Opera Scotland

Peleus and Thetis 1988Opera Restor'd

Read more about the opera Peleus and Thetis

Most years we can expect to see operatic productions involving current or recently-graduated students, but there have been few occasions when the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has hosted fully professional groups performing works of enormous rarity and interest.

1988 was one such year, with a hugely entertaining visit by the English group Opera Restor'd - specialists in the revival of forgotten works from Eighteenth Century London - brief pieces by the likes of Boyce, Dibdin and Lampe. As well as performing these music theatre works complete, they also gave concerts of mixed baroque fare.

They performed for a busy week from 15 to 20 August. in the charmingly intimate church at the east end of George Street. The two mini-operas were Pyramus and Thisbe by Lampe (given six performances, all bar one at 9pm) and Peleus and Thetis by Boyce, with five performances usually at 7pm. There were six lunchtime concerts in which Peter Holman's string quintet were joined by Lucy Carolan (harpsichord) for a programme of Telemann, Vivaldi, Fux, Arne and J S Bach. The fourth programme, for early evenings, saw Lucy Carolan with reader Pethick Edwards interleaving Shakespeare sonnets with music from the Fitzwilliam Virginals Book.