Opera Scotland

Don Giovanni 2006Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Don Giovanni

This was the first new production mounted by Scottish Opera after its period of enforced shutdown.  It was extremely well played by the orchestra and quite well sung by the cast, but it was difficult to avoid the sense that it was, frankly, rather dull.

Neither Richard Armstrong nor Tim Albery has been closely associated with Mozart operas during their respective careers, but Armstrong, at least, showed that Don Giovanni suited his talents. He conducted an appropriately dramatic account, with a nod in the direction of authentic practice - the pit contained a pair of natural trumpets along with baroque timpani and fortepiano. By contrast, Albery's interpretation  showed Giovanni as some kind of suave lounge lizard in a tail coat. The two elements didn't really blend. The singers were all good, and the women rather more than that, but the whole event hung fire dramatically. It all seemed predominantly grey.

The Chorus of Scottish Opera having been made redundant as a cost-cutting exercise, many of the same people were recruited to form a freelance group which would be employed as required. For years to come, this ad hoc group of freelance singers would be assembled for and named in honour of each opera. On this occasion they were therefore called The Chorus of Don Giovanni.