The opera programme at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival was of excellent quality. The two central stagings were of Wagner - a co-production with Salzburg of Parsifal, conducted by Claudio Abbado, directed by Peter Stein, and Siegfried - the third instalment of Scottish Opera's memorable Ring cycle, conducted by Richard Armstrong and directed by Tim Albery. The Turn of the Screw was directed by Luc Bondy and conducted by Daniel Harding. There was also a striking production of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex from Canada, directed by François Girard. Concert performances included Donizetti's Maria Stuarda conducted by Charles Mackerras and Enescu's Oedipe.
Sir Charles allowed Scottish audiences to hear one of the great successes of his years at the Coliseum. Sadly the historically important staging by John Copley, with or without Janet Baker and Pauline Tinsley, never came this far north on tour. But even in a concert the fur can still fly in that second act finale, with two of the leading sopranos of the day pulling out all the stops.
His Mozart opera performances with the SCO were generally recorded (Zaide perhaps the one exception). For some reason, non-Mozart repertoire - and he did conduct a lot of other works in Edinburgh in his later years - were neglected by the record companies.
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