It was several years since the Covent Garden company (not yet the Royal Opera) had toured to Edinburgh, and this was the only Festival visit - the company was usually taking a between-seasons break at this time of year. The repertoire centred on the Zeffirelli production of Lucia featuring Joan Sutherland, the new Britten opera, A Midsummer Night's Dream and the first performances of a new staging of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride. By comparison with those demonstrably significant events a recent staging of The Barber was perhaps less important, especially after Teresa Berganza dropped out. However Giulini was an excellent Rossinian and the rest of the cast was as good as you could see anywhere.
Perhaps most notable was the only Edinburgh visit by the great Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff. A regular guest at Covent Garden, he only ever sang three roles there, all extremely serious. These were Boris Godunov, which he sang regularly over a thirty year career, Philip in Don Carlos, which he also returned to frequently, and Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, which he sang once, late on. He never did sing the lugubrious comic role of Don Basilio in London.
An extra performance was added at the last minute when Joan Sutherland fell ill and an evening of Donizetti had to be cancelled.
Further performance dates to be confirmed
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