Opera Scotland

Queen of Sheba 1912Carl Rosa Opera Company

Read more about the opera Queen of Sheba

It took almost forty years before there was a production of The Queen of Sheba in Britain, and in spite of good reviews, a high standard of performance, and a lavish staging with exotic costumes, it did not stay long.   Having been launched at Manchester in 1910, the Carl Rosa production received only a handful of performances in Scotland over three seasons,  beginning in 1911 and vanishing after 1913.  The first and last visits were restricted to the central belt, but for 1912,  the Carl Rosa company ventured further north for the first time in many years.   The five performances the previous year must at least have been successful enough to encourage this second visit.

It was hardly surprising that this little known work should be performed on the Friday, giving the local players a few days, working with the touring section principals,  to get to grips with an unfamiliar score.

The only English translation mentioned in Loewenberg's Annals of Opera is one prepared  by Cornell for Boston in 1888.  No translator is specified against the UK premiere in Manchester,  which generally indicates a previously existing one was used.

The casts are from a programme in Aberdeen City Library and as reported in reviews in the Dundee Advertiser and Dundee Courier & Argus as well as the Scotsman.

 

From the North

Aberdeen Press & Journal:  Saturday, 3 February 1912  (p7)

Carl Rosa Company - Queen of Sheba

'Goldmark is not a composer whose work is to any extent familiar to the average music lover in this country.  Beyond his well-known orchestral suite ''Rustic Wedding,'' and an occasional overture,  the greater number, among which are his most characterisic works,  are, to our great loss, quite unknown to the British musical public.   To the Carl Rosa Company we have been indebted for many important first productions,  and that debt,  which we freely and gladly acknowledge, has greatly increased by the superb production of last evening.

'Born in Hungary in 1832,  Goldmark's career is a lengthy one, extending from that time to the beginning of the twentieth century.  His first work of importance was an overture entitled Sakuntala,  a piece of pure programme music, based on a weird East Indian legend.  It is in this work that we first see evidences of that mastery in expressing by means of his glowing and illuminative orchestral scoring,  moods of the most apposite and varying nature, which marked him out frm the first as a true tone poet.  The popular ''Rustic Wedding'' followed.  First produced in this country by Sir Charles Hallé,  it is today one of the most popular numbers in the repertoire of the leading professional orchestras.

'The Queen of Sheba was his first opera, and its success on production in Vienna in 1875 was instantaneous.  His other operas, among others, include Merlin, the libretto of which is based on an Arthurian legend, and another charming, though much slighter opera, of which the overture only is fairly familiar in this country, the libretto of which is founded on Dickens's Cricket on the Hearth.  Among his orchestral works are a couple of Symphonies, Overtures, while his smaller compositions include excellent examples of chamber music and some charming vocal works.

'The living dramatic force of Biblical narrative has long been realised by dramatic and operatic writers, though it is only within recent years that such performances have been possible in this country.  Immediately the ban of the Censor was removed we had performances of Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah,  Strauss's Salome, and now follows The Queen of Sheba.  The latest development is the announcement that Mendelssohn's Elijah, familiar to all choralists, has been recently put into rehearsal by a well-known operatic company with a view to stage production at an early date.

'From the fact that Goldmark was a Jew, it will be inferred that he found a strong appeal in the story of the Queen of Sheba, with its profusion of rich Oriental splendour, love of which is one of the strongest instincts of the Jewish race.  The Oriental atmosphere is strongly reflected in Goldsmith's work by the warmth and intensity of his melodic writing, and by his rich and sonorous instrumentation.  Although in his avowed style he harked back to the earlier romantic German School, of which Weber was the pioneer, in the orchestral setting, which is always in keeping with the particular mood under portrayal, there is distinct traces in his skilful combination of thematic material, that owed something to the influence of Wagner, that high priest of polyphonic thematic treatment.

'Of the performance last evening we can only speak in the highest terms.  The cast was in every instance adequate, and both orchestra and chorus discharged their heavy task in a brilliant fashion.  There were occasional weak moments, a slight raggedness in attack, a momentary wavering, but,  considering the whole, these minor defects were but as tiny spots on the sun.  Miss Helene Stylianides, as the Queen,  made a very fine appearance.  Of her dramatic powers we have already had proof this week, and her powerful and intense vocal style found in the impassioned music allotted to the Queen work that displayed  her undoubtedly great vocal and dramatic gifts to full advantage.

