Opera Scotland

Carmen 2007Chisinau National Opera, Moldova

Read more about the opera Carmen

The Ellen Kent group's tour for Autumn 2007, as usual, contained two contrasting works, both full of good tunes and dramatic situations. One was supremely popular, Bizet's Carmen, and the other apparently less so, Verdi's Nabucco. Both productions were attractively designed in traditional stagings.

The marathon started in Edinburgh on 14 September, ending on 8 December in Oxford. There were four centres in Scotland, three in Ireland, two in Wales and 36 in England. There were 81 performances in all - 9 in Scotland. These divided into 55 of Carmen (6 in Scotland) and 26 of Nabucco (3 in Scotland). The logistics were very difficult. After opening with one performance of each opera in Edinburgh, the company immediately travelled to Southend, Hastings, Canterbury, Basingstoke and Swansea. The trio of performances in Aberdeen followed Grimsby and were succeeded by Sunderland. In mid-November, Blackpool and Carlisle were followed by Dundee, Glasgow, Liverpool and Llandudno. Amazing.

Cast details are from the main programme brochure, with additions from the cast sheet for 18 November. Who took the role of Frasquita on nights when Maria Tsonina went on as Micaëla was not specified. A horse was booked to appear in both operas in Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester, though only in Carmen in Bournemouth, Glasgow, Liverpool, Llandudno and Oxford. The other venues were, it seems, deprived of equestrian entertainment.