OPERA Highlights celebrates 50 years of Scottish Opera with a retrospective romp through music from some of the company’s most memorable productions.
Sitting alongside familiar favourites – from Verdi’s La traviata, Bizet’s Carmen, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers – will be lesser-known gems mined from the archives, like Bernstein’s Candide, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel, MacMillan’s Ines de Castro and Weber’s Oberon.
To complete the celebrations, Opera Highlights will also feature the world premiere of a new piece of music by Scottish Opera’s first Composer in Residence, Gareth Williams, created especially for the tour.
Four singers and a pianist will visit 17 venues across the length and breadth of Scotland, from the likes of Barra, Bathgate and Banchory to Hawick, Tarbert , Killin and many, many more.
Packing their scores into their suitcases for this year’s tour are Scottish tenor Nicky Spence (Tamino, The Magic Flute 2012), Scottish Opera Emerging Artist, Katie Grosset (Flora, La traviata 2012), and making their Scottish Opera debuts soprano, Eleanor Dennis and baritone, Duncan Rock, with Gary Griffiths singing for the final five performances. Claire Haslin and Ruth Wilkinson share the role of music director and pianist, while Adrian Osmond directs.
The man in charge of putting together the anniversary programme is Scottish Opera Head of Music, Derek Clark.
He said: “Opera Highlights is always a celebration of wonderful music and this year it’s even more special as we’ve been be able to put together a programme which takes a joyful look back at some of Scottish Opera’s own highlights from across our 50 years.
“With such a varied selection of music there is plenty to enjoy whether you’re an opera novice, an opera buff, or anywhere in between.”
This 17-date tour, combined with two tours of La traviata in Autumn and Spring and Scottish Opera’s full-scale productions in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen, means that for the 50th anniversary season the company will be performing within a 30-minute drive of 90 per cent of Scotland’s population.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1 – Scottish Opera is celebrating its 50th anniversary season in 2012/13
2 – Gareth Williams is Scottish Opera’s first composer-in-residence. The post sits within the company’s already well-established Emerging Artists Programme and lasts two years.
3 – The tour of Opera Highlights combined with two tours of La traviata in autumn and Spring, and the company’s performances in the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness brings a Scottish Opera performance within a 30-minute drive of 90 per cent of the Scottish population during the 2012/13 season.
Population and household reach estimates based on a consolidation of 30-minute drive time areas around 53 venues by postcodes. Source: Culture Sparks (Experian Ltd. Estimates calculated using NAVTEQ 2010 drive time data).
Performance diary”
Regal Community Theatre, Bathgate
Thursday 17 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01506 630 085
Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre, Peebles
Saturday 19 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01721 725 777
Heart of Hawick, Tower Mill, Hawick
Tuesday 22 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01450 360 688
The Ryan Centre, Stranraer
Thursday 24 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01776 703 535
Tarbert Village Hall
Saturday 26 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01880 820 272
Bowmore Village Hall, Islay
Tuesday 29 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01496 810 262 also 01496 302 264
McLaren Hall, Killin
Thursday 31 January, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01567 820 362
Castlebay Hall, Barra
Saturday 2 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01871 810 291
Balivanich Hall, Benbecula
Tuesday 5 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01870 602 525
Torridon Community Hall
Thursday 7 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01455 791 488 also 01445 791 239
Durness Village Hall
Saturday 9 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01971 511 209
OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness
Tuesday 12 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01463 234 234
Woodend Barn, Banchory
Thursday 14 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01330 825 431
Birnam Arts and Conference Centre
Saturday 16 February, 8pm
Tickets: 01350 727 674
Strathmiglo Village Hall
Tuesday 19 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01337 858 743 also 01337 860 544
Crawfordjohn Public Hall
Thursday 21 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 07585 604 385
Rutherglen Town Hall
Saturday 23 February, 7.30pm
Tickets: 0141 613 5700
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Claudia Monteiro, press ,anager, 0141 242 0511, claudia.monteiro@scottishopera.org.uk
Emma York, Press Officer, 0141 242 0552, emma.york@scottishopera.org.uk
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Contact: Emma York
Phone: 01412420552
Email: emma.york@scottishopera.org.uk
Website: http://www.scottishopera.org.uk
