Athlone is home to one of the greatest international pop sensations of the 20th century. In 1929, John McCormack was paid $500,000 to feature in a Hollywood film. This is just one of the many fascinating stories you can hear in Matthew Gilsenan’s ‘John McCormack – A Life in Song and Story’ at the Dean Crowe Theatre on Saturday, September 21.
Spend an evening in the company of the great Irish lyric tenor who charmed and electrified audiences the world over. His repertoire ranged from operatic arias such as Il Mio Tesoro to his favourite beautiful ballads like I Hear You Calling Me. The music and narration of his life will be performed by one of Ireland’s contemporary fine lyric tenors, Matthew Gilsenan from internationally renowned The Celtic Tenors, accompanied on piano by Mairéad Hurley.
Following on from his successful, sold out concert in Kells last summer at the Hinterland Festival, Matthew is grabbing the opportunity of performing his new solo show, on the life and times of Count John McCormack, before hitting the road again with The Celtic Tenors, to Canada, USA, and Germany.
The tale of the fascinating life of one of Ireland’s first true global stars, John McCormack, was always with Matthew. The highs and lows of his career, which spanned for decades and left a lasting legacy, make for a brilliant night of entertainment.
“I can’t believe that young people don’t know more about McCormack. He was a world famous superstar and there are so many outrageous, hilarious and touching stories about his life,” Matthew enthused.
Gilsenan will share these stories and many of McCormack’s songs in the Dean Crowe on September 21, where the audience is guaranteed a magical evening of story and song.
On Saturday, September 28, Emmy-award winning cinematographer Colin Stafford-Johnson is in the Dean Crowe to share stories of his own fascinating career. The foremost nature and wildlife cinematographer and presenter in Ireland today, Colin could be considered the Irish David Attenborough, given his encyclopedic knowledge of wildlife and nature.
Colin has been walking, exploring and filming wildlife along Ireland’s wild Atlantic coast over the last 15 years.
Embark on a journey of discovery with Colin along the western seaboard of Ireland as he presents ‘My Wild Atlantic Journey’ with Colin Stafford-Johnson’ at the Dean Crowe. Hear tales of adventure and misadventure from years spent tracking down some of Ireland’s most elusive creatures - all accompanied by stunning visuals that will make you wish you were there.