'Mr Franz Christian, who was responsible for the important part of Assad, considerably improved on his previous appearance.  He gave a vivid characterisation of the infatuated lover, and the impassioned declamation in the Temple scene compelled our warmest commendation.  In the character of Sulamith Miss Hill added still further to her reputation.  Her singing of the love song in the first act, ''My Assad will Return,'' which is accompanied by a chorus for women's voices of striking originality, was among the most attractive numbers in the whole performance.

'In Mr Arthur Winckworth we had a Solomon of truly imposing and regal bearing, and his vocal and dramatic conception of the Jewish monarch was on the high plane we expect from this accomplished artiste.  As the High Priest Mr Miller Reid used his rich voice to fine effect, and his dignified and artistically restrained acting was as convincing as it was effective.  Miss Dorothy Lawson-Taylor very capably sustained the part of Astaroth.

'The chorus work is of cionsiderable dimensions, and covers a wide range of feeling,  but throughout the correct mood was always secured, and it at times, as for instance in the finale to the first act,  and in the denunciation chorus, reached a height of intense dramatic force, and the beautiful music of the Temple, which is based on old Jewish Church melodies, was rendered with striking effect.

'The complexity and difficulty of the orchestration was, on the whole, given an excellent account of.  Their work in the Overture, a perfect tone poem in itself, and the beautiful and highly picturesque introduction to the Bacchanale deserving all praise. 

'Mr Goossens conducted, and his illuminative and imposing direction  was a very big factor in the emphatic and brilliant success of the performance.  There was a brilliant audience, which in point of size must have eclipsed all previous records in the matter of Grnd Opera in Aberdeen.'

 

Dundee Ticket Prices:  Dress Circle  5s. and 4s;   Stalls   4s. and 3s;       Upper Circle   3s.

Three Dundee Previews

Dundee Advertiser: Friday, February 2, 1912

Carl Rosa Opera - Visit to Dundee Next Week

 'During each of the last few years Dundee has had a short season of grand opera in English provided by the Moody-Manners Company. Though that body is not to be with us this year, we are to have next week at Her Majesty's Theatre, in the shape of the Carl Rosa Opera Company, a combination that has successfully and continuously kept burning the torch of opera since the seventies of last century.  When the musical influences affecting Britain have to be summed up for the past fifty years it will be found that much credit is due to the Carl Rosa Company in matters operatic.

'In days gone by the company has given us such fine vocalists as Julia Gaylord, Joseph Maas, Josephine Yorke, and Leslie Crotty; and to-day, no doubt, it includes some who, in their turn, will enjoy equally wide fame.  Many of the names included in the various casts are, however, unknown here.  The tenor, E C Hedmondt, is, of course, an acknowledged tower of strength; so is Mr Arthur Winckworth, the bass.  But there are others whose reputation is yet in the making.  Amongst these are the sopranos - Ina Hill, Marianne de Klens, Helene Stylianides, Elizabeth Burgess, and Madoline Spicer: the mezzos or contraltos - Phyllis Archibald and Claude Albright:  the tenors - Gordon Thomas and Charles Neville; and the basses or baritones - Hebden Foster, Felix Fleischer, and some others.  A number of these singers come from the opera houses of Munich, Leipzig, Bremen, Syracuse, and Dortmund.  The conductors are Mr Walter van Noorden and Mr Eugene Goossens, gentlemen both of much experience and reputation.

'The programme for the week (six evenings and a matinee) consists of Mignon, Faust, Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, The Queen of Sheba, Tannhäuser, and Il Trovatore. It will be observed that one complete novelty - The Queen of Sheba by Goldmark - is to be given.  Mignon, which opens the bill, has not been sung here since the eighties, and may also, as far as concerns audiences of to-day, be regarded as a new work.  Some of its numbers are well-known in the concert room.  Everyone has heard the Gavotte; and the Air à la Polonaise sung by Filina is a favourite with coloratura sopranos.'

 

Dundee Courier & Argus: Friday, February 2, 1912

Dundee’s Opera Season - Carl Rosa Company

'Dundee is once more to have its annual opera season, although under different auspices than those of the last few years.

'The return, after an interval of fully twelve years, of the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company will, we hope, be as warmly welcomed as it ought to be.  We cannot expect to be visited by good companies if good companies are not well supported when they do visit us. Theatrical management is a business, not a philanthropic institution, and managers of excellent companies have recently had too much cause for disappointment in the support which has been given to them here.  Next week Dundee has a chance to show what it can do.

