Opera Scotland

Scottish Opera launches new season

Posted 11 Apr 2018

Scottish Opera has unveiled its 2018/19 Season. Highlights include a world premiere, and two new productions (one a co-production with Germany’s Theater Magdeburg).

Also on the appetising menu are two revivals, a new production of Orfeo and Euridice by Scottish Opera Young Company, and two Scottish premieres in the Opera in Concert series. Locations will include appearances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Lammermuir Festival, as well as in Paris, London and New York.

Alex Reedijk, General Director, pictured with Music Director Stuart Stratford, said: ‘This Season, we are delighted to present full-scale productions of Pagliacci, Rigoletto, Kátya Kabanová, The Magic Flute and the world premiere of Anthropocene.

They are brought to the stage by four of the UK’s finest directors - Matthew Richardson, Sir Thomas Allen, Bill Bankes-Jones and Stephen Lawless - each demonstrating their distinctive approach to storytelling and creating engaging and exciting stage worlds.

These productions provide the bedrock to a wide-ranging season which sees us present shows in 53 cities, towns and villages the length and breadth of the country, from Pop-up Opera in our ‘theatre on wheels’ to two Opera Highlights tours and our promenade production of Pagliacci in a huge tent that we’ve dubbed ‘Paisley Opera House’. 

‘We make our debut at Lammermuir Festival and we return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with BambinO, following its sell-out run there last year and performances in Paris and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.  As well as this work for babies and our extensive work in schools, we also continue our presentation of Dementia-Friendly performances and our Memory Spinners groups.’

Stuart Stratford, Music Director, added: ‘Old and new, rare and classic: the 2018/19 Season exemplifies what Scottish Opera is all about. Established favourites The Magic Flute and Rigoletto have, as a counterpoint, the brand new Stuart MacRae and Louise Welsh commission, Anthropocene. Kátya Kabanová promises to bring the desolation, hopes and shattered dreams of what is arguably Janácek’s finest opera to the stage in a new production.

'Pagliacci will be a visual feast and a thrillingly immersive experience for audiences, bringing together the Paisley community and our wonderful orchestra and soloists.

I am so excited about our Opera in Concert performances, which include the Scottish premieres of two rarely-performed verismo works. Puccini’s second opera, Edgar, is conducted by Gianluca Marcianò, and I will conduct Mascagni’s Silvano in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, with the wonderful soprano Emma Bell singing the role of Matilde. The piece contains all the fabulous features of Mascagni’s music that I love - passion, searing melody and a raw emotion that typifies the composer of Cavalleria Rusticana.’

OperaScotland will post full details soon.