Opera Scotland

Tristan und Isolde 1912Denhof Opera Company

Read more about the opera Tristan and Isolde

This contributed to the third season of the Edinburgh-based Denhof company, and shows increasing ambition of repertoire and of touring dates.

The Denhof season had opened in Hull before touring to Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.  The Manchester week, commencing 4 March 1912, had the following programme: Mon Mastersingers; Tue Orpheus and Euridice; Wed Tristan and Isolde; Thu Elektra (local premiere); Fri Flying Dutchman; Sat mat Elektra; Sat eve Mastersingers.

The weekly workload of Denhof company members now seems astonishing. Francis Maclennan, having sung Tristan on Tuesday, would be Walther in The Mastersingers on Thursday and Saturday. Cicely Gleeson-White might not have sung again that week, but she was covering the title-role in Elektra, with three scheduled performances (Monday evening, Wednesday and Saturday matinees), and had already sung the part earlier in the tour.

Sources

Cast details for Manchester are drawn from a poster in Manchester City Library; for Edinburgh from a programme in the Weir Collection (National Library of Scotland); and for Glasgow a programme in the OperaScotland archive.