the Earagail Arts Festival’s motto Made in Donegal, the experience is an international one, with professional opera singers from Europe and America backed by members of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, under the baton of Nayer Nagui, Principal Conductor of the Cairo National Opera.
This is set to be a spectacular performance, with tickets priced at €20, available through the Earagail Arts Festival box office Tel 07491 20777.
Jackson’s Hotel is also offering special weekend packages for people who are traveling to Donegal for the opera.
This special and unique event will sell out, and early booking is advised.