Opera Scotland

Masked Ball 1975Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Ballo in maschera

Scottish Opera mounted what has so far been its only series of performances of this excellent work in a production by John Copley which featured a very apposite series of designs by Carl Toms and was vividly conducted by Alexander Gibson. The production was a collaboration with Netherlands Opera, which explains the allocation of toles between Dutch and Scots (Charles Craig by this time being very much a fixture in the company). Pat Hay had a notable success as Oscar, and Cristina Deutekom sang and acted extremely well as Amelia without quite convincing that her bright glittery voice was ideal for this dark Verdi role. The performance by Charles Craig was one of his best, since he was not generally known for his acting ability.

It was at this period that EMI chose to record highlights of four of Scottish Opera's productions, so this example of an opera which has not been mounted since, in a staging that was never repeated, has survived as a souvenir of the company's work at the time.