The Scottish Opera Highlights tour has quickly become an annual musical must-see. Taking opera around the country, this season they go from Motherwell to Musselburgh with multiple stops in-between. This was the opening night at Motherwell Theatre and it had a lot to live up to as previous tours have been notable and memorable events. It clear from the get-go that there was no need for concern as this set of highlights may just be the most magical yet.
From the beginning, with the singers emerging from among us, there was a real connection between the stage and audience which remained throughout. The premise of the show was one familiar to any Agatha Christie fan, with invited guests turning up at an event with no host to be found. The cast construct the set as they go, lending the performance a real sense of “let’s do the show right here”, but there’s nothing amatuer about what follows.
As any one who has been to an Opera Highlights show before will know, the premise is a simple one with four of the company’s finest singers, accompanied by piano, performing scenes from a variety of operas, this time united loosely under common themes of love and nature. At the beginning there is a sense of strong sense of fun and farce about proceedings, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ meets Moliere – a comedy of errors with lovers mistaken for others, and practical jokes gone wrong.
But as events unfold the comedy is interspersed with more serious meditations on love, and even obsession. The wonderfully varied programme features the work of Mozart, Handel, Britten, Vaughan Williams and Gilbert & Sullivan, as well as less well-known names such as Mildred Jessup, Leo Delibes, Carlisle Floyd and Aaron Copland, and there is also new work from Scottish Opera’s Composer in Residence Samuel Bordoli.
Soprano Charlie Drummond, Mezzo-soprano Martha Jones, Tenor Alex Bevan & Baritone Mark Nathan work beautifully together, prompting laughs and tears in all the right places. Proving themselves to be as talented actors as they are singers, they played each scene to perfection. It is rare to see performers so clearly enjoying what they do as was evident on this night, and the audience responded in kind. It would be wrong to single any individual out as this was a truly ensemble performance, although it should be said that Alex Bevan gives good horse!
If you haven’t yet been to one of these nights then I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you already love opera than it’s a chance to sit through an evening of some of your favourites as well as discovering something new. If you think opera isn’t your cup of tea then this is the perfect place to discover that it is. You have nothing to lose and a whole new world to discover. Check out all the details at the Scottish Opera website to find out when they are coming to a venue near you. If you’re a music lover then I can’t think of a better way to spend two hours.
Here are some images from the show:
Scottish Opera 2019 Autumn Highlights © Julie Broadfoot – http://www.juliebee.co.uk
You can listen to our ongoing series of podcasts which are interviews with members of Scottish Opera discussing and explaining their roles in the company – Scottish Opera Podcasts.