Maria Stuarda Programme Book 2022

AMY NÍ FHEARRAIGH
SOPRANO
ELISABETTA
Irish soprano Amy Ní Fhearraigh
is an alumna of the Irish National
Opera Studio 2018–19 and is
currently based in Hannover,
Germany. She is under the tutelage
of Dutch soprano Hanneke de
Wit. Her opera roles include Davnet in the world
premiere of Michael Gallen’s Elsewhere and Gretel
in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, in productions
which have received Best Opera nominations in
the 2020–21 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards,
Rosemary in Brian Irvine and Netia Jones’s Least
Like the Other – Searching for Rosemary Kennedy,
Papagena in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Barbarina
in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (all Irish National
Opera), Mrs Julian in Britten’s Owen Wingrave (Opera
Collective Ireland), Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen (Lyric
Opera Productions), Suor Genovieffa in Puccini’s
Suor Angelica (Dublin Opera Studio), the title role
in Handel’s Susanna and Drusilla in Monteverdi’s
L’incoronazione di Poppea (DIT Opera Ensemble),
and Lucinde in Gluck’s Armide (The Yorke Trust). She
has also covered roles for INO – Pamina in The Magic
Flute, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, and Hannah in
Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh’s The Second
Violinist. She is making her role debut as Elisabetta in
Maria Stuarda.
GEMMA NÍ BHRIAIN
MEZZO-SOPRANO
ANNA
Dublin mezzo-soprano Gemma Ní
Bhriain graduated in June 2014 with
a BA in Music Performance from
the Royal Irish Academy of Music
where she studied with Veronica
Dunne. She was then invited to
become a member of the Atelier Lyrique Opera
Studio at Opéra national de Paris, and during her two
seasons there she debuted in five roles, including two
world premieres. From 2016 she spent two seasons
at the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera
House. There she performed many roles including
Cléone in Charpentier’s Médée, Le Pâtre, La Chatte
and L’écureuil in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges,
Zweite Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Valletto in
Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and Ramiro
in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. Over the past number
of years, she made her concert debuts at Théâtre de
Champs-Elysées and for Radio France, and gave her
solo recital debut at Amphithéâtre Bastille, Opéra
national de Paris. In 2018 she made her company
and role debut with Irish National Opera as Niklausse
in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. In 2020 she
performed in Linda Buckley’s Glaoch for INO’s 20
Shots of Opera and most recently she performed
the role of Mother in Elaine Agnew’s Paper Boat,
presented by Music for Galway in association with
INO. Gemma is also part of a new chamber ensemble,
Trio Cantare, with pianist Cahal Masterson and cellist
Yseult Cooper-Stockdale. Their debut recital, at the
Drogheda Classical Music Festival in October 2021,
was later broadcast on RTÉ lyric fm.
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