Free Open Air Opera Performances

Well it's back this August, Dublin City Council will again host a series of lunchtime performances in their Amphitheatre (Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8) at 1pm for every Thursday in August.

The line up includes:

5th August: Don Pasquale (Donizetti)

12th August: Ariodante (Handel)

19th August: Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagan)/Paglicci (Leoncavallo)

26th August: Don Giovanni (Mozart)

I went along to one last year and really enjoyed the ambiance of a unique outdoor Opera performance. The audience were well prepared with picnic baskets and the sun shone! The events are free so do take a trip over. The Amphitheatre is approximately a ten minute walk from Temple Bar Hotel.

Clowning Around - Take That Concert, Croke Park

For someone with such a short attention span as myself, Take That’s lavish show on Saturday night in Croke Park Stadium was the perfect antidote. It was a case of not knowing where to look as my attention was being constantly diverted from performance to performance! Once again I cursed my five foot nothingness as I stood on my tippy toes straining to see all that was on show.

It was an amazing feeling to be in the middle of the pitch in Croke Park and to look up at a packed stadium. The girls laughed and me when I observed what it must feel like to be a GAA player looking up at those crowds! It was the largest crowd that the band had ever performed in front of – 80, 000.

We were positioned very close to the centre stage and I was convinced if I waved hard enough that one of the lads would wave back at me…..oh to have go go gadget arms!!!! There were so many parts to the show that I can’t even recall half of it, but I must say that the constructed Elephant was one of the most impressive parts of the show. Take That have really raised the bar when it comes to concerts as it was by far and away the best one I have ever been to!

Walking Time from Temple Bar Hotel to the Croke Park Stadium - 20-25 minute.