Opera Scotland

Carmina Burana 1988Edinburgh International Festival

Read more about the opera Carmina Burana

The only work by Carl Orff to gain popularity in Britain is this famous cantata. Performances at the Festival have been scarce, but this one gave the SNO's hugely popular conductor, Neeme Järvi, a rare appearance in what was at least nearly an opera. Juliet Booth was an effective late substitute for Deborah Rees. The great Russian baritone had recently made several appearances with Scottish Opera and gave an impressive performance here.

At this period the SNO were making a substantial number of recordings with their Principal Conductor. One stream was a sequence of the major orchestral works of Richard Strauss, with vocal works performed by star singers such as Felicity Lott and Linda Finnie. The grouping naturally included some of the less important orchestral works, and rightly so. The early tone poem Aus Italien cannot be heard with anything like the frequency of the acknowledged youthful classics like Don Juan or Tod und Verklärung. As a rarity by a German master of an earlier generation, it made an enjoyable opener for this Festival concert.