Opera Scotland

Scottish Opera's new season unveiled

Posted 20 May 2015

An exciting programme is announced for the next 12 months, with works spanning four centuries in four languages. The new season features ten shows, two world premieres, six new productions and 111 performances in 46 venues across 41 towns.

The season of seven operas begins in October with Bizet's immensely popular and colourful Carmen. Director Benjamin Davis revives Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser's much-loved 1999 production, bringing the heat and intensity of this famous Seville love triangle to Autumn audiences.

Starting 2016 in a thrilling, chilling fashion is the world premiere of The Devil Inside, co-commissioned and co-produced by Scottish Opera with Music Theatre Wales. Louise Welsh (novelist) and Stuart MacRae (composer) continue their creative partnership with an opera based on Robert Louis Stevenson's short story The Bottle Imp. The pair first joined forces in Five:15 Operas Made in Scotland before gaining wider recognition with their South Bank Sky Arts Award-winning Ghost Patrol in 2012. The team behind Ghost Patrol – director Matthew Richardson, designer Samal Blak and conductor Michael Rafferty – unites once again to bring this story to life.

Director-designer duo Harry Fehr and Yannis Thavoris return to Scottish Opera following the 2011 success of Handel's Orlando to direct a new production of Ariodante in February.

Director Antony McDonald brings a fantastic fairy-tale to life in the Spring with Dvorak's ethereal Rusalka, the first production to be conducted by Stuart Stratford in his role as Scottish Opera's newly appointed Music Director. May sees Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, a new co-production with D'Oyly Carte Opera Company directed by Martin Lloyd Evans (Pirates of Penzance 2013 and Trovatore 2015).

In August 2015, as already announced, Scottish Opera returns to the Edinburgh International Festival with a witty, fun-filled Sunday afternoon concert performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. 

All in all, there will be much to upload to the OperaScotland website, including details of the piano-accompanied tour, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

Much pleasure and many performances lie ahead.