Opera Scotland

Orfeo ed Euridice 1894Royal Italian Opera Company

Read more about the opera Orpheus and Euridice

Sir Augustus Harris brought his Royal Italian Opera  from Covent Garden for single weeks in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the first city receiving the Scottish premières of Meistersinger and Falstaff.

Gluck's Orfeo, featuring the Ravogli sisters, had in 1893 been coupled with the local première of Pagliacci. This year the coupling was another new piece of verismo, in Massenet's La Navarraise.

While the Gluck was admired, it can hardly be said to have been entirely respected, at least by management - the curtain fell after the moving performance  by Giulia Ravogli of 'Che farò.  Were the audience aware that they were missing some excellent material?

 

The national tour dates

The autumn tour was quite extensive, starting on 27 August in Blackpool.  The company then went to Newcastle (w/c 03/09); Edinburgh (10/09); Glasgow (17/09); Bradford (24/09); Dublin (01/10); Cork (14/10); Belfast 21/10); Liverpool (28/10); Sheffield (04/11); Manchester (11/11); Bristol (18/11).

The two weeks in Scotland were:

W/c 10 Sep - Edinburgh Royal Lyceum - Mon 10 Lohengrin; Tue 11 Falstaff; Wed 12 Carmen; Thu 13 tbc; Fri 14 tbc; Sat 15 mat Orfeo & La Navarraise; Sat 15 eve Mastersingers.

W/c 17 Sep - Glasgow Theatre Royal - Mon 17 Falstaff; Tue 18 Lohengrin; Wed 19 Orfeo & La Navarraise; Thu 20 Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana; Fri 21 Pag & Cav; Sat 21 mat Faust; Sat 21 eve Mastersingers.