St Peter’s Male Voice Choir and Celine Byrne put on a stunning show

MUSIC lovers in Drogheda were treated to a magnificent Summer Gala of music and song on Friday last when internationally-renowned soprano, Celine Byrne, performed with St. Peter’s Male Voice Choir (pictured), under the baton of Musical Director Edward Holly, in a sold-out St. Peter’s Church of Ireland.

Accompanied throughout by the outstanding pianist Orla McDonagh and violinist Lynda O’Connor, Celine opened the concert with stunning performances of operatic favourites that included Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”, before making way for Lynda’s violin recital of Monti’s “Czardas.”

The men of St. Peter’s Male Voice Choir then continued the operatic theme with a stirring rendition of the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from Verdi’s “Nabucco” and Hammerstein’s “Stout-Hearted Men”, which was followed by a touch of Hollywood as Celine joined with the choir for a moving interpretation of “Cavatina” from “The Deer Hunter” and Lynda left the audience spellbound with a haunting rendition of the theme from “Schindler’s List”.

Moving closer to home, the choir then sang a number of Irish favourites from their recent sell-out Irish shows. With tight rhythms and wonderful vocal colourings, “The Rocky Road to Dublin” and “The Kerry Dances” captivated the audience. Accompanied on piano by Edward, Celine then joined the choir for moving performances of “Danny Boy” and “You Raise Me Up” that included a solo appearance from tenor Seán Tester.

A night of standing ovations culminated in the grand finale which included wellloved pieces from “The Merry Widow,” as Celine and the choir combined with panache for “So Many Men Admire me”, ” Vilia” and “The Merry Widow Waltz”. The evening closed with a rousing rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” with Celine walking around the church singing along with the audience as Musical Director Edward Holly continued to conduct choir and musicians on stage, generating such a sound that the Church of Ireland will likely need to raise funds for a new roof!

PRO Anthony Moore said:- “This was a truly special evening of music and song. We are simply delighted that Celine invited St. Peter’s Male Voice Choir to be her guests, given that she was flying to Croatia the very next day to sing with none other than José Carreras.

‘On behalf of Edward and the choir, I extend sincere thanks to Celine and our wonderful accompanying musicians, Lynda and Orla.

‘We would also like to say a very big thank you to St. Peter’s Church of Ireland who so kindly hosted our sell-out Christmas Concert there last December with Celine and once again for their hospitality on this magical evening. It was also an added bonus that €1,700 was raised on the night for Drogheda Hospice, a most worthy cause, and we are grateful to Ann McVeigh for working with Celine, Edward and the choir on this and, of course, to the audience’s generosity.”