Opera Scotland

Aïda 2004Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Aïda

The 2003-04 season of Scottish Opera was dominated by its opening event. Tim Albery's production of Der Ring des Nibelungen had been assembled during the three previous Edinburgh Festivals. The 2003 Festival was the culmination of this process, with complete cycles performed. After this intensive sequence of two Edinburgh cycles, the company moved on to give two in Glasgow and a final one at the recently opened Lowry at Salford Quays.

For non-Wagnerites, the rest of the season consisted of new productions of The Magic Flute and La bohème with a revival of Aïda. There was also an intimate staging of Eugene Onegin - with piano in the autumn and a small band in the spring. The Essential Scottish Opera team made its annual tour of the Highlands and Islands. A distinct novelty was a new piece composed specifically for children - on a larger scale than the company's previous works of this kind, The Minotaur by Julian Evans toured with a small orchestra.

The performances on this run, which had opened at the end of 2003, were generally excellent. Clearly the company were on a high following the success of the Ring production in the summer, and before the financial woes that were about to hit them became general knowledge. Richard Armstrong even had to miss a scheduled performance of Aïda in order to accept an award in London. Piers Maxim, the chorus master, already scheduled to conduct the next performance, took over without a hitch.

The company visited Liverpool for the first time in many years.