Opera Scotland

Madam Butterfly 2012Ellen Kent Productions

Read more about the opera Madama Butterfly

Ellen Kent's organization began touring the UK with traditional stagings of popular operas in the mid-90s, gradually expanding the duration and extent of the tours, so that in Scotland performances were eventually being given in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee - a state of operatic affairs which had not existed in forty years. After a break of a couple of seasons, the team now resumed touring under the umbrella of Derek Block and Blackburn International.

The orchestra and chorus generally came from companies in the southern regions of the former Soviet Union, usually Moldova or Ukraine. This tour, which also featured performances of La bohème and La traviata, featured the Ukrainian National Opera of Kharkiv, with a team of generally reliable international soloists. Both Butterflies, of Korean origin, had toured before, as had the two Pinkertons. All four were remarkably effective and unusually youthful interpreters of these notoriously difficult roles. The experienced baritone Vladimir Dragos, in the past an exceptional Rigoletto, also made a firm impression as Sharpless.

The appropriate unit set was much as before, featuring a small timber house in a traditional Japanese garden. The costumes included antique wedding kimonos brought in from Japan.