La Dolce Vita: An Italian Concert with Seán Tester and Friends

Join acclaimed Drogheda tenor Seán Tester, alongside guest sopranos Hannah O'Brien and Amie Dyer, and pianist Adam McDonagh, for a captivating evening of Italian music at Droichead Arts Centre. La Dolce Vita: An Italian Concert brings the warmth, romance, and passion of Italy to life through a rich programme of opera arias and duets, Neapolitan songs, and beloved Italian classics. This special performance also celebrates Seán's role as an Artist in Association with Droichead Arts Centre for 2026, marking a homecoming that reflects his journey from Drogheda to Italy and back again. Blending storytelling and music, this unique concert is a vibrant celebration of Italian culture, connection, and the joy of coming home.

Seán Tester, Tenor

A graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Irish tenor Seán Tester is establishing himself on both the opera and concert stage. Upcoming engagements include Arbace in Mozart’s Idomeneo at Cadogan Hall, El Remendado in Bizet’s Carmen with IfOpera, tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra, and Prince Nilsky in Prokofiev’s The Gambler at Wexford Festival Opera 2026.

During the 2025/26 season, he made his Wexford Festival Opera debut as a recipient of the Danone Young Outstanding Artist Award, singing Conte di Libenskof in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. He also debuted with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland as El Remendado in Carmen at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, broadcast live on RTÉ Lyric FM, and made his London debut in Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K.626 at the Royal Festival Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. He also recorded two arias with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra as part of RTÉ Lyric FM’s New Generation Voices initiative.

Recognised for his promise, Seán is the inaugural RIAM Emerging Artist Fellow. Recent appearances include Snout in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, performances with Irish National Opera, and his international operatic role debut in Switzerland as Rodolphe in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell. As a concert soloist, his repertoire includes Messiah, Johannes-Passion and Carmina Burana.

Hannah O’Brien, Soprano

Irish soprano Hannah O’Brien is an alumna of the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and was a Wexford Festival Factory Artist for the 2022/23 seasons, where she received the 2023 Danone Young Outstanding Female Artist Award. This upcoming season, Hannah returns to Wexford Festival Opera to sing Dhia (Geisha) in Mascagni's Iris on the festival’s mainstage.

Last season, Hannah debuted as Armgard in the UK’s first fully staged production of Offenbach’s Die Rheinnixen with Gothic Opera, and made her debut in the title role of Puccini’s Suor Angelica in a concert performance in aid of Refuge. Other operatic highlights include Confidant and First Niece (The Critic) with WFO, Female Chorus (Narrator) in British Youth Opera’s production of The Rape of Lucretia. Her work also encompasses contemporary repertoire, including Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park), Griselda (Cinderella by Alma Deutscher), and Polly in a film adaptation of Kevin O’Connell’s Dreamcatcher. Hannah is a recipient of the Veronica Dunne Bursary for Young Irish Singers, the Song Prize at Northern Ireland Opera’s Glenarm Festival of Voice Competition, and the Gaiety Bursary.

Amie Dyer, Soprano

Drogheda soprano Amie Dyer has been performing on the stages of her hometown since the age of ten, where her love of singing was first nurtured. She remains closely connected to the local musical community in Drogheda. Amie trained at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin before completing a Master’s degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She subsequently spent two years working in the opera house in Linz, Austria, where she immersed herself in the demands and artistry of professional operatic performance, continuing to refine her craft on an international stage.

In 2025 Amie co-founded Sonaírí with tenor David Corr, a classical crossover duo formed from a shared artistic vision and love of performance. Together, they reimagine opera and musical theatre through an Irish lens, blending classical repertoire with storytelling, Celtic influence and contemporary crossover style, creating a distinctive and engaging sound world. Their work has already featured at major events including the Aviva Stadium and a special performance welcoming the Italian Rugby Team to Ireland, with their music continuing to reach audiences through Spotify, YouTube and other streaming platforms.

Adam McDonagh, Pianist

Adam McDonagh is an award-winning pianist, conductor and countertenor. As a répétiteur, he has worked with Irish National Opera, Opera Collective Ireland, Buxton International Festival, Opera Holland Park and Opera North. He is a Samling Artist and regularly performs with Ireland’s most distinguished singers. He has performed in the National Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall in London and King’s College Cambridge, and in festivals including Wexford Festival Opera, Westport Festival of Chamber Music and Oxford International Song Festival. He was a finalist in the 10e Concours de Chant-Piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger, was awarded TU Dublin Conservatoire’s Michael McNamara Gold Medal, and represented Ireland twice in the Dublin International Piano Competition.

Adam trained at the National Opera Studio in London, and is an alumnus of the INO Studio and the Georg Solti Accademia. He has an MPhil in Music Studies from Cambridge University, and an MMus from TU Dublin Conservatoire supported by the INO Répétiteur Scholarship.

Adam won the Feis Ceoil Orchestral Conducting competition in 2024, and recently conducted the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for a RTÉ Lyric FM studio recording. He was also a member of the Wexford Festival Opera 2025 ‘Factory’ and made his role début as Oberon in Britten’s A (Little) Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Date: 22/08/2026

Time: 20.00

Cost: €25(+€1.00 fees)

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