Scottish Opera are popping up in the park

Scottish Opera are bringing their pop-up roadshow to Strathclyde Park this weekend.

There will be two captivating shows for audiences of all ages on Saturday, September 26.

Immerse yourself in a pint-sized version ofthe Gondoliers in just 30 minutes, and discoverthe Song of the Clyde, a brand new show created especially for families.

The Song of the Clyde will be performed at noon, whilethe Gondoliers will be on stage at 2.30pm and 4.30pm.

The shows are performed in a speciallyadapted trailer to create a portable stage to adhere with social distancing guidelines.while past productions of pop-up operas have accommodated both the audience and performers inside the mobiletheatre Royal trailer, this year performances are al fresco with a covered stage and audiences out front in the open air, seated in social/ household bubbles.

One of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most popular comic operas has been whittled down by Derek Clark to create A Little Bit ofthe Gondoliers. Originally planned to complement Scottish Opera’s mainstage production ofthe Gondoliers which was due to tour Scotland and London earlier this year, the whimsical opera tells the story of two happy-golucky gondoliers invenice who discover that one of them is, in fact, heir to the throne of a distant kingdom.

The Song of the Clyde, composed by Karen Maciver with words by Allan Dunn, tells the story of one of Scotland’s most famous rivers. Audiences are invited to journey back in time and place, tracing the history of the Clyde from ancient times to the present day. Songs and stories tell of the generations who lived and worked along its banks, as it winds a path from its source high in the hills of South Lanarkshire down through the Clydevalley to Glasgow and further onwards to the‘tail of the bank’near Greenock – the deepest estuary waters in Britain.

Scottish Opera’s director of outreach and education, Jane Davidson, said:‘scottish Opera’s Pop-up tour is even more delighted than ever to be out and about across the country, performing a selection of miniature gems from the opera repertoire.

“You will be transported tovenice to observe the complicated love lives of two lads who make their living on the waterways of that most romantic of cities in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers.

“Continuing with the watery theme, a new show for families with younger children,the Song ofthe Clyde, traces the history that sprang up along the banks of one of Scotland’s most famous rivers from ancient times right up to the present day. As once was said,‘glasgow made the Clyde and the Clyde made Glasgow’.”

Go to www. scottishopera.org.uk/ shows/pop-upopera-2020/ for tickets.