'I can't wait to make my Northern Irish debut' - Opera star Tara Erraught

It might seem strange to some that internationally acclaimed Irish opera singer Tara Erraught has not sung professionally in Northern Ireland before.

The mezzo soprano was born in Ravensdale, in the foothills of County Louth's Cooley mountains, just a few short miles from the Irish border.

Regarded as one of the opera world's leading lights, she has performed the world over, enjoying leading roles with, among others, the Bavarian State Opera, Opéra de Paris and Vienna State Opera.

Now ahead of her performance in Londonderry on Thursday, Tara told BBC News NI she can not wait to make her Northern Ireland debut.

"Sometimes it takes an inspiring project for you to really fight to get to do it," said Tara, who flew in from the German city of Karlsruhe on Tuesday to perform in Derry.

Tara takes centre stage at the Midwinter Gala Christmas Concert at St Columb's Hall later on Thursday.

Tara is a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin who first fell in love with singing as a child.

A one time aspiring violinist, it took only one childhood performance for her grandparents to make her realise singing was for her.

"I could see that something changed in them, something somehow touched them and I felt this incredible power.

"I was hooked instantly because I thought I need to learn more about that because the violin didn't give me that," she said.

While she may not have performed professionally in Northern Ireland until now, she has previously sung north of the border.

Taking part in Féis – childhood competitions celebrating Irish culture – in places like Newry and Warrenpoint were key to her development, Tara said.

"It's so formative to have those kind of wholesome performance opportunities as a child because you can start again, you see that actually public speaking, public performance, it's really not so difficult," she said.

Tara's stock has risen quickly over recent years, and her reputation has grown to global renown.

Known for her versatility and acclaimed performances, Tara has sung for with many of the worlds great opera companies and performed on many of the world's best known stages.

Despite that rise, it is "still the skills that I learned taking part in those Féis that I use now," she said.

The Féis tradition meant she had any sense of "foundational performance anxiety knocked out of me as a child".

It is perhaps fitting then that St Columb's Hall – a key venue of the week-long annual Derry Féis – is where she will perform on Thursday.

The city of Derry too, she said, is a special city in which to take her bow.

"The public in Derry are very famous. I've met so many conductors, for example, that have brought their choirs here.

"They said: 'You can bring any programme because the public here are open'," she said.

The Derry audience, she said, is in for "a real treat", adding the gala will be filled with opera's greatest hits.

It is the brainchild of Derry native Darren Hargan, founder and artistic director of international orchestra, Le Foyer des Artistes.

"When Darren called me I thought I'm going to have to do that," she added.

Tara flies back to Germany for rehearsal after the Derry show, before spending Christmas in the US with family.

The first eight months of next year are already taken up by a hectic schedule, including a run of Don Giovanni in Dresden, then the Barber of Seville in Berlin before going to Salzburg to work with Cecilia Bartoli in Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims.

"Cecilia Bartoli's my Beyoncé, I fangirl all the time," Tara said.

That busy start to 2026, she added is a blessing.

"Long may it stay that way because Covid really taught me how things can go," she said.