Birr singer makes his debut on the big screen!

Renowned Birr opera singer, John Molloy, is more accustomed to performing on stage than the big screen, but this week he will play a starring role in an operatic production called 'The Lighthouse' which will be screened at a number of outdoor locations from Cork to Donegal.

The 70-minute production, which was filmed in April, is a unique departure for the Birr singer, who has performed on five continents and is regarded as one of the finest bass singers of his generation.

Describing the opera, which was written by Peter Maxwell-Davies and is directed by Edwina Casey, as “an incredibly difficult piece” John Molloy says it has “a particular resonance” for the times we live in as the storyline centres around the psychological state of three fractious men who find themselves stranded in a lighthouse.

“I live on my own, and many people have felt very isolated over the past year with all the lockdowns, so I think there are parallels between the piece and the experiences that many of us have had since the coronavirus pandemic hit us,” he says.

Working up close and personal with a camera was a very different experience for John Molloy, but it was a challenge he embraced, and he is delighted with the finished product. “This was filmed with cameras on stage at all times with lots of up close shots of our faces, so it felt a bit strange, but in the end, I think we created a cinematic experience that audiences will find invigorating and thrilling,” he says.

The Irish National Opera production will be screened outdoors at three lighthouses, Fanad in Donegal, Hook Head lighthouse in Wexford and Valentia Island in Kerry, as well as four other venues, in with each screening starting at 10.45pm.

John Molloy was in Glasgow when the pandemic struck, and he says he has had “a long and arduous year” since then, compounded by the fact that his beloved Dad, Paddy, who was one of Offaly’s most skilful hurlers of all time, passed away on May 6 last year.

“I would normally spend a lot of my time travelling, but to be honest, I was glad of the time at home, especially when my Dad passed away,” he says.

Despite the huge restrictions placed on the live entertainment sector as a result of the pandemic, John Molloy has managed to continue working over the past year, albeit at a very reduced capacity. Nevertheless, he is very grateful for the fact that he has been able to work at all.

“I am just back from the UK where I played in front of a live audience for the first time in almost two years,” said the clearly delighted singer, who played the role of Don Alfonso in one of Mozart’s most renowned operatic works, Cosi Fan Tutte at the Longborough Festival Opera in the English Cotswolds.

“I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to continue working,” he admits “but it is sort of bittersweet as I am acutely aware of the many hundreds of thousands of my colleagues in all areas of the music industry who have not been working since March of last year,” adds John.

He speaks in almost poetic terms about the thrill of being in front of an audience for the first time in almost two years, and refers to the “sound, excitement and even fear” of the audience! “It is the extra element that every performer misses, it was just amazing,” he admits.

The nine performances of Cosi Fan Tutte, which is an opera about intimacy and love, were staged in a Big Top at the Longborough Festival Opera instead of in the Opera House in order to comply with the rules around social distancing.

John laughs when he recalls the difficulties encountered by the six performers on stage in trying to convey intimacy to the audience while maintaining social distancing. “Nobody ever got married by staying two metres apart,” he jokes, adding that it was a feat of “incredible ingenuity” to bring the show to life before the audience!

Among the projects which John Molloy has lined up in the coming months are roles in the operatic adaptation of the James Joyce's 'The Dead;” the Lismore opera production of Puccini’s 1918 opera 'Gianni Schicchi'(which will be performed in an open shed); the fully-staged production of the 1886 opera 'Edmea' by Alfredo Catalani at the Wexford Festival Opera and the stage production of 'The Lighthouse' at the end of this year, which he says will “hopefully be performed before a live audience.”

He is very positive about the future but admits that there were times over the past year when he wasn’t feeling nearly as positive.

“It has been a long and arduous year,” concedes the Birr singer, “but I have been incredibly lucky, and for that, I am very grateful.”