Opera Scotland

Kirov Opera, Leningrad Suggest updates

The Kirov had never performed in Scotland before, but this first visit to the Edinburgh Festival took the form of a fascinating survey of the operatic output of Musorgsky. Only Khovanshchina was fully staged, in the Playhouse. Boris Godunov received an excellent concert performance in the Usher Hall to conclude the visit. Three incomplete fragments were also given in concert - a fascinating sequence. The Marriage is still to be added.

By the time the company returned in 1995, the old Empire Theatre had been beautifully restored as the Festival Theatre, and was a wonderfully spacious venue for two little known large-scale works by Rimsky-Korsakov. The seminal opera by Glinka was also performed, though only in concert form at the Usher Hall.

By the time of the company's next visit, in 2008, it was known as the Mariinsky Opera of St Petersburg.