Opera Scotland

Curlew River 1994Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD)

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It was nearly thirty years since this first of Britten's church parables had received its Scottish premiere at the Edinburgh Festival. Since then it had been neglected, until a recent staging in Perth, so this additional student production was very welcome. Three names in this cast are noteworthy - Timothy Mead, at this stage a treble, went on to become an excellent counter-tenor. Richard Burkhard later appeared with most of the British companies, including Scottish Opera. The bass Iain Paterson, here playing the Abbot, would have a successful career especially in Wagner, singing at Covent Garden, Bayreuth and the New York Met.