Arts Council of Northern Ireland withdrew funding from Opera Northern Ireland, it promised not to shrink its opera budget. ACNI, being as good as its word, is funding a visit to Belfast's Grand Opera House by the Welsh National Opera, conveniently timed to coincide with the Belfast Festival. The repertoire is popular: Mozart's Don Giovanni (with a cast including Cara O'Sullivan on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 13th) and Verdi's Rigoletto (directed by Patrick Mason, on Wednesday and Friday). It will be interesting to see if the visit by WNO has the effect of increasing expectations from whatever resolution is found to Northern Ireland's current operatic impasse. Among the week's other attractions are performances of Schoenberg's Second String Quartet (soprano Patricia Rozario with the RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet, in Galway tonight and Dublin tomorrow afternoon), Hugh Tinney playing Beethoven piano concertos (at the NCH on Tuesday) and an all-Czech programme from the NSO under Libor Pesek (at the NCH on Friday).
The Welsh National Opera, bringing Don Giovanni and Rigoletto to Belfast
