Opera Scotland

Tabarro 2023Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Tabarro

The complete trio of one-act operas by Puccini has only had a single performance in Scotland since the war.  Sadler's Wells Opera gave it during a two-week stay in Glasgow in 1957.  On that occasion, the company's musical director, young Alexander Gibson, conducted Gianni Schicchi.  Suor Angelica was in the hands of a second Scottish conductor, Marcus Dods.

Since then, Schicchi is the one to have appeared at the Edinburgh Festival (with Tito Gobbi in 1969).  English Touring Opera brought Il tabarro and Schicchi to the Perth Festival in 2011.  Opera North presented Il tabarro and Suor Angelica in Edinburgh in 2016.

Glasgow-born Sir David McVicar has thus far directed Puccini's Tosca with great success at the New York Met   His staging of Madama Butterfly was an early success with Scottish Opera in 2000, and has been frequently revived.  These three short works will no doubt benefit from his eye for detail in action and character.

Certainly the casts look very strong on paper.  Roland Wood, recently seen as Falstaff and Don Giovanni, has two wonderfully contrasting parts.  We have a new lyric soprano, Francesca Chiejina, who sings in all three works, culminating in Lauretta's show-stopping 'Oh, mio babbino caro.'  The great Scottish mezzo Karen Cargill is definately luxury casting in the brief but frightening character of Angelica's ghastly aunt.  Sinéad Campbell-Wallace  will also be seen in two highly contrasting characters.  The Russian-born tenor Viktor Antipenko is as yet unknown here.  However he has spent much time of late working with several American companies, and has an excellent reputation.

Scottish Opera have clearly given this presentation a deal of thought.  While there are only five performances, and all in the central belt, three of those are on a Saturday.  The evenings begin at 6pm, with a twenty minute interval after Il tabarro and a forty minute second break 'for dinner and drinks' before the final comedy.  This will be a great help for supporters from further afield.