Opera Scotland

Don Procopio 1978Edinburgh University Opera Club

Read more about the opera Don Procopio

Bizet's early comedy is essentially a student piece, composed when he was in Italy enjoying the fruits of his success in the Prix de Rome competition. The fact that it was not performed in his lifetime can hardly be taken as certain evidence of poor quality - after all, his glorious first symphony had to wait even longer for its premiere. However, given the similarity of plot to Donizetti's brilliant Don Pasquale, Bizet's piece is always likely to struggle to find a place.

Here, a student cast introduce the piece to a Scottish audience, just as had been the case with the British premiere in London, some twenty years earlier.