On The Town: There were plenty of smiles and no bitter tears at a party in the Arts Council offices in Merrion Square, Dublin this week to mark the CD release of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a five-act opera composed by Irishman Gerald Barry.
The two-CD set, which is a live recording of the opera's concert premiere by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra earlier this year, was launched by Cathal Goan, RTÉ's director-general.
Many at the celebratory party were also excited at the prospect of travelling to London for the stage premiere of the opera, which opened the English National Opera's new season last night.
Among those who expected to travel were Arts Council chairwoman Olive Braiden and its director Mary Cloake, as well as Barry's sister, Mary Moloney, with her son, Barry, her daughter, Eleanor, plus "a million friends", the composer said.
"I've written three operas," he said. "The first took nine years, the second took nine months and this was four years."
"It's a powerful, visceral piece of music," said Gareth Costello, executive producer of the recording. "It's a blistering piece of orchestration. He turns on the full guns of the orchestra and lets loose."
"It's the overwhelming power of it, the sheer relentless forward thrusting power of it," that will appeal, said Brian O'Rourke, general manager of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. "It starts off with a very striking passage for French horns. It's excruciatingly difficult [ to play] but tremendously exciting in effect."
The two-CD set, which is released on the RTÉ label and supported by the Arts Council, is a recording of the concert premiere in May at the National Concert Hall, performed under the baton of Gerhard Markson.