Opera Scotland

Barbiere di Siviglia 1987Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Barber of Seville

Robert David MacDonald's effective modern-dress Barber from 1985 was given a swift revival with several of the singers returning - Patrick Power, Robert Dean, Geoffrey Moses, and, most unforgettably, Ludmilla Andrew. However MacDonald had done a fair amount of rethinking,

The greatest change was the switch from Italian to English - an easy decision, since the director was a practised hand at translating sometimes obscure European dramas for presentation at the Citizens' Theatre, and had prepared a fluent and witty new version for use this time.  Perversely, all the company's Barber performances since have been in Italian.

Richard Hickox conducted a stylish account of the score, and Eiddwen Harrhy, known in Scotland only for her extremely serious interpretations of Gluck and Handel, proved to be a natural Rosina.

 

Scottish Opera's Season - 1986/87

This season comprised Nine main stage productions plus an Opera-Go-Round staging with piano, and a most unusual Edinburgh Festival event.   The new productions were Carmen,  Iolanthe,  Intermezzo,  Flying Dutchman,   From the House of the Dead,   Billy Budd,  and  Madama Butterfly.  There were two revivals, The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville.  The Opera-Go Round production was of Verdi's Macbeth,  The season opened at the Edinburgh Festival, with a concert including music from Gershwin's Girl Crazy.