Hiberno Goethe

Ciarán chats with mezzo soprano singer Sharon Carty about encountering German at school, and the grammar, the ‘Der, die, das, die’, and how her love of the language grew, especially as she began to sing opera in German. We hear how Sharon went from PE teacher to opera singer and about her growing up with country music, Willie Nelson and ‘Wailing’ Jennings! They drift into talking about performing and how her experience of living in Vienna and Frankfurt differs from life in Ireland, and about how opera is perceived differently in these countries. Sharon tells how some of the Lieder (the opera songs) come from poetry, sometimes very moving poems, and she reads a beautiful poem Winterabend, by Karl Gottfried von Leitner.

Ciarán Murray speaks to Goethe-Institut Irland Head Librarian Oya Demirci about her idea for the series, and the plans for upcoming guests who have one foot in German culture and the other foot in Irish culture. They chat about music, food, dancing, books, James Joyce of course, and the inspiration and impact of living across different cultures.