Opera Scotland

Great Berlioz performances in prospect

Posted 28 Sep 2013

Opening the SCO season with an operatic extravaganza is now something of a tradition under Robin Ticciati.  This year we have a marvellous cast in that rarity, Berlioz's last opera, Beatrice and Benedict.  In the past, opera lovers in Scotland have had to travel some distance to hear this work.

But now these concerts, in Edinburgh's Usher Hall on Thursday 3 October and Glasgow's City Halls on Friday 4 October, offer us a chance to hear a live performance of fine quality. Intriguingly, they are the first complete performances in Scotland since the 1936 British premiere of this work under the baton of the trail-blazing Erik Chisholm in Glasgow's Theatre Royal.

The cast is world class - fresh from her triumph at the Met in Berlioz's Les Troyens comes Karen Cargill as Beatrice. Hero is sung by Sally Matthews, Ursula by Kathleen Wilkinson, Benedict by Kenneth Tarver, Don Pedro by Brindley Sherratt, Somarone by Lionel Lhote and Claudio by Ashley Riches.  Both performances are conducted by Robin Ticciati.  The Opera Scotland archivist has looked in vain through our listings of over twelve thousand opera performances and beyond to find one since those of Glasgow Grand Opera under Chisholm - read about them here.

Who knows when there will be a chance to hear Beatrice and Benedict in Scotland again, especially with such an international cast?  Check out our listings and click through to the venues to book your tickets now!