The operatic component of the 1973 Edinburgh Festival took the form of three elements with little to link them. The schedule was dominated by a staging of Don Giovanni by Peter Ustinov, the elements of which promised well. The English Opera Group made its final appearance with the much-heralded masterpiece of Britten's final years, Death in Venice. The Hungarian State Opera and Ballet had previously visited Edinburgh in 1963, with a triple bill of Bartók's stage works. This time they brought just a pair of them, but compensated by introducing Blood Wedding, a decade-old piece by Szokolay derived from Lorca's play. Their programme as initially announced had also included Handel's Rodelinda, with Eva Marton, but this was dropped before the final programme was confirmed.
On this occasion, The Wooden Prince remained in Budapest, while a startlingly modern and original production of The Miraculous Mandarin came to Edinburgh. In truth it rather upstaged the opera, which was at least very well played and sung. However the staging was ever so slightly dull - not a term that could ever have been applied to the ballet.
© Copyright Opera Scotland 2024
Site by SiteBuddha