The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Scottish Opera bring larger-than-life show to eclectic venues
A north-east town will play host to Scottish Opera next weekend when it begins a 15-date tour around the country.
The company’s highlights tour is visiting an eclectic range of venues including the Dalrymple Hall in Fraserburgh.
And it promises to be an evening of family fun with a programme of work by opera’s greatest composers, colourful costumes and larger-than-life characters.
A spokeswoman for the event described it as “perfect for both seasoned fans and those new to opera.”
She added: “The varied programme features music by Mozart, Handel, Puccini and Gilbert and Sullivan, and has been curated by Scottish Opera’s head of music, Derek Clark.”
The events will also feature the world premiere of a short, new parody of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle, called Bluebeard’s Cake, created especially for the tour by composer in residence Lliam Paterson.
The repertoire includes two emerging artists, mezzo-soprano Emma Kerr and tenor Elgan Llyr Thomas, and two recent graduates of the National Opera Studio – soprano Roisin Walsh and baritone Adam Gilbert.
Former Scottish Opera artist, Jonathon Swinard, returns to accompany the four young singers on piano, while Jim Manganello directs. Mr Manganello said: “I’ve been blessed to haunt the Scottish Opera corridors for the past year, collaborating with our extraordinary and colourful team on stage and behind-thescenes.
“This year’s Opera Highlights is a celebration of what we all love about opera – the outsized characters, the towering dreams, the deep despairs – but translated into an intimate, up-close format that I hope is as captivating to the first-time operagoer as it is to the aficionado.
“I relish working with these funny, sassy, generous singers, and I can’t wait for audiences around Scotland to fall in love with them as I have.”
The tour visits Fraserburgh on March 4.