Opera Scotland

Madam Butterfly 1965Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Madama Butterfly

The company mounted its second staging of Butterfly before attempting any other Puccini work. Unlike the first, rather fragile, version, which proved not to be revivable, this production, in simple but highly evocative designs by David Wilby, would serve for regular performances over the next fifteen years.

Singers who would use it to make British debuts included Felicia Weathers, Franco Bonisolli and Neil Shicoff, and excellent British singers who appeared included Elizabeth Vaughan, John Treleaven and Lorna Haywood.

Charles Craig and Laura Sarti had both appeared in that original 1962 staging of Butterfly.  Francis Egerton was also in the Boris Godunov cast.

Robert Savoie, an excellent baritone, was yet another of the fine team of French-Canadian performers who made a massive contribution to opera in Britain during the post-war decades.

Norman Del Mar's subsequent appearances were generally conducting operas by Richard Strauss, very much his speciality.

 

The programme for Scottish Opera's Fourth Season - 1965

The season consisted of performances of Boris Godunov (6); Madam Butterfly (8); and Don Giovanni (5), carried out in Glasgow (King's Theatre), Aberdeen (His Majesty's Theatre) and Edinburgh (King's Theatre).  Performances were in the evening at 7pm with schools matinees at 2.30pm.

The schedule for the season was as follows:-

Glasgow, w/c 10 May:  Fri 14 Boris Godunov;  Sat 15 Madam Butterfly.

Glasgow, w/c 17 May:  Tue 18 Boris Godunov;  Wed 19 Madam Butterfly;  Thu 20 Don Giovanni;  Fri 21 m Madam Butterfly;  Fri 21 e Boris Godunov;  Sat 22 Don Giovanni.

Aberdeen, w/c 24 May:  Tue 25 Don Giovanni; Wed 26 Madam Butterfly; Thu 27 Don Giovanni; Fri 28 Madam Butterfly; Sat 29 Boris Godunov.

Edinburgh, w/c 31 May:  Tue 1 Jun Boris Godunov;  Wed 2 Madam Butterfly;  Thu 3 Don Giovanni;  Fri 4 m Madam Butterfly;  Fri 4 e Boris Godunov;  Sat 5 Madam Butterfly.