'The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded as long ago as 1871, and there are still some who remember with vivid delight its first visit here in 1877, when the founder of the company himself was at its head.  The Company has, like most other companies, had its ups and downs.  For the past few years, at anyrate, it has resumed its old position as the finest English opera Company travelling.

'Although we call it an “English opera” Company, it is only “opera in English” which we are to hear next week, for the composers represented are the French Ambroise Thomas, Gounod, and Bizet; the Hungarian Goldmark; the Italian Mascagni, Leoncavallo, and Verdi; and the German Wagner.

'The engagement opens on Monday evening with Ambroise Thomas’ dainty opera Mignon, founded on Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister, and played only once in Dundee in the old Theatre Royal, Castle Street, in September 1879, with an “all-star” cast, including Madame Julia Gaylord, Madame Georgina Burns, Mr Joseph Maas, and Mr Leslie Crotty. Tuesday brings us the familiar Faust of Gounod, and Wednesday Bizet’s Carmen. Thursday is devoted to these sanguinary - and inseparable - operatic twins, Cavalleria Rusticana, the first glorious performance of which by the Carl Rosa Opera Company in Dundee in November 1892, will never be forgotten, and I Pagliacci. On Saturday afternoon Tannhauser will be played, and in the evening Il Trovatore.

'We have left out Friday for special distinction, because on that evening an absolute novelty is to be presented in Goldmark’s Queen of Sheba, an opera which the Carl Rosa Opera had the honour of being the first to produce in Great Britain, in April, 1910.  The opera is nearly forty years old, but its Biblical subject is supposed to have been the Censorial reason for its tardy production in this country.  It will be found to be a work of much musical beauty and impressiveness, and, well cast and well staged as it will be, will probably prove the event of the week.

'This is a fine and varied programme. Had Dundee’s musical taste been consulted, probably The Merry Wives of Windsor, which Aberdeen has this week enjoyed, would have been chosen instead of such well-known works as Faust and Carmen.  Perhaps the management may consider this on the occasion of their next visit.

'The company is a large and strong one.  The prime donne include Miss Ina Hill, Miss Helene Stylianides, Miss Madoline Spicer, and Miss Beatrice Miranda, sister of the still better known singer, Miss Lalla Miranda, and a niece of our townsman, Mr S C Hirst, J P. Among the contralti are Miss Claude Albright and Miss Phyllis Archibald.  The tenors consist of Mr E C Hedmondt, a singer well known here; Mr Gordon Thomas, the new Welsh tenor; and Mr F Christian, from the opera houses of Leipzig, Kiel, Bremen, &c. The chief baritones and basses are Messrs Hebden Foster, Leslie Austin, Felix Fleischer, Mr Arthur Winckworth - an old and valued member of the company - and Mr Frederick Clendon.

'The chorus numbers 45 or 50, and the largely augmented band will be conducted at different performances by Mr Eugene Goossens and Mr Walter Van Noorden.

'The cast for Mignon on Monday includes Miss Ina Hill as Mignon, Miss Beatrice Miranda as Filina, Miss Phyllis Archibald as Frederick, Mr Gordon Thomas as Wilhelm, and Mr Arthur Winckworth as Lothario.  Mr Van Noorden will conduct.'

 

People’s Journal: Saturday, February 3 1912 p10

A Week of Grand Opera - Carl Rosa at the Theatre

'During each of the last few years Dundee has had a short season of grand opera in English provided by the Moody-Manners Company. Though that body is not to be with us this year, we are to have next week at Her Majesty’s Theatre, in the shape of the Carl Rosa Opera Company, a combination that has successfully and continuously kept burning the torch of opera since the seventies of last century.  When the musical influences affecting Britain have to be summed up for the past fifty years it will be found that much credit is due to the Carl Rosa Company in matters operatic.

'The programme for the week (six evenings and a matinee) consists of Mignon, Faust, Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, The Queen of Sheba, Tannhäuser and Il Trovatore. It will be observed that one complete novelty - The Queen of Sheba by Goldmark – is to be given. Mignon, which opens the bill, has not been sung here since the eighties, and may also, as far as concerns audiences of to-day, be regarded as a new work.

