The Easter Rising. The unmatched Irish Landscape. A history marred with occupation and struggle. Love and loss in all its shapes and forms. These themes come to the life through the articulations of James Joyce, Fanny Parnell, WB Yeats and Thomas Moore – some of the most iconic figures in this literary history. And these four poets form the basis for the first set of song cycles in the Great Irish Poets Songbook.
This project now consists of more than 25 newly composed pieces in several song cycles based on the works of the aforementioned writers. The resulting music spans many genres and themes, and allows one to deeply immerse in the world of these powerful literary works. The premiere concert in Munich will be followed by a tour of the music through Germany and Ireland.
More informationIrish tenor Dean Power is a former member of the ensemble at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and started his residency after graduating from the company’s Opera Studio at the end of the 2011-12 season. Recent and upcoming notable house debuts include Graf Elemer in Strauss’s Arabella (Zurich Opera House), Snout in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opéra de Lille) and Puccini’s Il Trittico (Salzburg Festival). In October 2021 he created the role of Gary in Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh’s The First Child at Dublin Theatre Festival (Landmark Productions/Irish National Opera). On the concert platform, recent performances include Acis in Handel’s Acis and Galatea with Irish Baroque Orchestra, Bach’s St John Passion with the National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, Ryba’s Stabat Mater with Prague Symphony Orchestra, and his Portuguese concert debut in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa. In his 2022-23 season Dean makes his company debut at the Teatro Real Madrid as Graf Elemer in Arabella, followed by his Salzburg Easter Festival debut as Heinrich der Schreiber in Wagner’s Tannhäuser and a return to the Bavarian State Opera as Third Jew in Strauss’s Salome.
James Hurley is a classical pianist with a passion for improvisation. He studied piano performance at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (2008) and music at the New England Conservatory, Boston (2010). In 2011, James followed a lifelong dream and moved to Germany where he and his wife opened Più Piano – a live performance venue and piano school, located in Neuburg an der Donau. He has released many recordings that capture his improvisational style, which centres around identity, honesty and love. In 2017 he released a solo piano CD entitled Nightscapes, and has since curated hours of live improvisations which continue to be released on streaming platforms.