Opera Scotland

Gianni Schicchi 2015Opera Bohemia

Read more about the opera Gianni Schicchi

Opera Bohemia, Scotland's dynamic young professional company, had a great success with their production of Puccini's one act comic gem, Gianni Schicchi. as the main operatic attraction in the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Here it was revived for an eight date tour covering the whole of Scotland, with solo piano accompaniment replacing the excellent little band that had featured in Edinburgh. The other main change was that the singers had relearned their parts in Italian. The audience no doubt benefitted from the presence of supertitles, but the quality of the enunciation and of the acting was excellent from all the cast.

That cast had undergone a few changes since the summer. The most important members to return included BBC Kiri Prize winner Shuna Sendall, Scottish Opera Emerging Artist Andrew McTaggart and veteran Scottish favourite Alan Watt.  Excellent new arrivals included recent Conservatoire graduates Andrew Tipple and Raoni Hübner, equally effective. But each of the grasping relatives was nicely differentiated. Emily Mitchell gave an excellent account of Lauretta's big number.

Tom Cooper brought this intimate modern-dress production to life. The necessarily complicated stage business always remained clear, even in the constricted space available, and Gordon Cree's expressive accompaniment made up well for the absence of an orchestra. The only disappointment with the evening, at least on 17 February, was the fact that such an impressive performance was not a sell out. 

When will there be another chance to enjoy this life-enhancing opera, with so many performers in top form?  Opera lovers, take the chance to see this!