Opera Scotland

Zauberflöte 1979Welsh National Opera

Read more about the opera Magic Flute

In its early years at the Theatre Royal, Scottish Opera originally planned to bring in guest companies, from Britain and abroad, on regular visits, sadly a project which did not survive long. On their first visit to Scotland, Welsh National brought two new productions, Harry Kupfer's stimulating Elektra, and this excellent Magic Flute, which continued to be revived for many years.

The cast is mouth-watering, with Scottish operatic debuts for both conductors and Taminos as well as Russell Smythe, David Gwynne, Helen Field and Anne Mason - they would all work regularly with Scottish Opera in future. The young Australian soprano Eilene Hannan did not return to Scotland, but her British debut had been as the Vixen at Glyndebourne, and she spent several seasons at ENO, having first come to prominence as Natasha in War and Peace when the Sydney Opera House opened. Stafford Dean now sang Sarastro in his third Scottish staging, following earlier appearances with Sadler's Wells and Scottish Opera.

This was the only example seen in Scotland of the work of the young Swedish director. He had just been introduced to Welsh National, but worked with them frequently over the following decade, until his early death. He never worked with Scottish Opera. The company did borrow his Norwegian staging of Don Giovanni in 1989, but he was not able to work on it in person.