One of the jewels of Ireland’s Georgian heritage, currently featuring as an authentic period location in the film Love & Friendship, Castletown House is also a uniquely special music venue. A supporter of both local and national artists, Castletown House served as the birthplace of the chamber music festival now known as Great Music in Irish Houses way back in 1970. Its beautifully-restored Palladian interiors provide great performing spaces, most especially the Grand Tour-inspired Long Gallery, complete with its mad baroque chandeliers of Murano glass.
The music at Castletown House this year draws in performers from around the country, with ongoing support for local community artists. This includes the ‘Summer Sunday’ series of free recitals in the Grand Entrance Hall, running each Sunday through July and August at 2pm, with singers and instrumentalists including Helene Murray and Eoin Hynes with Siobhan Kilkelly, Raphaela Mangan and Niall Kinsella, the Ballymore Eustace Concert Band, and many more.
After Sharon Carty’s successful recital in June, Saturday evening concerts in the Long Gallery continue with three further events. On 23 July, soprano Sandra Oman (with baritone Simon Morgan, and pianist David Wray, Kate O’Connor (violin), Gerald Peregrine (cello) and Dave McClune (percussion)) performs songs and arias from her debut release Liberty. This is followed on August 13 by a recital by Kildare native Celine Byrne on 13 August, before Opera in the Open returns on September 24 to present a cut-down version of Puccini’s La Bohème, with a cast that includes Sandra Oman, Simon Morgan, Deirdre Masterson and John Molloy. Tickets for all of these are available at eventbrite.ie and for more information see castletown.ie