Dramatic moment in the spotlight for Irish soprano

AWARD-WINNING Irish soprano Celine Byrne made her surprise debut at Covent Garden in London this week after being called in to play the lead in Dvorak's Rusalka.

Byrne (33), who won the Maria Callas Grand Prix in 2007, had only half an hour to get from her apartment in London to the stage of the Royal Opera House on Tuesday night.

The Kildare soprano covered for Finnish singer Camilla Nylund, who was taken ill with allergies during the opera and could not complete her performance.

Byrne, who trained with Dr Veronica Dunne at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, had been on stand-by since before the first performance of Rusalkalast week, but was not expecting to be called out on Tuesday night. She was relaxing at home for the evening and was wearing a face pack when contacted.

Once she got to the 2,200-seater opera house, she had 20 minutes to prepare. “It is a big deal even just to be asked to cover in Covent Garden,” Byrne said.

“Maybe I should have been nervous, but I had to get on and do what I had to do.”

Byrne was pinned into Nylund’s costume, was fitted with a wig and had “the assistant director in one ear and the assistant conductor in the other” while she got ready.

There was “a mad panic”, she said, but everyone back stage was “very supportive”. She had watched rehearsals of the opera and had rehearsed with the “seconds” but had not worked with the conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, or the Royal Opera House Orchestra in advance of performing in the final act of the three-act opera.

She has since been in contact with Nylund, who is likely to be well enough to perform tomorrow when the opera is staged again, but Byrne did not seem disappointed. “I was just delighted to get the chance.”

According to British Telegraphcritic Michael White, Byrne "saved the day" and "got a tumultuous reception".

A spokeswoman for the Royal Opera House said it was not unusual to use an understudy, but it was unusual for a soprano to be replaced during a performance.