It ain't over, they say, until the fat lady sings. At the end of Puccini's Tosca, however, she doesn't just sing - she hurls herself over the parapet.

Could this explain the choice of Toscaas the production that will bring Opera Ireland's 70-year stint as a national institution to a close? Or maybe not. After all, since it began in 1941 as the Dublin Grand Opera Society, the company has staged many magical productions of Italian opera at the Gaiety Theatre. It's now moving over to make way for the new National Opera. But the final season of seven shows, which kicks off tomorrow night, will see Opera Ireland go out not with a whimper but with a glorious fortissimo, with Orla Boylan as Floria. If you want to say farewell in style, sign up for the oh-so-glam gala night next Saturday, November 13th, when €150 will buy you the best seat in the house, a pre-opera champagne reception at the Merrion, interval drinkies, and a meet-the-cast reception in the Gaiety's Dress Circle Bar. Way to go.

Tel: 1890-673727, operaireland.ie.