Full Circle 1968Scottish Opera
Read more about the opera Full Circle
The first world premiere to be given by Scottish Opera, Full Circle was a short piece, not much more than half an hour in length, cleverly composed for a chamber ensemble of eight musicians, with a text in Scots, which may have limited its appeal to other performers.
It was commissioned by Scottish Television, and this first production was filmed in the studio and televised. It also received three performances in Perth as a late night double bill coupled wth The Soldier's Tale by Stravinsky, which had first been played as part of Stravinsky Year at the 1967 Edinburgh Festival.
The staging was minimalist, with a few props and a backdrop of projected photos of Glasgow tenements. This looked fine on TV, where much of the film was in close-up, but it was less effective in the theatre. When it was revived, it was given an entirely new staging by Ian Watt-Smith.
What was never in doubt was the quality of Orr's orchestration and of the performances by the whole cast, led by William Elvin (only twenty-two at the time) and Sheila McGrow.
Scottish Opera's Seventh Season - 1968
The ten operas performed were by Monteverdi (Ballo delle ingrate); Mozart (Marriage of Figaro); Wagner (Götterdämmerung); Musorgsky (Boris Godunov); Sullivan (Gondoliers); Puccini (Madam Butterfly); Stravnsky (Soldier's Tale); Britten (Peter Grimes, Albert Herring); Orr (Full Circle).
Full Ciircle was given in Edinburgh as a late night performance (10:00pm) after some performances of The Gondoliers, while in Perth it formed a double bill with The Solder's Tale.
The schedule was as follows:
Perth, w/c Mon 8 Apr: Tue 9 Marriage of Figaro; Wed 10 Full Circle & Soldier's Tale; Thu 11 Marriage of Figaro; Fri 12 Full Circle & Soldier's Tale; Sat 13 Full Circle & Soldier's Tale.
Glasgow, w/c Mon 29 Apr: Fri 3 May Boris Godunov; Sat 4 Marriage of Figaro.
Glasgow, w/c Mon 6 May; Fri 10 Boris Godunov; Sat 11 Madama Butterfly.
Glasgow, w/c Mon 13 May: Tue 14 Madama Butterfly; Wed 15 Götterdämmerung; Thu 16 Marriage of Figaro; Fri 17 m Marriage of Figaro; Fri 17 e Madama Butterfly; Sat 18 Götterdämmerung.
Aberdeen, w/c Mon 20 May: Tue 21 Götterdämmerung; Wed 22 Marriage of Fgaro; Thu 23 Madama Butterfly; Fri 24 Marriage of Figaro; Sat 25 Boris Godunov.
Edinburgh, w/c Mon 27 May: Tue 28 Boris Godunov; Wed 29 Madama Butterfly; Thu 30 Marriage of Figaro; Fri 31 m Marriage of Figaro; Fri 31 e Madama Butterfly; Sat 1 Jun Boris Godunov.
Edinburgh, w/c Mon 3 Jun Tue 4 Götterdämmerung; Wed 5 Boris Godunov; Thu 6 Marriage of Figaro; Fri 7 Götterdämmerung; Sat 8 Marriage of Figaro.
Florence, w/c Mon 17 Jun: Wed 19 Albert Herring; Thu 20 Albert Herring.
Edinburgh Festival: 19, 21, 23, 26 Aug Peter Grimes.
Edinburgh Festival (Fringe): 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 Aug (late) Il ballo delle ingrate.
Newcastlle, w/c Mon 9 Sep: Tue 10 Peter Grimes; Thu 12 Marriage of Fiigaro; Fri 13 Marriage of Figaro; Sat 14 Peter Grimes.
Edinburgh, w/c Mon 9 Dec: Thu 12 Gondoliers; Sat 14 Marriage of Figaro.
Edinburgh, w/v Mon 16 Dec: Mon 16 e Gondoliers; Mon 16 (late) Full Circle; Tue 17 Marriage of Figaro; Wed 18 Gondoliers; Thu 19 Gondoliers; Fri 20 Marriage of Figaro; Sat 21 e Gondoliers; Sat 21 (late) Full Circle.
