Earlier this summer, I spent a wonderful month in Ireland. My reason for being there was to take part in a production of Giulio Cesare at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival and a gala concert. But my trip was not all work and performances. I found time to explore the area and to have some delicious food.

Our rehearsals were in Dublin, a city that I first visited with my parents in about 1968. I don’t remember much except that my impression was that the place looked rather down at heel and most of the magnificent Georgian buildings could have used a clean and some fresh paint. I have been to Dublin several times since but only for short stays. This time, I was there for over three weeks so I had time to explore and admire what a gorgeous place it has become. Row upon row of Georgian terraces have been restored to their full glory and their beautiful half-moon door frames gleamed in the summer sun.

Dublin is a perfect city to be a flâneur. Simply to wander around is a wonderful way to spend a free afternoon. But when I was not rehearsing, I eagerly revisited the National Gallery which has also been restored. The collection is astounding, though I was sorry not to see their very moving Caravaggio which was away on loan.

The artist included a self-portrait in the right-hand corner.

Luckily, two of my favourite paintings were on display:

Raeburn’s double portrait of Sir John and Lady Clark of Penicuik:

And Goya’s stunning portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate:

I also went to the Archeological Museum with its wonderful collection of Celtic gold.

One thing that struck me immediately was that Dublin is now a city with terrific coffee. The nearest place to where we were rehearsing was 3fe Sussex Terrace which also roasts its own beans. Our regular lunch spot was One Kinda Folk which made very creative sandwiches and wicked pastries. It is amazing that we got any work done in the afternoons.

Barry’s Tea kept us going through rehearsals. It is quite addictive!

There was not much time for fancy dinners, but I did have two, one at Fallon & Byrne and the other at Dunne & Crescenzi. They are both splendid and, on both occasions, it was super to be with good friends.

If I had a free evening, I would like nothing better than to eat local smoked salmon, soda bread, rather too much Kerrygold butter with a pint of Guinness, which really does taste better there! In the winter, a dozen oysters makes a fine substitute for the salmon. Darina Allen, the doyenne of Irish cookery has an excellent recipe for soda bread made with oatmeal:

• 285g (10oz) fine stoneground oatmeal

• 475ml (16fl oz) sour milk or buttermilk

• 355g (12½oz) white flour

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Steep the oatmeal in the buttermilk overnight. Next day, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Mix the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda together, then stir into the oatmeal. If necessary, add a little more milk, but don’t make the dough too wet. Put into a large well-greased loaf tin, we use one which is 13.5 × 24 × 6.5cm (5½ × 9½ × 2½ in), and bake in a moderate oven for 1–1¼ hours.

King Arthur makes a special flour for soda bread which is wonderful. There are also recipes for including Guinness in the dough. This is also delicious!

I could not have wished for a better or more friendly cast and team for the opera. The singers were from Holland, Germany, the USA as well as Ireland and we all got along splendidly. Tom Creed produced a terrific show. Most of the cast and I were staying in a bunch of townhouses in Donnybrook, an area that boasts its own fine shops and coffee places. We did have a very jolly cast party one Saturday night.

After three weeks in the city, we drove down to Lismore where the opera would be staged. We stopped for lunch in Waterford and, to our surprise and delight, found a wonderful place called Momo’s. Its eclectic menu and terrific food were well worth the detour.

Lismore is a place steeped in history. The castle was built by evil King John in the 12th century, and it has been restored many times since. Sir Walter Raleigh owned it and in the 18th century it passed to the Cavendish family, better known as the Dukes of Devonshire.

I was really lucky to have a splendid view of part of the castle from my bedroom window:

The town of Lismore is little more than a couple of streets with some great pubs and shops. Just up the street from my digs, I was surprised to see a plaque to Fred Astaire:

It seems that his sister, Adele, married into the Cavendish family and lived in the castle in the 1930s. Fred, as the plaque says, was a frequent visitor. I hear that they used to dance in the magnificent gardens, I hope, by moonlight!

