Venue & Date: St. Barrahane's Church, Castletownshend, Co. Cork. Thursday 16 July, 2026
Tickets €20
Online (booking fee), at the door, at Thornhill Electrical Skibbereen or text/call 086 226 4797
At the door only: children under 13 free, students under 19 half price
Powerful and dramatic. For those who love Opera.
A Lieder/Opera recital of Schoenberg Strauss and Wagner, but more programme details to follow.
Biographies
Sylvia O'Brien
OPERA: Since her critically acclaimed debut as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw with Opera Theatre Company in 2004 and at the Buxton Festival with English Touring Opera under the direction of Michael Rosewell. Ms O’Brien moved to England for a period of two years touring with English Touring Opera. In 2005 she premiered and recorded the role of Gabriel in Gerald Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant with The National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (conductor Gerhard Markson) and in 2006 performed Morton Feldman’s Neither (conductor Stefan Ashbury). In 2004 she recorded the title role of Martinu's Mirandolina for Wexford Opera Festival. She sang Konstanze (Die Entführung), Gräfin (Der Wiener Bluth) and Jenufa with English Touring Opera, Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Opera Theatre Company), Zerlina Don Giovanni (Opera2005), Aspasia/Mitridate (Opera in the Open), Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte) with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland under Kenneth Montgomery and Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance) with the Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society. Between 2007 and 2013, she regularly performed Gilbert and Sullivan Concert Galas with members of the D’Oly Carte Opera Company. In 2012 Ms O’Brien made her debut concert performance in the title role of Turandot which she revisited in 2020 with Opera in the Open. She has performed the world premieres of the operas The Things We Throw Away (2015) and The Oldest Woman in Limerick (2016) by Brian Irvine with Irish National Opera. More recently, Ms O'Brien has performed the roles of Anne Truelove (A Rake's Progress) 2018, Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) 2019, Lucia (Lucia di Lammermor) (2019/2025), Turandot (2012/20), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte) 2021, the title role of Tosca (2022), La Rondine (2023) with Opera in the Open.
CONCERT: Sylvia is a regular guest soloist with orchestras, chamber ensembles, recital halls and festivals throughout Europe. Concerts include Mozart’s Die Schuldigkeit des Ersten Gebots with the NDR Radio Philharmonie, Mozart’s C minor Mass and Requiem in the Mozart Festival with the Orchestra of St.Cecilia conducted by Kenneth Montgomery, Verdi’s Requiem with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by David Milne and the National Concert Orchestra of Ireland, Bach's St John Passion with the Irish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Stephen Layton, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle conducted by Celso Antunes, Carmina Burana and Gliere’s Concerto for soprano and Orchestra Op 82 with the Irish Concert Orchestra conducted by Laurent Wagner, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate with the Orchestra of St.Cecilia conducted by David Agler, performed and conducted Britten’s Les Illuminations with the Evlana Chamber Ensemble and Les Nuits d’Ete by Berlioz with the Goois Symfonie Orkest and Zuid Hollands Symfonie Orkest and Chausson’s Poèmes de l’Amour et de la Mer with the Goois Symfonie Orkest. She performed her Concertgebouw Amsterdam debut, singing Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 and the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde. She performed Symphony No 14 by Shostakovich with the Magogo Kamerorkest, Tilburg, Nono’s Il Canto Sospeso with the Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro Sinfonico di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in Milan conducted by Francesco Maria Colombo, Shostakovich’s Blok songs Op 107 with the SyriusTrio, Carnegie Hall, New York .
CONTEMPORARY: Sylvia O’Brien’s specialist vocal and interpretative skills have established her internationally as a leading interpreter of contemporary music having performed numerous prestigious international premieres as well as works by many composers who have written specifically for her voice. She was resident performer at the Malkovich International Composers Competition in 2002 and since then has performed with many leading contemporary ensembles. Sylvia is founding member of Evlana, the Irish sinfonietta orchestra www.evlana.com. Placing contemporary music at the heart of its programming, pioneering group Evlana provides opportunities for Ireland’s most accomplished musicians and composers to present their work, with forces ranging from small ensemble to a sinfonietta-sized orchestra. She has collaborated with many composers, most notably Seóirse Bodley (1933-2023), Raymond Deane, Sean Doherty, Siobhán Cleary and Benjamin Dwyer and Brian Irvine/ Sylvia created the role of Gabriel in the premiere and recording of Gerard Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Gabriel). She has performed Irish (2006) and Finnish (2009) premiere of the one act opera Neither by Morton Feldman with National Symphony of Ireland premiere under conductor Stefan Asbury and the Helsinki Philhamonic (conducted by Dmitry Slobodeniuk). She premiered Joseph Phibb’s Silence at the Song’s End for soprano and string quartet, at the Jubilee Hall Aldeburgh. She premiered Kevin O'Connell's Apollo and Marsyas with Crash Ensemble and the Irish premiere of Here (in circles) by Michel van der Aa with the Crash Ensemble conducted by Alan Pierson. Porat songs with the Nieuw European Ensemble in the Netherlands. She performed the Irish premiere of Claude Vivier’s Lonely Child with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland conducted by Nicolas Cleobury. 2025 performances include Judith Weir’s King Harold’s Saga, George Crumb’s Apparition, premiere of John Buckley's work for soprano and flute and John Corigliano’s Mr Tambourine Man, New Music Dublin Festival premiere performances 2018 -2025.
