Carmen 2016Amande Concerts
Read more about the opera Carmen
Only a week after the end of the Edinburgh Festival, the autumn opera season got under way with this two-night weekend visit of the Russian State Opera under the management of Amande Concerts, with Madama Butterfly on Saturday and Carmen on Sunday. While we were not able to attend the Carmen performance, the Butterfly the night before gave a good idea of the commendable standard this company from the Russian Republic of Komi achieves. These were unusual visitors to Dunfermline's attractive Alhambra Theatre. It is to be hoped that they will return next year, not just with the opera performers, but also with their ballet company, already scheduled to visit Dunfermline on 3 and 4 October with Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, as well as Perth on 25 November with Nutcracker.
The two performances in Dunfermline were the only Scottish dates, and the first in an extensive tour through September. Indeed the Carmen had a last-minute difficulty, in that even as Butterfly was being played out, the sets and costumes in Spanish style were marooned in a lorry at Calais, detained as a result of the activities of the local refugee community.
After Dunfermline, the tour took in Shanklin, Lowestoft, Harlow, Stevenage, Clacton, Peterborough, Tunbridge Wells, Scunthorpe, London (Cadogan Hall), Llandudno, Blackpool, Chesterfield, Crewe, Harrogate, Halifax, Cheltenham, Yeovil, Weymouth, Lincoln, York, Scarborough and Billingham.
Tickets £29.50, OAP £28, U16 £20
www.amande-concerts.co.uk
