Comments on: William Vincent Wallace Bicentenary

By: Bean an Phoist

Bean an Phoist — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:47:02 +0000

Hello Liam. I'm not sure about shops, but you can certainly buy it online from the RTÉ Shop.

By: LIAM MURPHY

LIAM MURPHY — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:22:33 +0000

how do I buy this Wallace American Album
its not on Amazon or Concert Hall.
Regards
LIAM MURPHY WATERFORD

By: Paddy Brennan

Paddy Brennan — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:07:11 +0000

Congratulations to all concerned and looking forward to more Wallace and other Irish composers and their works being highlighted and made available as a follow on from this initiative.

By: Kurt Gänzl

Kurt Gänzl — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:01:42 +0000

Mr Wallace is having a well-remembered birthyear. Hurrah!
My bedside book (just finished) is Andrew Lamb’s outstanding new biography of wandering Willie, we now have LURLINE on disc and awareness of him and his work seems to be growing just a tad.
Bravo to all who are helping that to happen!

By: Dónall Ó Luanaigh

Dónall Ó Luanaigh — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:21:29 +0000

Hello Una,

Thank you for the excellent piece on W.V.Wallace.My introduction to him came when my school (Coláiste Iognáid,Galway) produced Maritana in 1952,with songs and libretto entirely in Irish! The translation must have been the work of one of the Jesuit Fathers. I was immediately captivated by the glorious melodies.A year or two later,the enterprising Patrician Musical Society in Galway also produced the same opera.

With best wishes

Dónall Ó Luanaigh

By: Mike McCann

Mike McCann — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:17:35 +0000

Happy Belated Birthday William Vincent Wallace…!! And many thanks to you Una & to NLI for this splendid initiative & fascinating insights/ blog

By: Sean Mac Liam

Sean Mac Liam — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:52:25 +0000

Well done, Una. Thank you for sharing this. I have a copy of the score Maritana belonging to my mother who, during the 1920s and 30s, was a member of Miss McKeogh’s Opera Company – a local amateur company which operated in Drogheda. There were a number of local opera companies during this period and Wallace’s opera was obviously popular in local opera prior to 1950.

In 1889, Robert O’Dwyer (or Rober Dwyer as he was then) staged and conducted Maritana with the Bristol Operatic Society. It was this experience which led him to leave his job as a church musician and seek musical fame as a singer, repetiteur and conductor with various touring opera companies. Dwyer was obviously seen as a specialist in works by Wallace and Balfe and, in the Rousbey Opera Company, he seems to have been the preferred conductor to the more famous Eugene Goossens junior. There are records of Dwyer’s Dublin performances of Maritana during the late 19th century.

Interesting connections. Well done, Una.

By: Axel Klein

Axel Klein — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:13:40 +0000

Thank you Una for this initiative. When your mail arrived I was actually strolling through the spa area of Wiesbaden and thinking of Wallace who spent several months there around 1860 curing himself (futile, as it were) and working on his ‘Amber Witch’ opera. A nice coincidence.

By: Terry Browne

Terry Browne — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:08:50 +0000

Congratulations and thanks to Dr Una Hunt and to the National Library for marking the Wallace bicentenery. The need for a permanent home for the study and performance of the works of the Irish composers could not be better evidenced.

By: Elisabeth Goell

Elisabeth Goell — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:03:10 +0000

Happy belated birthday, William Vincent Wallace! The “Tales of a Traveled Piano” hopes to continue to celebrate your music and that of many of your unduly neglected compatriots. My students really enjoy your songs! Well done Una for your tireless efforts on behalf of our Irish classical music ambassadors. I am looking forward to the day when your music, Wallace and that of other Irish classical composers will be on many lips both old and young again. In the meantime, I shall continue to sing your songs all over the world.
Elisabeth Goell, Soprano, historic researcher and voice teacher