Glenarm Festival of Voice

Northern Ireland Opera returns to the village of Glenarm on the North coast of Northern Ireland for the first time since 2019 for the 12th Glenarm Festival of Voice which runs from 26 to 28 August 2022. Five opera singers have been selected as finalists from applications received from across the island of Ireland. They will compete for the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize, the Audience Prize and the Song Prize by performing arias, ensemble pieces and Irish art songs in front of an audience and a judging panel.

This year's finalists are Hannah O’Brien (soprano), Heather Sammon (mezzo-soprano), Michael Bell (tenor), Owen Lucas (tenor), David Kennedy (baritone) and the Peter Rankin Piano Intern for 2022 is Doireann O’Carroll.

The team who will coach the finalists includes Kathryn Harries, Dr Ingrid Surgenor and pianist Simon Lepper. They will work with the finalists on their competition repertoire across the weekend in the build-up to the finale on Sunday 28 August in Glenarm’s Church of the Immaculate Conception. 

The festival includes three recitals with NI Opera’s festival partners, BBC Radio 3, with tenor Alessandro Fisher, baritone Seán Boylan and soprano Soraya Mafi; tickets for these recitals are free but must be booked in advance from the company's website. 

The 2021 winner of the Festival’s Deborah Voigt Opera Prize, soprano Ellen Mawhinney, will be giving a recital at the historic Londonderry Arms in Carnlough.

Full details from the company's website.