A Night of Love and Dreams at Newman University Church

Newman University Church on St. Stephen’s Green is one of Dublin’s more remarkable performance spaces. Designed by Cardinal John Henry Newman in the 1850s in Byzantine Revival style, the interior has the kind of acoustic warmth that suits voices particularly well. The combination of gold mosaics, coloured marble, and candlelight makes the setting work even before a note is sung.

A Night of Love and Dreams brings together opera and musical theatre repertoire around the theme of love: arias, duets, and songs from the classical and popular traditions that share a certain quality of longing. If the programme ranges from Puccini to Sondheim to an Irish folk song, that’s the kind of evening this is.

What to Expect

A concert-length programme of around 90 minutes, with live piano accompaniment and a small ensemble. Opera and musical theatre in an intimate church setting is a different experience from a full production - you’re close to the performers, the space is beautiful, and the repertoire speaks for itself without staging or sets.

The programme explores love in its various registers: the romantic, the lost, the hopeful, the elegiac. It’s the kind of evening that works for people who know their Verdi and for people who simply like well-performed songs in a beautiful space.

Good to Know

• 7:30pm start
• Seating inside the church - arrive a few minutes early for a good position
• Newman University Church is a working church, so the atmosphere is one of quiet dignity
• This is a seated concert - not a standing event
• Smart casual is appropriate

Getting There

Newman University Church is at 87a St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. The Luas Green Line stops at St Stephen’s Green, about a 2-minute walk. Pearse DART station is about 10 minutes on foot. Multiple Dublin Bus routes serve the south side of the Green.