Kildare soprano Celine Byrne to host Annual Christmas Gala Concert in the Bord Gáis Theatre next month

By Kim O'Leary

Co Kildare’s very own internationally acclaimed soprano Celine Byrne is gearing up this holiday season for her Annual Christmas Gala Concert in the Bord Gáis Theatre in Dublin, with an orchestra and a number of special guests to perform for one night only on Monday 17 December.

World-renowned soprano Celine Byrne will be joined onstage by her festive orchestra to perform arias from the world of Opera along with Christmas favourites including ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘The Holy City’ with several special guests on the night including Karl McGukin and conductor David Brophy.

Celine Byrne lives in Caragh in Co Kildare with her husband and three children, she received her Masters in Music from the Royal Irish Academy of Music where she studied with Dr. Veronica Dunne, also receiving the RIAM award for outstanding achievement.

Speaking to KildareNow about her upcoming Christmas Gala, Celine Byrne said: “I’m looking forward to the concert, I’m in Germany working so it gives me an excuse to come back home and spend time with my family. I will be performing with the festive orchestra on the night and there will be a few special guests as well. I love Christmas it’s a special time of year and we’re hoping to share the festive spirit with everyone.”

Miss Byrne is also raising much-needed funds for two charities the Jack & Jill Foundation and the Children in Hospital Ireland with her newly recorded single ‘O Holy Night’ together with the RTE Concert Orchestra, and all profits from the single will go to charity.

“The proceeds will go to two charities The Jack & Jill Foundation and the Children in Hospital, and I have raised about €15,000 for the Children in Hospital Ireland through sales,” said Miss Byrne.

Meanwhile, it has been a busy couple of weeks for the Kildare native, as she also recently performed for President Michael D Higgins at his inauguration ceremony in Dublin Castle last week after he secured a second term in office. “I performed for President Michael D Higgins last week at his inauguration, it was an honour and a privilege to perform for him,” said Miss Byrne.

The Kildare soprano is also hard at work on Puccini’s hit three-act opera ‘Madama Butterfly’ where she will play the title role with the first show opening on Wednesday 12 December in Staatstheatre in Kassel, Germany.

‘Madama Butterfly’ will run until March 2019 and Miss Byrne will also sing as the aristocratic Marschallin for the opera ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ at the Municipal de Santiago in June 2019.

Last August, Miss Byrne gave a stunning performance as part of Pope Francis’ official visit to Ireland, where she gave a phenomenal solo performance of ‘Ag Criost an Siol’ and a heart-felt duet ‘Ave Maria’ (Franz Schubert) with the acclaimed global superstar Andrea Bocceli just minutes before the Pope addressed the huge crowd at the ‘Festival of Families’ in the Phoenix Park.

Tickets are still on sale for Celine Byrne’s Christmas Celebration which starts at 7.30pm on December 17 at the Bord Gáis Theatre with tickets costing €26/€45 from ticketmaster.ie and check out Celine Byrne's website for updates at https://celinebyrne.com/

Check out Celine Byrne's version of 'O Holy Night' with the RTE Concert Opera below:

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