Irish mezzo soprano leaves mark outside Gaiety

Renowned Irish mezzo soprano Bernadette Greevy said it was a "great honour" to leave her handprints outside Dublin's Gaeity theatre earlier today.

"It's just so much part of Dublin and I'm a real Dubliner . . . I've a huge feeling for this wonderful old theatre" the singer said as she made a brass imprint of her hand, which will join palms of Niall Toibίn, Maureen Potter, Ronnie Drew, Luciano Pavarotti and John B Keane on the pavement of South King Street.

Ms Greevy performed her first operatic part at the theatre at 18 years of age when she played Siebel in Faust, but her memories of the Gaiety go back earlier than that.

"I've been coming here since I was a child to see pantomimes . . . as a young teenager after school we used to fly down here and join the god's queue and look for the autographs of Paulo Silveri (Italian baritone) and Virginia Zeani (Romanian Soprano)", she said.

She is now trying to encourage an interest in opera among young people as founder and artistic director of the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival. The festival has a school coming to each night of its forthcoming festival.

"Everything in life needs a champion, and if they have one in school it encourages them . . . we are having some success, and we are thrilled about that.

"People will go to a Shakespeare play, when they can come to the opera the can see a huge drama or comedy with an added dimension of music", she said.

"You won't hear better singing in this city for a long time," Ms Greevy said of the forthcoming opera festival that will star polish baritone Mikolaj Zalasinski in Verdi's Rigolettoand Russian Ana Viktorova in Samson et Dalila.

Samson et Dalilahas not been performed at the theatre since Ms Greevy took the lead role over 20 years ago "It's those sort of moments that are there forever . . . I sang all over the world, but it was nice when in my own place" she said.

Ms Greevy's travels included a four-year period performing Mahler in the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. She is well known in Ireland for her performances at the Sunday Night Proms with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra.

The Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival begins this Sunday, September 7th, and runs until September 14th. Tickets, costing between €12.50 and €75, can be booked online at www.dublinopera.com or at 01 6617544.