Opera Scotland

Serva Padrona 1970Tayside Opera

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After its ambitious full-sized stagings of Don Giovanni (1968) and The Barber of Seville (1969), 1970 saw the start of a period of change for Tayside Opera, and there would be no production at all in 1971, with normal service resuming with a Magic Flute in 1972. The old Training College Hall was no longer available - the College of Education was moving to its newly-built facility out east at Gardyne Road (which would soon have its own purpose-built theatre available for later years). The city had also restored an old cinema with stage as the 700-seat Whitehall Theatre - a huge step up in audience capacity of which Tayside would soon take advantage.

Nowadays, it seems that most old churches are converted into theatres, arts centres, concert halls or pubs. In the sixties, this was something of a novelty, and after the disastrous fire gutted the original Nicoll Street Rep in 1962 the company eventually found a new, 'temporary' home in a redundant church backing on to Lochee Road near Dudhope Park. The conversion was fairly basic, but had to suffice until the opening of the new Tay Square Rep in 1982. The Lochee Road building was occasionally hired out to local amateur groups, including the University Opsoc. This is the only occasion that Tayside used it.

For October 1970, the company mounted a varied triple-bill of chamber works. Pergolesi's delightful intermezzo was followed by the more sophisticated comedy of Menotti's Telephone, ending with the pure farce of Donizetti's Campanello. Settings were naturally basic, and the accompaniment was arranged for two pianos, played by Muriel Sturrock and Elaine Ramsden. The director, John Clotworthy, was based at the Rep at the time, and would direct several productions for the company.