Makropulos Affair 1998 | Tour

Makropulos Affair 1998Scottish Opera-Go-Round

Read more about the opera Makropulos Affair

At this period, while Scottish Opera-go-round usually performed a fairly standard choice of repertoire on its extensive tours with piano accompaniment, Jenůfa had already proved a great success in this form, and Kátya would later work well. Even so, the less obviously attractive Makropulos Affair was an adventurous choice, and nearly as good.

Eighteen performances were given over two months, ranging from Galashiels in the borders northward as far as Orkney. David Munro's reduction of the complex score recreated the weird soundworld with astonishing accuracy, and Antony McDonald, making the transition from designing to taking charge of the whole show, also revealed a generally sure touch.

With a cast of seven soloists, it was possible to double two of the shorter roles, and only the two character parts of the stage-hand and charwoman were cut. At the second performance, in Dundee, this bizarre work already gripped its audience.