Mary Ann Paton was only twenty-two and had been performing in opera for just a couple of years. However she was, already, a recognized star, and here returned to her native city to appear in a dozen performances of a variety of works.
The Duenna was a text by Sheridan. Most of its music composed by young Thomas Linley, while he and his father had also imported and arranged other pieces, as required, from various sources.
By Paton's time, the piece had held the stage successfully for half a century. On this occasion, the Edinburgh company followed it with a farce, Fortune's Frolic, to complete the evening's entertainment.
The Duenna was seen most recently in a 2010 production by English Touring Opera, which although widely toured did not come to Scotland. To modern eyes the balance of the work lay towards drama and it seemed almost as much a play with music as a full blown opera.
Cast from a Playbill in the NLS collection.
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