Breath of fresh air on opera circuit

IT IS only in its second year, but Opera Bohemia has already made an impact in the Scottish opera scene, writes Garry Fraser.

After a successful tour with La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermoor is the company’s current choice — and it does an extremely good job of it too.

Its production of Donizetti’s “drama tragico”, which I had the pleasure to see on Tuesday in the Gardyne Theatre, Dundee, might be done on a shoestring budget but there was no scrimping when it came to singing quality.

The nine-strong cast delivered a perfor mance that was passionate, powerful and extremely professional, illustrating how effective a small, tightknit ensemble can be.

If I was to pick out Suzanne Shakespeare as the star of the show it doesn’t mean the other six principals were found wanting. Far from it. It is just that she was that little bit special, with an Act Three “mad scene” (Il Dolce suono, Spargi d’amaro pianto) that was absolutely superb.

The challenges of this are enormous, calling for a range of vocal intricacies.

Douglas Nairne wasn’t far behind in the quality stakes, his characterisation of Enrico nicely judged.

There was no orchestral backing, but pianist Laura Baxter did the work of dozens with a sensational accompaniment, with Amira Bedrush-mcdonald (violin) adding a delicious touch of colour.

This group and their production team, led by director John Wilkie, are a breath of fresh air on the operatic circuit and well worth going to see the next time they grace the Gardyne stage.