This was a Scottish premiere. The only previous performance in Britain had been in 1853 in London, when the work had been a complete failure. Here the opera was at a disadvantage since it was inevitably compared unfavourably with the Society's 1935 staging of the composer's masterpiece, The Trojans. Nothing could compete with the memory of that, but at least the music's great vitality was recognised, even if the structure was seriously at fault.
The Roman Carnival Overture, no doubt familiar to many of the audience from orchestral concerts, was played between two of the scenes. For the Carnival itself, Morag Martin directed a pantomime of King Midas, or The Ass's Ears. in which players from Glasgow's Little Theatre performed the roles of Midas (G Stanley Pritchard), Harlequin (Wm. Lambie) and Pasquarello (Wm. Macfarlane).
One oddity of the production to modern eyes is the fact that the character of the Pope is renamed, appearing as Cardinal Salviati - presumably, even in the thirties in Glasgow, there may have been objections to portraying a Pontiff on stage. The ban on the staging of 'Biblical' operas such as Samson and Delilah or Nabucco had been cleared away before the war.
The Society's Berlioz exploration continued with a vengeance during the remainder of the week, with the other evenings devoted to Beatrice and Benedict (preceded by a rare Schubert piece, The Faithful Warrior).
Cast details are from a programme in the Mitchell Library collection.
John Nobbs (Mar 23, 26)
Patrick Moir (Mar 25, 28)
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