'Local music-lovers will have a special interest in the performances from the fact that among the prime donne is Miss Beatrice Miranda, a niece of the conductor of our local Amateur Operatic Society, Mr S C Hirst. Her sister, Miss Lalla Miranda, is perhaps better known, and has been heard here, and another member of so talented a family will undoubtedly prove a decided ‘draw'.’ 

 

Two Dundee Reviews

Dundee Advertiser: Saturday, February 10, 1912

Carl Rosa Opera - Goldmark’s “Queen of Sheba”

'The Queen of Sheba, given in Dundee for the first time last night, is a spectacular opera somewhat after the manner of Verdi’s Aida.  The Eastern costumes, the exotic priestly atmosphere, even the stories of both operas, are not dissimilar.  It is rather peculiar that most spectacular operas are a little noisy.  The Queen of Sheba is no exception to the rule; exuberant tone is frequently demanded both from voices and instruments.  This must not be taken as implying that there are no suave moments.  There are, as matter of fact, many such.  Despite its suggestion of Aida, the Queen of Sheba does not derive from Verdi.  The influence most apparent in the music is that of Wagner.  It is early Wagner, however, not the Wagner of The Meistersinger or The Ring.  Full closes and combinations of voices occur that the Bayreuth master would not have had at any price in his later days.  On the other hand, the orchestral score bears unmistakeable evidence of the force of his example in the often supreme importance attached to it, as well as in the effective use of the brass instruments.  The employment of the violins pianissimo in the highest, &c positions with or without the harp, may also be credited to him.  The famous Wagnerian “turn” is not unheard; and, to crown the whole, occasional lengthy conversations occur that may be necessary, but are certainly not inspiring.  The action on the whole lacks movement and swiftness.

'The Carl Rosa Company mounted the opera lavishly.  It far outshone in that respect any other production of the week.  The scene at the arrival at Solomon’s Court of the Queen in her litter borne by slaves; the interior of the Temple, with its priests, Levites, singers, and harpists; and the charmingly lit garden scene were all stage pictures of a memorable kind.  The eye no less than the ear had been fully considered.

'Miss Ina Hill deserves pride of place amongst the lady artists.  Like all her impersonations, her Sulamith was a delightful and touching piece of work.  She vocalises with exquisite art, and, like all thoroughly cultivated singers, is possessed of more than one voice - that is, she can vary her method of production.  For this reason, no doubt, her vocal organ never tires, however great the demands made upon it.  In the lovely opening scene with the chorus of maidens she emitted a clear and delicate shake.  Her powerful upper notes added not a little to the effect of the tremendous climax towards the end of the third act - one of the finest passages in the opera.  The role of the Queen herself is not a grateful one for any woman to play.  Madame Marianne de Kleno was a handsome figure in her splendid dresses and costly jewels; but otherwise she rather failed to suggest the full fascination of the character.  She sang, however, with great dramatic feeling, and it was effective in the extended monologue of varied character that opens Act 2.  Miss Lawson-Taylor gave with remarkable beauty of tone the vocal exercise on the vowel aa allotted to Astaroth in the garden scene.

'The bass soloists - Mr Winckworth as King Solomon, Mr Miller Reid as the High Priest, and Mr Leslie Austin as Baal-Hanan - were all of exceptional excellence.  The company’s wealth in the shape of resonant bass is quite remarkable.  The tenor part of Assad was rendered by Mr Frank Christian, who, we think, was heard here with Mr Manners.  This singer has a number of rich notes in his possession which he employs with considerable skill.  Were a more perfect blend obtainable between his falsetto and his lower notes advantage would accrue.  His Narration in Act I, with its picturesque accompaniments by harp, bass clarionet, and other instruments, was an able effort. 

'The chorus had much exacting work to fulfil, and never failed to make the most of it.  The band, under Mr Goossens, was kept busy playing the very full score.  This was done excellently, and any excess of sound was due evidently to the composer, and not to conductor or orchestra.  As was anticipated there was a very full house.'

 

Dundee Courier & Argus: Saturday, February 10, 1912

Her Majesty’s Theatre - Carl Rosa Opera Company in “The Queen of Sheba”

'The only absolute novelty of our operatic season was presented at Her Majesty’s Theatre before a large, but still not sufficiently large, audience. Goldmark’s opera, The Queen of Sheba, in several ways suggests and invites comparison with Verdi’s Aida. Both give room for much spectacular display, both have abundance of religious ceremonial, in both the love of a Queen or a Princess plays havoc with the course of true love, and in both there is much music of Oriental magnificence.

