SIR RICHARD Bonynge, one of the greatest of all operatic conductors, playS a fundraising concert on Thursday May 29 in the Augustinian Church.
The concert is to raise money for Ensemble XXI, which recently moved from its Moscow base to Finland and Ireland.
Ensemble XXI was the first independent orchestra in Soviet history, founded in 1989 by conductor and Galwegian Lygia O’Riordan and Finnish violinist Pia Siirala after completing their studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Sir Richard and his late wife, Dame Joan Sutherland, were patrons of Ensemble XXI for many years. He also recorded Haydn’s Orpheus and Euridice as well as Isouard’s Cinderella with Ensemble XXI in Moscow.
The Augustinian Church concert will feature the Russian soprano Ludmilla Shilova, a winner of the John Field Prize, and Pia Siirala. The programme will feature music by Donizetti, Mozart, Bach, Bellini, Leoncavallo, and Siirala. It will also include a short film about Ensemble XXI in the Russian Arctic.
The MC for the concert will be former Fine Gael TD Alan Dukes. Tickets are €50 (includes reception to meet Sir Richard ) or €20 online or at Ticketmaster at OMG Zhivago, Shop Street (091 - 509960 ). Concessions of €10 are available at door only. See www.ensemblexxi.org
