TGS 50th anniversary trip to Wales

Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Tullamore Gramophone Society continue throughout 2009, the latest being a trip to Cardiff for two performances by the Welsh National Opera. The venture proved so popular with the party of 19 members and friends that plans for the next trip are already in progress. Meticulous planning by Catherine Loughman, chairman, made for a memorable venture, which included many requested wish-lists. The first of these was a visit en route to Dylan Thomas"s boathouse at Laugharne, where the poet and his wife lived for a number of years. His famous play Under Milk Wood was written during his time at Laugharne and is said to have been inspired by James Joyce"s Ulysses. The following morning was spent at St Fagan"s National History Museum just outside Cardiff. An extensive collection of historic Welsh buildings have been rebuilt in the grounds of the Elizabethan mansion St Fagan"s Castle. It is one of Europe"s most outstanding open air museums. It was off to the opera in the late afternoon for a private pre-opera talk backstage by Simon Rees of the Welsh National Opera on Tchaikovsky"s The Queen of Spades. A pleasant surprise was in store with the announcement that Irish soprano Ann Murray, who was performing the role of the countess in the opera, was to meet our group. Ann Murray is perhaps more famous outside of Ireland than in her native country and is only the second Irish singer to have performed in La Scala, the other being Margaret Burke-Sheridan. She was delightful, very modest about her achievements and appreciative of the attendance of the large group from Tullamore. The magnificent production of The Queen of Spades was enjoyed by all. Another venture on the wish-list was a visit to the city of Bath in England, an hour"s drive from Cardiff. Founded by the Romans as a thermal spa Bath developed in the 18th century under George III into an elegant town with neoclassical Palladian buildings which blend harmoniously with the Roman baths and surrounding countryside. The group enjoyed a coach tour of the city, mass in the Chaplaincy Centre of the University of Bath, visits to the Roman baths, Choral Evensong in the Medieval Abbey and a guided walking tour of the city. In contrast and in keeping with modern times the following morning was spent at the Bridgend Designer Outlet for some retail therapy. It was back to more cultural pursuits in the afternoon with a coach tour of Cardiff city, including the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Castle. The tour also took in two of the buildings listed in the book "1001 Buildings to See Before You Die". One of these was the already visited Welsh National Theatre, home of the Welsh National Opera Co, with its magnificent auditorium. The other is the Seanad, meeting place of the Welsh National Assembly. After attending a pre-opera talk on La Boheme the group settled in their seats in the auditorium for the performance of the much-loved La Boheme by Puccini. It was an unforgettable occasion, with outstanding singing and acting and a wonderful orchestra. La Boheme contains 12 continuous minutes of the most sublime singing in all of opera. At the end of the evening the sublime was followed by the zany, with a delicious supper of Fish and Chips from Dorothy"s, Cardiff"s most famous chipper. Then it was farewell to Cardiff the following morning. Happily, however, it is not farewell to further celebrations, the next one being the concert by the visiting Austrian Trio Eisenstadt in Charleville Castle on Friday evening, October 16. This concert will be a double celebration of the 250th anniversary of the great Austrian composer Joseph Haydn and the 50th anniversary of TGS. The concert will be attended by the Austrian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Walter Hagg, who will give a pre-concert talk on the life and music of Haydn. Further details nearer the time. After the summer recess fortnightly meetings commence in September with the AGM on Thursday, September 3, at 8pm in the Tullamore Court Hotel.