There was a rare chance in Dublin this week to meet the cast and crew of The Turn of the Screw before they embark on a countrywide tour.
Virginia Kerr (who plays the sinister Mrs Gosse) and Belfast-born Rebekah Coffey (who plays Flora) along with the rest of the troupe went to Brooks Hotel, on Drury Street, for a relaxing evening before getting down to rehearsals the next day.
Among those saluting the opera troupe were Barney Whelan, director of marketing and communications at Safefood, Gerard O'Neill, chief executive of Amárach Consulting, Mary Nolan, of the Anglo Irish Bank, and Brenda Hurley, from AIB's Better Ireland Programme.
The opera's director, Helen Eastman, and Opera Theatre Company's new artistic director, Annilese Miskimmon, were there. Composer James Wilson, Margaret O'Sullivan, CEO of Cumann Náisiúnta na gCór and conductor David Brophy were among those from the world of classical music.
Brazilian Celso Atunes, who is also artistic director of the National Chamber Choir, will conduct the opera.
Based on the Henry James classic ghost story, The Turn of the Screw was adapted for the stage in 1954 by composer Benjamin Britten and librettist Myfanwy Piper.
It's a dark tale about a naive young governess, which explores the themes of innocence and corruption. Soprano Sylvia O'Brien takes the lead role of the governess.
The true nature of the story has been debated since it was first published in 1898.
This co-production between the English Touring Opera and the Opera Theatre Company has already won critical acclaim on its British tour.