Opera Scotland

Curlew River 2005Edinburgh Festival Opera

Read more about the opera Curlew River

This appearance was most welcome. None of Britten's fascinating Church Parables had been given at the Edinburgh Festival since their original visit in the sixties. Indeed performances in Scotland have been very rare - the Perth Festival staged them, one at a time, in the nineties.

This production had some fascinating ideas. This was much helped by the set which consisted of a mobile construction with a high platform at the back to accommodate the musicians. At the front was a wide stairway on which the monks prepared for the drama with the ceremonial robing of the Madwoman. This then retracted, leaving an open stage on which Toby Spence went on to give a fascinating and harrowing performance in the leading role.

Potentially the advantage of presenting works at a Festival is the opportunity to address the context and provide complementary work. In this case, the Festival management also brought in a production of the source Noh drama Sumidagawa.