D E E R P A R K
Inspired
by her ancestral home, Mary-Attracta Connolly performs a selection of much loved
Irish Traditional Songs for your pleasure.
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Soprano ~
Australian born of Irish
parents Mary-Attracta is a graduate of the Western Australian Conservatorium of
Music. Following graduation Mary-Attracta
made her professional debut with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra
in its Family Concert Series and was awarded a prestigious Italian
Government Scholarship, as well as the Bernard Manning Award presented by The
Gilbert & Sullivan Society of WA, enabling further vocal studies in Milan,
Italy with Fernando Bandera. Mary-Attracta
also subsequently completed a period of advanced vocal study with Janice Chapman
in London.
OPERATIC
REPERTOIRE
Mary-Attracta
works extensively with the West Australian Opera Chorus with performances
including Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Offenbach’s Orpheus
in the Underworld, Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love,
Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Handel’s Alcina (Ensemble
Chorus) in conjunction with The Festival of Perth 1996, J. Strauss’ Die
Fledermaus, Bizet’s Carmen & Les Pêcheurs
des Perles,
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilbert &
Sullivan’s Mikado and Patience, Verdi’s Il
Trovatore, as well as 'Opera in the Park' performances including
Puccini’s Tosca , Gounod’s Faust and
Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Performance
highlights include performing the role of the boyish Second Spirit in
West Australian Opera’s celebrated production of The Magic Flute
directed by Lindy Hume. Chorus highlights include Verdi’s La Traviata
for Opera Australia, West Australian Opera’s 30th Anniversary
Gala Concert in1997, the Michael Edgley International Touring Production
of Verdi’s Aida (Perth Season) in which Mary-Attracta also
understudied the role of the High Priestess 1, Perth’s Premier
Concert Performance of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung
for the UWA Perth International Arts Festival 2003, the Western Australian Premier
of Richard Mills’ Batavia for WAO, Opera Australia
and the UWA Perth International Arts Festival 2004 and Bellini’s Norma
for West Australian Opera in 2004.
Most
recently, in 2006, Mary-Attracta has performed in the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
concerts at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, Leonard Bernstein’s Candide for
the Perth International Arts Festival 2006 and Saint-Saëns’
Samson et Dalila for The City of Perth’s ‘Opera in the
Park’. In March-April 2006 Mary-Attracta
will appear for West Australian Opera as Cousin in Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Concert
performances include the Blackwood River Spring Chamber Festival & The
Terrace Proms, as well as the Amberley on Swan concert.
Mary-Attracta also featured as Special Guest Artist at the Broome Arts
& Music Festival in 2003 and 2004. Recordings include the ‘live to air’ national broadcast
of Giancarlo Menotti’s radio play The Old Maid and the Thief, in
the role of Miss Pinkerton, for the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation CLASSIC FM, ‘Sunday Live’
programme.
Mary-Attracta
is Director of OPERA UNDER THE STARS®, the first ever Opera Gala Event to be
presented above the 26th Parallel in Western Australia. Lauded as an Event of Excellence, under Mary-Attracta’s
Directorship, OPERA UNDER THE STARS® was awarded the 1999 Western Australian
Tourism Award in the Significant Regional Festivals & Special Events
category of the awards and subsequently represented WA as a finalist in the
Australian Tourism Awards. In
addition to being involved in the Event's organisation, Mary-Attracta has
regularly featured on stage at OPERA UNDER THE STARS® with highlights including
the Inaugural Gala with Fergus H. Anderson in 1993, the Highlights from
Carmen Gala with Jolanta Nagajek, Yu Jixing & Kerry Henderson in
1996,, with The Three Chinese Tenors & Francis Greep in 1999, a cameo
appearance with Soprano, Janice Chapman at the OPERA UNDER THE STARS® 10th
Anniversary Gala in 2002 and starring with Rachelle Durkin, Dimity Shepherd,
Aldo Di Toro and Tommaso Pollio at OPERA UNDER THE STARS® 2005.
IRISH
TRADITIONAL SONGS
Mary-Attracta
enjoys a very strong connection with her Irish heritage through music.
Mary-Attracta is regularly engaged to perform Irish music, a genre for
which she has a particular love, and is highly regarded for her unaccompanied
performances of Irish Traditional Songs. Performance
highlights include having the honour of performing the Irish National Anthem for
the internationally televised 2003 International Rules competition between
Ireland and Australia, A Song for Ireland and Ireland’s
Gift of Music to the World for the Australian-Irish Heritage
Association, and Around the Boree Log an Australian-Irish
Heritage Association production for the UWA Perth International Arts Festival
2002 Festival Fringe. Mary-Attracta also performs in and is Musical Director for
the annual ‘Bloomsday’ celebrations presented by The Irish
Theatre Players at The Irish Club of WA in Subiaco, Western Austraila.
D
E E R P A R K ~ Debut CD
Mary-Attracta
launched her debut CD D E E R P A R K on Wednesday 8th March 2006 to a very
enthusiastic ‘packed house’ at The Irish Club of WA in Subiaco.
Subsequent orders for CDs have come from as far a field as Broome in the
North-West, Wentworth Falls in NSW, Mt. Isa in Queensland
and Crosshaven in Co. Cork, Ireland!
Purchase details Click here