On The Town/Catherine Foley:There were some double-takes when Marcus DeLoach, a baritone from New York, in orange prison overalls and handcuffs, walked into the Oak Room of the Mansion House in Dublin this week, dressed for his part in Dead Man Walking.
A reception to introduce the casts in Opera Ireland's two winter productions, Turandot and Dead Man Walking, was packed with the magical and the surreal.
Soprano Mari Moriya, dressed as the Chinese slave girl Liu in Puccini's opera, waited quietly nearby, while Swedish mezzo-soprano Charlotte Hellekant, in a simple grey suit, looked every bit the heroic Sr Helen Prejean who became the spiritual advisor to a condemned man on Louisiana's death row and on whose story the opera by Jake Heggie is based. A hush fell on the gathering when the Italian soprano Stefania Spaggiari, in an ornate full-length red gown, stood regally to sing one of Princess Turandot's arias.
The two operas "are completely different, that's one of the exciting things," said the company's artistic director, Dieter Kaegi, although both do end in an execution, he added. "I am so happy with Dead Man Walking, because it proves that opera is not an art form that has died out. It deals with our daily lives and worries."
"It's a really compelling story and yet it's very simply told, that's the essence of it," said Thomas de Mallet Burgess, who directs Dead Man Walking.
Niall Doyle, chief executive of Opera Ireland, believes the two operas "are going to make a very big impact on Dublin cultural life" when they open at the Gaiety Theatre in two weeks' time. The company hopes to attract up to 10,000 lovers of opera to the Gaiety over the nine-day run.
Turandot and Dead Man Walking play alternate nights at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, beginning on Nov 17 with Puccini's opera, and running until Nov 25
All the world's a circus
The sights, sounds and smells of the big top came to the Project this week with the opening of Circus, a new production from Barabbas theatre company.
There was all the fun of the fair: a roaring lion (as played with great conviction by the play's musical director Trevor Knight), a whip-wielding ringmaster (as played with ferocity by Colm O'Grady) and the burnt toffee smell of a candy floss wagon (as manned by Tony Gallagher in a bowler hat).
"It's about what the circus is, and also a love story," explained Raymond Keane, the play's director and artistic director of Barabbas. "It's influenced by Fellini's La Strada. Two boys run their circus and on this particular night a young girl (as played by Tina Segner) steps into the ring and she is seduced by the circus world. And she becomes more than just a performer."
Keane says he was "scared of the circus" as a child growing up in the coastal town of Dungarvan, Co Waterford. He recalled being terrified "particularly with the clowns who were allowed to break the ring. They were the rule-breakers, the anarchists."
Audience members, including arts consultant and Culture Ireland board member Doireann Ní Bhriain, producer and percussionist Bisi Adigun and An Post's Barney Whelan, showed no such fear.
Composer Roger Doyle and his wife, Mary, were also ready to enjoy a night at the circus. Set designer Joe Vanek, Anne Clarke of Landmark Productions, Tania Banotti of Theatre Forum and television producer Doireann de Buitléar were also in attendance.
A swinging trapeze act, sword swallowing, a rope and a silk act with Ken Fanning tumbling and leading the acrobatics were all part of the opening night magic.
Circus, produced by Barabbas, continues at the Project Arts Centre, East Essex St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 until Nov 10
A dig-out on Kildare Street
Human remains buried 5,000 ago went on view at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin this week. Rites of Passage at Tara is an exhibition of artefacts including some of the human bones, pots, weapons and jewellery which were unearthed at the Mound of the Hostages on the Hill of Tara in an excavation that was started by the late Prof Seán P Ó Ríordáin 50 years ago.
The professor's son, Fionnbharr Ó Ríordáin, a plant pathologist, opened the exhibition and recalled the digs in the 1950s when his father was director and "I acted as messenger boy".
"This exhibition will bear witness to his remarkable life," he said.
Dr Pat Wallace, the museum's director, described Prof Ó Ríordáin as "a great archaeologist . . . He's a giant in our subject and remains so."
"Tara is one of those key sites," said Riaghnall Ó Floinn, head of collections at the National Museum. "It's the richest collection of human remains from Neolithic undisturbed burials." The burial mound "retained the sanctity that the others did not because it was never robbed. It's the oldest visible monument on the hill."
"We know there were at least 230 bodies [ buried] in the Neolithic age and between 40 and 50 in the Bronze age," said Prof Muiris O'Sullivan, whose book, Duma na nGiall, documents the site's excavation.
Among those at the opening was Rhoda Kavanagh, who was an archaeology student at the time of the excavation. "It was fascinating," she said. "I remember lifting up a pot. It was turned upside down and all the ashes in it, and in the ashes was a bronze dagger."
The Mound of the Hostages is a passage tomb, "like Newgrange except on a smaller scale," explained the exhibition's curator, Mary Cahill.
Rites of Passage at Tara: The Excavation of the Mound of the Hostages continues at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Admission is free
Foodies come up with the goodies
The cream of Ireland's foodies gathered in Cork for the launch of The Creators: Individuals of Irish Food by Dianne Curtin. The book contains a collection of stories about the people behind some of Ireland's best fresh produce and artisan specialities, and many of the book's subjects were present at the launch on Wednesday night.
They included chocolatier Eve St Leger and her brother Guy; Giana, Tom and Fingal Ferguson of Gubeen Farmhouse Products; Bill Hogan of West Cork Natural Cheeses; Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery; Madeline McKeever of Ardagh Organic Beef; fisherman Cornie Bohane and mussel farmer Colin Whooley. Also present was foodie author and founder of Ballymaloe Cookery school, Darina Allen.
Not surprisingly among such company, there was not a tired sandwich or greasy cocktail sausage in sight. Guests at the launch, which took place in Simone Kelly's quaint store, Interior Living on McCurtain Street, were treated to platters of fresh oysters, smoked meats, handmade cheeses, gourmet black and white puddings and fine chocolates.
As food writer John McKenna commented, it was appropriate to launch such a beautiful book in a place so full of beautiful things.
He praised the publisher, Mike Collins of Cork University Press, for the superlative quality of the book's design and layout, and praised the outstanding photography by Dianne's husband, Philip Curtin.
"The great strength of this book is not just in its beauty and its breadth, but in its depth. The recipes in the book are amazing," noted McKenna.
Dianne, a freelance food writer, chef and food stylist living in West Cork, paid tribute to all of those at the launch who had featured in the book and had done so much to raise the profile of Irish food.
"They have moved Irish food forward over the past 30 years and will continue to do so," she said. "They have catapulted us into the gourmet stratosphere and there is a new wave up and down the country coming behind them."
The Creators celebrates the work of farmers, fishermen, and artisan producers of Co Cork who have helped secure Ireland's reputation as a gourmet destination.
The book is divided into three main chapters, each containing comprehensive profiles of the producers as well as inspirational and practical recipes and cookery tips to make the most of the featured products and ingredients. - Michelle McDonagh
The Creators: Individuals of Irish Food by Dianne Curtin is published by Cork University Press