An opera cast thrives on good coffee and in Lismore we lucked out! Vinilo, though only open four days a week, was our saviour. Their pastries are amazing too. One morning I couldn’t resist a croissant with pistachio cream to go with my coffee:

Pistachio cream can be bought ready-made, but it is pretty easy to whip up from scratch. Here is a recipe:

·         1 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted pistachios (finely chopped) (100 grams)

·         ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)

·         3½ ounces white chocolate (100 grams)

·         2 tablespoons butter

·         5-6 tablespoons milk (I used whole milk) divided

Instructions

1. Using the bain marie method or a microwave melt the white chocolate, butter and 3 tablespoons of milk in a large bowl, mix until smooth.

2. In a blender or food processor add the skinned unsalted pistachios and blend until finely chopped, add the sugar and blend until very finely ground almost a powder. Add to the bowl of melted chocolate and combine.

3. Pour back into the blender or food processor with 2-3 tablespoons of milk and blend until smooth and creamy. I like to mix it until it still has some finely chopped pistachios in the cream. Spoon into clean sterilized jars. Generously slather the cream on top or in the middle of a croissant.

The opera was staged in the stable of the castle. It was mostly undercover, at least for the audience and orchestra. The day we arrived however we experienced a huge thunderstorm of the Wizard of Oz kind. The orchestra was off to the side, so we had to rely on monitors and some miking. My view of the stage was partly masked by an enormous hippo whose rear end was pointing directly at the musicians:

The Irish Baroque Orchestra is frankly terrific. I already knew some of the musicians who for this production came from several different European countries. They were led by Julia Kuhn who is a real star. It was such a treat to play Handel’s wonderful opera with such a fine group.

As well as the opera, we also gave a gala concert in a venue about twenty miles away from Lismore. The programme was mostly arias from Vivaldi operas, something I was really thrilled to present. Iestyn Morris, who was also in the opera, was joined by Arianna Venditelli, who is going to be a big name in the music world very soon. I was sorry that we only gave the programme once. Hearing Arianna sing Vivaldi was a dream come true.

I had such a great time in Ireland that I was truly sorry to leave but I only travelled up to Scotland where I had another treat in store. The Voxtet from the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale had been on a tour of the UK ending up in Edinburgh. James Taylor, their leader and teacher, had the great idea of keeping the group in Scotland for several more days to come to Glasgow for some classes in our flat. We were joined by Mhairi Lawson, the incomparable Scottish soprano, and we spent a jolly time singing 18th century repertoire. Here they are in our living room:

And here is Mhairi teaching:

Jimmy arranged a wonderful trip to the Highlands and the students went to a Cèilidh. One night the whole gang dined at the Café Gandolfi in central Glasgow. Many of the students tried haggis for the first time and liked it a lot.

Here is a photo of some of the group:

One of the desserts was Rhubarb Crème Brûlée which I absolutely loved. Here is a similar recipe:

Ingredients

·         400g rhubarb chopped into 3cm pieces

·         40g caster sugar

·         4 balls stem ginger in syrup, chopped

·         2 tsp corn flour

·         500ml double cream

·         150g caster sugar

·         1 vanilla pod split lengthways

·         3 large eggs

·         5 tbsp demerara sugar

STEP 1

Put the rhubarb in a pan with the sugar and chopped ginger. Cook over a low heat for 10 mins or until the rhubarb has softened and begun to break down. Mix a little of the rhubarb juice with the corn flour in a small bowl, then pour into the pan and stir until thickened. Pour into the base of a round roughly 20cm dish. Leave to cool completely.

STEP 2

For the custard, pour the double cream, sugar and vanilla pod (as well as the scraped-out seeds) into a pan and bring to a simmer. Scoop out the pod and discard. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and gradually pour over the simmering cream, whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the pan. Cook over a low heat, continuously stirring, for around 10 mins until it reaches 86C on a cooking thermometer, or is thickened. Pour over the cooled rhubarb, smooth to an even layer and chill overnight.

STEP 3

Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top and caramelise using a blow torch until deep golden brown.

The final party was marvellous, and all of the students sang their hearts out. I hope it is something that we can repeat one of these years.

So, as you can see, I had a very good time in Ireland and Scotland. It was terrific to see old friends, make new ones, and to work on wonderful music with great people in marvellous places.