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A French accordion virtuoso and a rising British-Irish soprano are performing together next month at Warrenpoint Town Hall, in a concert presented by Newry Chamber Music and Music Network Ireland.
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Théo Ould and soprano Alison Langer will take to the stage on Wednesday 1 April at 7.30pm, in what promises to be an evening of contrasts, with a programme ranging from the baroque world of JS Bach to the cabaret stylings of Kurt Weill.
Ould has built an international reputation for his inventive approach to the accordion, appearing with the Brussels Philharmonic, the Avignon-Provence National Orchestra and Orchestre de Picardie, as well as recording two albums. His 2023 release Laterna Magica fuses classical and electronic sounds, while his 2025 recording Balada Para Un Loco features his own arrangements of Astor Piazzolla's music for sextet. Le Monde has praised his "masterly technique" and described his interpretations as showing "a personality expressing itself naturally in terms of the imagination, with all the enchanting freshness that word implies."
For Ould, the instrument itself is central to his musical identity. "When I held the accordion for the first time, I was fascinated by both its sound and its design," he said "an intriguing blend of a computer keyboard and a spaceship, a machine to explore in every sense of the word."
Alison Langer will be a familiar face to many, having played opera singer Jenny Lind in ITV's popular series Victoria. On the operatic stage, she recently made her Royal Ballet and Opera debut as Frasquita in Carmen and has worked extensively with Opera Holland Park, where her roles have included Nedda in I Pagliacci, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Micaëla in Carmen, and Gilda in Rigoletto. She also performed the role of Micaëla for Opera North, and her portrayal of Violetta in that company's production of La Traviata drew praise from The Times. She has performed at are the Barbican Centre, Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and The House of Lords.
Tickets for the Warrenpoint concert are priced at £20 for general admission and £10 for under 18s, and are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk.
Further information can be found at newrychambermusic.org.
