{TABLE} The Bohemian Girl ....... Balfe {/TABLE} BALFE'S The Bohemian Girl was, for many years after its premiere in 1843, one of the most popular operas in Europe. It has remained the most popular of the three operas sometimes linked under the preposterous nickname "The Irish Ring". (The others are Wallace's Maritana and Benedict's The Lily of Killarney). Of the three, it contains the best music, by far.

The RTE Concert Orchestra and the Glasnevin Musical Society performed Maritana nearly a year ago and they have now returned to The Bohemian Girl via a performance at the National Concert Hall on Saturday night. As in Maritana, the extensive passages of dialogue were replaced by narration from Bill Golding.

One of the strong points of the performance was the good dramatic casting of the six soloists. This was true of Gerard O'Connor (Devilshoof), even though his clarity with words and pitching was less consistent than the others, who were Mary Hegarty (Arline), Frank O'Brien (Count Arnheim), Adrian Martin (Thaddeus), Emmanuel Lawler (Florestein) and Katherine Henderson (Queen of the Gypsies). Mary Hegarty, in the title role, stood out for quality of sound and for technical consistency.

The Bohemian Girl pillages the operatic styles of Weber, Meyerbeer, Donizetti and others; and it does so with a vigour which can make one forget its musical and dramatic limitations. Add this to its standard round up of characters and situations and it is a piece which sounds at its best when performed with disciplined technical panache.

The Glasnevin Musical Society's bright toned, yet variable singing was not quite up to this, so conductor Proinnsias O Duinn's concentration on deft rhythm and general immediacy - at both of which the choir were good - showed sound musical judgment. It was an enjoyable performance and one which did justice to the better features of this period piece.