Andrew Synnott is an Irish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. In 1997, he co-founded

Crash Ensemble Crash Ensemble is an Irish new music ensemble, which performs a range of contemporary classical music, as well as touring and organising festivals. History The group, which is based in Dublin, was founded in 1997 by composer Donnacha Dennehy, co ...

, a

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

group. In 2017, he became the first living Irish composer to have an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

staged at the

Wexford Festival Opera Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. Festival origins, growth and development Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966 Tom Walsh, an avid o ...

with the

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

of ''Dubliners''. Wexford commissioned three further operas from him: ''La cucina,'' premiered at the festival in 2019, ''What Happened To Lucrece'' (2020) and ''The Forty-Seventh Saturday'' (2021).

Conducting

Synnott is an active conductor. In 2018, he conducted from the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

his own reduction of ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' for Irish National Opera. He has conducted many opera performances in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and abroad, and has worked with leading ensembles including the

National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, D ...

, the

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

Concert Orchestra and the National Chamber Choir of Ireland.

Works

*''Dubliners'' (2017), libretto by Arthur Riordan based on Joyce's short stories "

Counterparts Counterpart or Counterparts may refer to: Entertainment and literature * "Counterparts" (short story), by James Joyce * Counterparts, former name for the Reel Pride LGBT film festival * ''Counterparts'' (film), a 2007 German drama * ''Counter ...

" and "

The Boarding House "The Boarding House" is a short story by James Joyce published in his 1914 collection ''Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish ...

" *''La Cucina'' (2018), premiered at

Wexford Opera Festival Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. Festival origins, growth and development Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966 Tom Walsh, an avid o ...

. *''What Happened to Lucrese'' (2020) *''Asylum'' (2020) *''Waiting'' ''for Elvira'' (2021) *''The Forty-Seventh Saturday'' (2021) *''I Follow, I Follow...'' (2022)

References

Living people Irish classical composers 21st-century Irish musicians 21st-century Irish classical composers Irish opera composers Irish male opera composers 21st-century Irish male musicians {{Ireland-composer-stub