Gala Concert 1991Scottish Opera
Read more about the opera Concert including Operatic Excerpts
One of the long-term benefits of Glasgow's year as Europe's 'Capital of Culture' in 1990 was the construction of the long-delayed Concert Hall. However there was also a short-term benefit, at least for opera-lovers. The huge success of the visit by the Bolshoi Opera to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre led to some further large-scale events.
The great Spanish tenor José Carreras had previously paid only one visit to Scotland, to sing in a superbly cast Verdi Requiem at the 1982 Edinburgh Festival.
This his second visit was a very lively affair, before an audience of 9000, with Scottish Opera forces supplemented by Claire Powell, an excellent and versatile mezzo.
While the tenor would have omitted the champagne reception before the concert from his schedule anyway, the eveniing was somewhat fraught due to raging toothache. If his singing was unaffected, his attendance at the celebratory dinner afterwards was necessarily abbreviated.
The first half of the programme included songs by Tosti and extracts from Cavalleria Rusticana, culminating in the great duet. The second part was built round sequences from Carmen.
