The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Highlights:
Scottish Opera
“The Scottish Opera Highlights tour is, I think, one of the best projects that Scottish Opera produce and curate,” says Roxana Haines, the company’s staff director, and also the director of this latest excursion to 17 small venues around Scotland. “That’s because of the sheer variety of work included and the number of places we visit.
“Every season, we pick the very best operatic gems, whether that’s music or scenes, and a director – in this case, me – weaves a narrative through that. Then we find four singers, a fantastic pianist, and send them off around the country. That could mean we’re performing in a school theatre that has been properly decked out or, you know, a village hall where we have to collect a key from the local post office. It’s a great experience.”
With this particular tour – a revival of the one that Haines directed and Scottish Opera toured last autumn, although with a new cast of performers – the emphasis is as much on the storytelling as it is on the music.
“We present an array of different pieces,” says Haines, “which range from the Mozarts or Tchaikovskys, through to lighter work and operettas; we’re even doing a bit of Gilbert & Sullivan this time.
“A lot of these pieces people might have heard on the radio or through other things… the BA advert (a version of Delibes’ Flower Duet), for example.
“There’s something in there for everybody, and not just opera lovers, but those who are new to the artform or the genre. It’s not about convincing anybody, we just want to share an evening’s entertainment and some good, fun storytelling.”
The show features musical selections by Scottish Opera head of music Derek Clark and a new piece by composerin-residence Samuel Bordoli. Even more than those for whom opera is a part of life, these shows are targeted at audiences who might either have little interest in opera or who live so remotely that regular visits to the big city concert halls aren’t an option.
“That’s the thing – we’re passionate about opera but a lot of people don’t have the same accessibility,” says Haines. “Even when we’re out on tour, for example when we visit an island, there are still people who have to drive 50 miles to see a show. So I think it’s a responsibility that we feel, to be able to take this evening’s opera entertainment to the breadth of Scotland.
“Together with the cast, we’ve created a show about putting on a party, where the audience and cast arrive together, and we explore the different characters and their relationships. It’s about community spirit, mucking in, love, loss, relationships, heartbreak – it’s opera, right? There’s a whole lot of music out there on these subjects.”