Opera Scotland

Cenerentola 2008Scottish Opera-Go-Round

Read more about the opera Cenerentola

Scottish Opera's 2007-08 season consisted entirely of new productions, generally successful ones at that. The company was clearly still struggling financially, however. The autumn saw the start of a new relationship with the great baritone Sir Thomas Allen, who directed Il barbiere di Siviglia. The new Mozart staging was Seraglio. There was a small-scale version of Rossini's Cinderella, which toured with piano accompaniment in the autumn, then with a reduced orchestration in the spring. A Night at the Chinese Opera, the first full-length piece by Judith Weir, not yet seen in Scotland, was beautifully staged. There was also a successful new production of Verdi's Falstaff. A stimulating innovation also appeared - the first  of three runs of short new works called 5:15 - Operas Made in Scotland. The partnership with RSAMD also continued, with Eugene Onegin. There was another Highlands and Islands tour under the Essential Scottish Opera title, and the orchestra gave a group of Sunday afternoon concerts in St Andrew's in the Square.

In 2007 this production had toured small venues with piano accompaniment. For this short medium-scale tour the singers repeated their roles with an excellent small band of seventeen players, many being principal players from Scottish Opera's orchestra. Derek Clark prepared the reduced orchestration, which sounded delightfully authentic. Harry Fehr’s stylish production in Austenite mode looked excellend in a set consisting of artfully elegant folding panels - during the finale Cinders went round opening new vistas indicative of her future happiness.