Opera Scotland

Columba 1981Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD)

Read more about the opera Columba

Kenneth Leighton, though a Yorkshireman, spent much of his career in Edinburgh, latterly as Reid Professor of Music. He was known widely for his compositions for choir and for organ, less so for opera, of which Columba is the only example. It is an ambitious three-act piece taking advantage of the composer's love of the Highlands and Islands. It even includes a walk-on part for the Loch Ness Monster.

It is always a challenge for students to take on a new piece, but here the guidance of Roderick Brydon will have been invaluable. It was also good for them to move over the road to the wider spaces of the Theatre Royal.

Cast details are from a programme in the Conservatoire archive.