'The story begins with the love of Sulamith, the High Priest’s daughter, for Assad, a favourite officer of King Solomon, who has sent him to escort the Queen of Sheba to his Court. When Assad returns he fights shy of poor Sulamith, and, when pressed by Solomon, confesses that he has been so fascinated by a lady whom he discovered bathing in a forest well that he feels he cannot justly marry Sulamith.  But Solomon, wisest of men, pooh-poohs the incident of the lady of the well, and, prescribing for his patient homoeopathically, advises him to marry - the other.

'When the Queen of Sheba arrives Assad recognises in her the forest lady but she denies him, and the marriage with Sulamith is hurried forward.  But the Queen, who cannot suffer that Assad shall escape her, lures him to a beautiful moonlit garden, where they confess their mutual love.  Next we are in the Temple, where the wedding of Assad and Sulamith proceeds.  The Queen obtrudes herself on Assad’s notice, and so bewitches him that he flings away the ring with which he was to wed Sulamith, and behaves as one distraught. He is forthwith condemned to death for profaning the Temple.

'In the third act the Queen pleads with Solomon for Assad’s life, and, being refused, flaunts and defies him.  Then Sulamith appears, bound for a holy, solitary retreat, and she, too, pleads successfully, for Assad’s life.  He is banished to the desert.  The fourth act is short and weak.  It shows Assad, weak and worn, wandering in the desert, where Sulamith and her maidens come upon him, and he dies in her arms.

'The second and third acts are by far the finest musically and dramatically. In the second act we have a finely-flowing melody for the Queen at the opening, a charming and quaint piece of unaccompanied singing for Astaroth, her slave, a strenuous and impassioned duet for the Queen and Assad, and in the impressive Temple scene, where Sulamith sings a tenderly devotional solo, Solomon has some passages of great dignity and breadth, followed by a stirring sextet and chorus, and ending in a superbly effective climax.

'The third act opens with a picturesque dance, the solo performer in which was loudly applauded.  Then we have the Queen’s pleading scene, with its powerful and defiant ending, and a grand scene for Sulamith and chorus which fairly brought down the house.

'We can only refer very briefly to the performance, which was one of much excellence. Miss Ina Hill, in the sympathetic part of Sulamith, again delighted everyone, and proved herself one of the very best sopranos we have heard here for a long time.  Her singing was instinct with feeling and passion, and her acting, too, was admirable.  Madame Marianne de Kleno as the Queen of Sheba made her first appearance of the week, and showed herself to be the possessor of a powerful voice and a dramatic style.  A word of special praise is due to that capital artiste, Miss Dorothy Lawson Taylor, who in the small part of Astaroth sang most beautifully.

'The part of Assad, the tenor, was taken by Mr Franz Christian, who was here with the Moody-Manners Company a year ago.  He gave a forceful and spirited performance, and was at his best in the impassioned garden scene.  Mr Winckworth looked the part of King Solomon to perfection, and acted and sang with dignity and breadth; Mr Miller Reid’s fine bass voice was heard to advantage as the High Priest; and Mr Leslie Austin made a stately Baal-Hanan.

'The chorus, which had much difficult work to do, sang splendidly, and the band, a little noisier than usual, which was perhaps due to the style of the music, played well under Mr Goossens’ direction.'

 

And Edinburgh

Scotsman:  Saturday, 17 February 1912  (p8)

Carl Rosa Opera Company - Goldmark's Queen of Sheba

'It says something for the willingness of the musical public to learn of what is ''new'' - in the sense of music that has been lost awhile - that the audience in the King's Theatre last night, judged at least by the better-class seats, appeared to the best of the week.  Carl Goldmark's Queen of Sheba was produced so long ago as 1875 in Vienna; and its composer had been writing and re-writing it for ten years befors that date.  In this country its scriptural subject, as in the case of Gounod's La Reine de Saba and Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila, was long a barrier to its presentation.  But a year ago the opera was a prominent feature in the programme of the Carl Rosa Company's tour, and its inclusion in this year's bill was last night justified not merely by the public attendance, but by the quality of the performance.

