Opera Scotland

Idomeneo, Re di Creta 1996Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Idomeneo, Re di Creta

For Scottish Opera, the great importance of the 1996-97 season is that it saw the premiere of Inés de Castro, the first full-length opera by James MacMillan. It had been over a decade since the company had last launched a new work - Harper's Hedda Gabler in 1985. The success of the opening at the Edinburgh Festival was deserved, and it was as well received during the main autumn season. That contained six other full-scale productions: Idomeneo, Trovatore, Bohème, Fledermaus, Samson and Delilah and Cunning Little Vixen. The Opera-Go-Round small-scale tour was an enjoyable staging of Così fan tutte. There was also a bonus in December, with an enjoyable series of concerts around the country under the title The Scottish Opera Collection.

This Idomeneo was the first production staged for Scottish Opera by the young Scottish director David McVicar. It was excellent not just as an elegantly simple staging, but also for the subtle acting performances he drew from the singers. If there was one shortcoming, it was perhaps the conducting, which was sluggish in a rather old-fashioned sense.

If the tenor version is chosen, then Idamante must be played by someone of the calibre of Toby Spence, whose youthful demeanour and bright, sweet tone contrasted effectively with the more heroic sound and grizzled, though athletic, appearance of Thomas Randle, as well as the voice of the priest, given an intense reading by Ian Storey. The differentiation between the ladies was equally clearly achieved, with Lisa Milne and Claire Rutter providing ideal readings.