Opening Gala Concert

Enjoy the magical Gala performances by celebrated international artists at unbeatable value for money with a Friend of the Festival pass! We are thrilled to offer an exclusive pre-sale period for our Friends guaranteeing your preferred seating choice (balcony or parterre for the concerts in Cork City Hall) until 15th November. More details on the Friend of the Festival package and the order form are available here. General ticket sales for individual shows will open on 16th November.

“The Universal Prayer”

“May everything that breathes, without enemy or obstacle, overcome pain and attain happiness; may each move freely in the path destined for it.”

Featuring tenor Arnold Rawls and cellist Alina Obreja, the combined forces of the Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra and Fleischmann Choir under the direction of conductor Tom Doyle present ‘The Universal Prayer’, an exploration of humanity’s relationship with universal ideals, celestial powers and the great unknown.

The coming of light from darkness, and the flood of radiant warmth and colour erupt from the opening bars of Mascagni’s lesser-known opera Iris (1898) in an invocation to the Sun. By contrast, Elgar’s plaintive and intimate Cello Concerto in E minor (1919) wanders through uncertain and unchartered territory, with Lili Boulanger’s expansive and mystical Vielle prière bouddhique (1917) transcending earthly limitations to deliver a prayer for the entire universe.

Pēteris Vasks’ hypnotic meditation Da pacem, Domine (2016)for chorus and string orchestra represents a “cry of desperation for our times, a prayer for our mad world” and finds itself answered in the unwavering faith and ultimate trust of the Most High in the opening movement of Hermann Suter’s Le laudi di San Francesco d’Assisi (1924).

Ticket Exchange/Refund
Once purchased tickets cannot be exchanged or refunds given. Refunds will only be made in the event of a cancelled performance.