'The opera has certain commanding merits, and also certain obvious defects.  The story of the passing love affair of the Queen of Sheba with the young emissary who was sent to bring her to King Solomon, as it was presented by the librettist Mosenthal, is never so humanly interesting as, for instance, that similar tale of Tristan and Iseult, which Wagner immortalised in music. A great deal of time is spent in the purely spectacular presentation of the subject, as distinct from the real tragedy;  and thus, though the oriental atmosphere and colour may be said to be vividly presented to the eye, the real action drags.

'But if certain inherent weaknesses in the plot and presentation be admitted,  the richness and beauty of the music cannot be gainsaid.  It is sometimes said that Wagner left no school;  but the finely elaborated texture of Goldmark's orchestration, even if it were not supplemented by such a work as Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, to mention no others, compels us to realise how far Wagner by his precept and example obliterated the ''glorified guitar'' orchestration of the earlier Italian school.

'Under the leadership of Mr Eugene Goossens a fine performance of the opera was secured last night.  The mise-en-scene was as showy as the piece demanded;  the choruses were well sung;  the orchestra, if at times a little slack in meeting the somewhat serious demands of Goldmark's distinctly elaborate score, came out with credit.

'Of the vocalists, Mr Arthur Winckworth, as King Solomon, was distinctly the best, singing and acting with great force and dignity, and articulating his words with a degree of clearness that some of the others might with advantage have imitated.  Madame Marianne de Kleno as the Queen and Mr Frank Christian as Assad were hardly less successful.

'Miss Ina Hill, as the sorely-tried Sulamith, sang with much sweetness and power; the dramatic aspects of the part were only fully developed towards the close.  Satisfactory renderings of the parts of the High Priest and the Queen's maid were given by Mr Miller Reid and Miss Lawson Taylor. 

 

The Carl Rosa Scottish Tour - 1912

The tour lasted seven weeks:  Aberdeen 1 week (His Majesty's);  Dundee 1 week (Her Majesty's); Edinburgh 2 weeks (King's);  Greenock 1 week (King's);  Glasgow 2 weeks (Theatre Royal).

The thirteen operas performed were: Benedict (Lily of Killarney);  Nicolai (Merry Wives of Windsor); Thomas (Mignon);  Wallace (Maritana); Wagner (Tannhäuser,  Lohengrin);  Verdi (Trovatore); Gounod (Faust);  Goldmark (Queen of Sheba);  Bizet (Carmen);  Boito (Mefistofele); Leoncavallo (Pagliacci);  Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana).

The performance schedule was as follows

Aberdeen, w/c 29 January:  Mon 29 Mignon;  Tue 30 Tannhäuser; Wed 31 The Merry Wives of Windsor; Thu 1 Feb Faust; Fri 2 The Queen of Sheba; Sat 3 m Carmen;  Sat 3 e Il trovatore.

Dundee, w/c  5 February:  Mon 5 Mignon;  Tue 6 Faust;  Wed 7 Carmen;  Thu 8 Cav & Pag;  Fri 9 Queen of Sheba;  Sat 10 m Tannhäuser;  Sat 10 e Trovatore. 

Edinburgh, w/c 12 February:  Mon 12 Mignon;  Tue 13 Carmen;  Wed 14 Trovatore;  Thu 15 Lohengrin;  Fri 16 Queen of Sheba;  Sat 17 m Tannhäuser;  Sat 17 e Faust.

Edinburgh, w/c 19 February:  Mon 19 Cav & Pag;  Tue 20 Mefistofele;  Wed 21 Lily of Killarney;  Thu 22 Merry Wives of Windsor;  Fri 23 Mignon;  Sat 24 m Mefistofele;  Sat 24 e Maritana.

Greenock, w/c 26 February: Mon 26 tbc; Tue 27 tbc;  Wed 28 Trovatore;  Thu 29 Mignon;  Fri 1 March Mefistofele;  Sat 2 m tbc;  Sat 2 e Carmen.

Glasgow, w/c 4 March:  Mon 4 Tannhäuser;  Tue 5 Mefistofele;  Wed 6 Mignon;  Thu 7 Merry Wives of Windsor;  Fri 8 Lohengrin;  Sat 9 m Mefistofele;  Say 9 e Maritana.

Glasgow, w/c 11 March:  Mon 11 Cav & Pag;  Tue 12 Faust;  Wed 13  Queen of Sheba;  Thu 14 Mignon;  Fri 15 Mefistofele;  Sat 16 m Carmen;  Sat 16 e  Trovatore.