Nearly twenty years after their first production, Haddo House mounted a second staging of Gloriana. The period costumes were designed by Alix Stone for Colin Graham's London production, which had opened at Sadler's Wells in 1966 before touring. It had just had its final London run with ENO at the Coliseum. With minor adjustments by local wardrobe staff, they looked splendid against the background of the unit set, based on the idea of a traditional Tudoe timber framework.
On this occasion, the performances were led by Sarah Walker, who had sung the title role in that last London run (which was televised and later made available on DVD). She gave a suitably majestic performance, while managing to avoid any degree of exaggeration that might have been expected from someone used to the wide open spaces of the Coliseum. The cast also included Christopher Gillett, a young tenor who had recently visited Aberdeen a couple of times with New Sadler's Wells. He gave an excellent account of the famous lute songs.
Patricia MacMahon and Linda Strachan were two established Scottish singers who made an impression. In the small role of Mountjoy a young baritone made a first solo appearance - David Stephenson went on to a successful internationall career, while still finding time to return to his home turf from time to time. Simon Crookall eventually switched to management, running the RSNO for several years.
© Copyright Opera Scotland 2024
Site by SiteBuddha