RECITAL: Recital, chamber and festival collaborations include the Solstice Quartet, Vogler Ensemble, the Clara Schumann Trio and the Grieg Piano Trio, Triocca Ensemble, Isabelle O’Connell, Priya Mitchell, Guy Johnston, William Dowdall, Keith Pascoe, Charles Owen, Michael McHale, Hugh Tinney, Catherine Leonard, Hanna Shybayeva, Mia Cooper, White Crow Music Festival Leiden, Cork Music Festival (Bantry House), St. Barrahane’s Music Festival Castletownshend, the Vogler Festival, New European Ensemble.
HANNA SHYBAYEVA, Devoted to music in every form
Having commenced her international career at the age of eleven, Hanna Shybayeva has transformed from being a 'child prodigy' to the mature and exciting musician she is today. Her playing has been praised by both the public and the press for her deep musical interpretations, captivating energy, a great sense of form and a rich colour palette. Devoted to music in every form, Hanna enjoys her solo performances as much as being a partner in both chamber and vocal music.
Hanna had the privilege to work closely with professors like Dmitri Bashkirov, Ferenc Rados and Naum Grubert, which had a deep influence on her musical development. With professor Naum Grubert she studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague where she graduated with the highest distinction.
Already since the young age she has won many prizes at International Piano Competitions in Europe and the US and had a busy concert schedule. Her numerous performances include appearances in Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ireland, the US and Canada and she appeared o.a. in Robeco Summer Series Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Yamaha Concert Series in New York and Germany, Beethoven Festival Bonn.
Festival performances include a.o. Festival Classique Den Haag, New Music Week Shanghai, George Enescu Festival Bucharest, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, Arte Amanti Belgium, Festival 20/21 Belgium, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Forte Music Fest Almaty, Sound Of Stockholm Festival, Festival Ticino Musica Italy, Festival van Vlaanderen Belgium, Barletta Piano Festival Italy, La Grange aux Pianos France.
Since 2008 she has been a member of the New European Ensemble
The ensemble exists of soloists and chamber musicians from across Europe and is one of the most innovative, vibrant and versatile ensemble's for new music. In the same year Hanna started a chamber music project "Symphonic Intimacy" together with the Ysaye String Trio, a project show casting historical chamber music arrangements of symphonic works. In 2015 the group released their debut album 'Symphonic Intimacy' on the DRC label with the recording of the 3d Symphony of L.van Beethoven (arr. F.Ries) and the world premier recording of the 3d Symphony of G.Mahler (arr. V. Lobanov).
Hanna is very active in the field of recording and has brought out numerous CD's which are highly regarded in the press. She recorded for labels a.o. Philips/Universal, Etcetera, Brilliant Classics and Grand Piano, bringing out versatile repertoire by Ravel, Prokofiev, Chopin, Toru Takemitsu, Shostakovich, Kenneth Hesketh, Schubert and the complete Etudes-Tableaux of Rachmaninov.
Her duo CD 'Sounds of War' together with violinist Maria Milstein was highly praised by the international press and was chosen as one of the five best classical albums of 2015 by the main Dutch newspaper NRC. The disk was awarded Edison Classic Award 2015 in the category Chamber Music.
In 2016 Hanna released her first LP which was recorded as a live ‘direct-to-2-track’ analog vinyl at the legendary Bauer Studios Ludwigsburg (Germany). She is the first classical musician that has participated in the Studio Konzert Limited Edition vinyl series of the Bauer Studios/NEUKLANG. This live concert recording includes works by Couperin, Scarlatti, Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin and Kapustin and is named by the press as an 'album not to be missed’. The same program is also available as a CD album, published by ARS Production in 2017. In 2019 Hanna began a collaboration with Naxos
Music Group and recorded the complete L.van Beethoven’s Piano Concertos in the chamber music arrangement by Vinzenz Lachner.
Her latest CD release is the monumental cycle of Frederik Rzewski ‘The People United Will Never Be Defeated!’, recorded live in November 2023 during the Soundsofmusic festival in Groningen, The Netherlands.
Being a devoted educator, Hanna is a member of the piano faculty at the International Anton Rubinstein Music Academy in Düsseldorf (Germany), as well as a piano professor at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).