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Tributes have been paid following the death of one of Ireland’s most celebrated sopranos, Cara O’Sullivan, after a brief illness.
One of the greatest voices of her generation, Ms. O’Sullivan was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of dementia with early onset in 2018. She died today at Marymount Hospice in Cork. He was only 59 years old.
Former Cork Mayor Cllr Mick Finn, who awarded him the city’s first civic cultural award in April 2019 to mark his outstanding contribution to the artistic and cultural life of his hometown, paid tribute to him.
“Cara was a world-class superstar,” he said.
“But off stage, he contributed a lot to many local fundraising initiatives. He helped many organizations in his life.
And when her health deteriorated, Ireland joined her. There was a great outpouring of emotion and respect for her and the three benefit concerts at the Opera, the City Hall and the National Concert Hall were sold out.
“It was a sign of great esteem in which she was held.
“We were fortunate to have an international star that we could call our own.”
Denis McSweeney, Chairman of the Everyman Theater Board, described Cara’s passing as a colossal loss, not just for Cork, but for Ireland as well.
“We have lost an important cultural performer. She was the darling of not only opera connoisseurs, but also a favorite of ordinary Cork folk who flocked to her performances whenever they could.
“He was an engaging personality who brought a smile and warmth to his very personal engagement with those audiences.
“I had the pleasure of being the ‘second tenor from the left’ when she performed at the opening of the Choral Festival a few years ago when she sang Verdi’s Requiem.
“Going so young is very sad.”
John O’Brien, director, songwriter and close friend, added: “She was a world-class artist and she had a voice that was like gold, or like honey, or like velvet, or all of those things and she had a total mastering her and with all that, she was simply a beautiful, kind and caring person.
“We first worked together when she was at the peak of her career and I was starting out and I was in awe of her, but it ended where there was beautiful respect and we did a lot of great jobs together.
“We did funerals and weddings together and complete operas and orchestral concerts. Twenty years of work and friendship. I will miss her very much.”
Theater producer and concert promoter Pat Talbot, a friend of O’Sullivan’s, who helped organize the tribute concerts in 2019, said Ireland has prematurely lost an iconic figure in the performing arts.
“She was one of the most brilliant sopranos the country has produced,” he said.
“In Cork, she was adored and loved by thousands of people, many of whom generously supported our fundraising concerts for Cara in 2019.
“Cara had a unique voice, a unique personality, a supreme professional and a loyal friend. It was always a pleasure working with her. “
Ms. O’Sullivan was born in Cork in 1962 and raised in The Lough area on the south side of the city.
He began training as a singer in his teens and attended the Cork School of Music, where his parents were told by teachers that he had what it took to rise to the top.
She gave up training for a period in her 20s, following the birth of her daughter, Christine, but landed her first major role in 1996, at age 34, as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the National Opera of Wales.
Renowned for her spectacular and dramatic coloratura soprano voice, critics praised her as a “fearsome coloratura” with a “fiery delivery”, while others praised her “spirit and diamond precision.”
She wowed audiences around the world and, over a career of nearly 30 years, she performed on some of the world’s largest stages, including the Sydney Opera House, the Paris Opera, and London’s Royal Albert Hall.
He had a tumor removed from one of his legs in the mid-1990s and he continued to speak about the importance of skin cancer checks, and then had his vocal cord nodes surgically removed a few years later.
But her dementia diagnosis in 2018 forced her to retire from singing and eventually to retire from public life.
Three big benefit concerts hosted by friends in the music business sold out.
His daughter, Christine, said at the time.
“We are all adjusting to life now dealing with Mommy’s illness. Every day is a new day and we are trying to make the most of each day, ”he said.
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