Opera Scotland

Aïda 1925British National Opera Company

Read more about the opera Aïda

Florence Austral is best remembered as one of the greatest Wagnerians between the wars.  Here she shows her versatility.

 

An Edinburgh Opinion

The Scotsman of Thursday, 15 October, reported on the midweek matinee of La Bohème as well as the evening Aïda:

'A well-deserved enthusiasm attended the evening performance of Aïda.  Miss Florence Austral's Aïda, a rôle in which she has been heard in Edinburgh before, was a superb performance.  It earned many insistent recalls.  Miss Muriel Brunskill, as Amneris, added another to the list of her successes.  Vocally and dramatically it was magnificent.

'The Radamès of Mr Walter Widdop, which was heard for the first time in Edinburgh last year, has gained greatly in effectiveness in the interval, and in its dramatic aspects it has been brought well abreast of its vocal brilliance.  As in The Mastersingers on Monday night, there was occasion to observe how rapidly Mr Widdop is advancing in his art.

'The Ramphis of Mr Andrew Shanks was another fine impersonation, and as the King Mr William Anderson repeated a now familiar success, while the Amonasro of Mr Frederic Collier was powerful and convincing.

'Orchestra, chorus and ballet contributed admirably to the general gorgeousness of effect which the opera requires.  Mr Malcolm Sargent conducted.'

 

BNOC in Scotland - 1925

The 1925 tour consisted of two weeks in Glasgow (Theatre Royal) followed by two weeks in Edinburgh (King's).

The 19 operas performed during the tour were:

Bach (Coffee Cantata);  Mozart (Magic Flute); Wagner (Tannhäuser, Tristan and Isolde;  Mastersingers); Verdi (Rigoletto, Aïda, Otello); Offenbach (Tales of Hoffmann);  Bizet (Carmen);  Rimsky-Korsakov (Golden Cockerel);  Leoncavallo (Pagliacci);  Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana); Puccini (Bohème, Tosca, Madam Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi); Holst (At the Boar's Head);  Vaughan Williams (Hugh the Drover).

The tour schedule was:

Glasgow, w/c 28 September: Mon 28 Rigoletto;  Tue 29 Tannhäuser;  Wed 30 mat Cav & Pag;  Wed 30 eve Hugh the Drover;  Thu 1 Oct Otello;  Fri 2 Madam Butterfly; Sat 3 mat Magic Flute;  Sat 3 eve Bohème.

Glasgow, w/c 5 October: Mon 5 Carmen; Tue 6 Coffee Cantata & Golden Cockerel; Wed 7 mat Rigoletto;  Wed 7 eve Mastersingers;  Thu 8 Otello;  Fri 9 Tristan and Isolde;  Sat 10 mat Tales of Hoffmann;  Sat 10 eve Aïda.

Edinburgh, w/c 12 October: Mon 12 Mastersingers;  Tue 13 Tannhäuser;  Wed 14  mat Bohème; Wed 14 eve Aïda;  Thu 15 Magic Flute;  Fri 16 Coffee Cantata & Hugh the Drover;  Sat 17 mat Golden Cockerel;  Sat 17 eve Carmen.

Edinburgh, w/c 19 October: Mon 19 Otello;  Tue 20 At the Boar's Head & Gianni Schicchi;  Wed 21 mat Cav & Pag;  Wed 21 eve Rigoletto;  Thu 22 Bohème;  Fri 23 Tosca;  Sat 24 mat Carmen;  Sat 24 eve Tales of Hoffmann.