Young singers from Irish National Opera Studio will sing arias and duets from Mozart’s most popular operas for this year’s Emily Anderson Concert, which will take place on Tuesday, November 11, at 7.30pm in the ballroom of the city’s Hardiman Hotel.

Baritone David Kennedy, from Eyrecourt will be on stage alongside sopranos Laura Aherne and Heather Sammon, and mezzo-soprano  Olha Palazhchenko, accompanied by Adam McDonagh on piano.

The event will also include short talks by computer scientists Dave Pope and Jennifer Conlon about Emily Anderson’s code-breaking techniques and her mathematical mind.

This is part of Music for Galway’s 44th season, Breathe.

The annual Emily Anderson Concert, a collaboration between the University of Galway and Music for Galway, honours an extraordinary Galwegian. In addition to being a codebreaker for the British government during war times, Anderson edited and translated the complete letters of both Mozart and Beethoven.

The popular annual event features the music of Mozart and Beethoven on alternate years, and for 2025, Mozart is in the spotlight.  In keeping with Breathe, the theme of MfG’s season, a vocal concert will showcase his unique genius.

Mozart broke new ground with his tuneful and entertaining operas, which were hugely successful in their time and remain so today.

On November 11, the singers will perform some of the best-known numbers from several of them – including the two arias about page Cherubino’s new-found puppy love from The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni’s seedy attempts to seduce a peasant woman on her wedding day.

Strong women are to the fore, with Fiordiligi’s aria Come Scoglio – Like a Rock from Così fan tutte and Sesto’s momentous aria Parto, parto from The Clemency of Titus, set in ancient Rome. These arias test singers’ vocal limits with their virtuosity and lyricism.

The singers, including David Kennedy, are the recently-selected young singers at the studio of Irish National Opera in Dublin, who are involved range of activities and performances as part of their INO programme.

Standard tickets are €22, and concessions, for over-66s, are €19.80. Solidarity tickets are €11, and the MfG Friend rate is €18. Tickets available at www.musicforgalway.ie or from 091 705962.

Pictured: David Kennedy is one of the INO’s Young Singers.