Tag Archives: Stuart Stratford

NEWS: SIR DAVID MCVICAR RETURNS TO SCOTTISH OPERA TO DIRECT PUCCINI’S IL TRITTICO

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On March 11, Il trittico (The Triptych) — a new production of Puccini’s Il tabarro (The Cloak), Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) and Gianni Schicchi — opens at Theatre Royal Glasgow before touring to Festival Theatre Edinburgh. Directed by the world-renowned Scot Sir David McVicar, who last worked with the Company on its 2021 production of Verdi’s Falstaff, this is the first time he has directed the epic triple bill and the first time Scottish Opera has staged it. Only one complete performance of Il trittico has taken place in Scotland, at King’s Theatre, Glasgow, in 1957 by Sadler’s Wells Opera.

A new co-production with Welsh National Opera, this glorious trio of one-act operas tell the stories of people trapped by circumstances and unfulfilled desire. Il tabarro sees a wife stuck in a marriage she longs to escape, Suor Angelica is the tale of an outsider forced into a life for which she has no vocation, and Gianni Schicchi focuses on a dysfunctional family caught in the snare of a shameless conman.

The set designs by Charles Edwards span the 1920s, 50s and 70s and take inspiration from the city of Glasgow and the work of French-Hungarian photographer Brassaï, as well as Oscar Marzaroli, who was famous for capturing images of Glasgow from the 1950s to 1980s.

Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford conducts Roland Wood (Don Giovanni 2022), Sunyoung Seo, Viktor Antipenko, Francesca Chiejina, Julian Close (making their Scottish Opera debuts), Jamie MacDougall (Candide 2022), Louise Winter (Falstaff 2021), Máire Flavin (Opera Highlights 2018) and internationally-acclaimed Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill (Bluebeard’s Castle 2017). They are joined by former Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Elgan Llŷr Thomas (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2022) and Sioned Gwen Davies (The Gondoliers 2022).

Il trittico has an early start time of 6pm, with a long second interval for dinner and drinks.  Audiences are able to order food from the theatre in advance, and are advised to do so as early as possible as availability is limited.

Director Sir David McVicar said: ‘Il trittico is such a huge project, with a big and exceptional cast performing in three separate operas, a gripping evening in the theatre that takes us from the dark drama of Il tabarro, through the unbearable heartbreak of Suor Angelica to the acerbic and hilarious Gianni Schicchi, one of the greatest comic operas ever composed. It’s beautiful, tragic, hilarious, epic, and I couldn’t be prouder to be directing Scottish Opera’s first ever production of the three operas, so rarely seen, as Puccini intended, performed in one evening.’

Scottish Opera Music Director, Stuart Stratford, said: ‘Il trittico is the Mount Everest of the Puccini operas. These three, great one-act operas have a most concise structure which makes them so devastating to watch, and yet each is a perfect world in its own right, complete with a different way of delivery of musical material from the performers. Puccini has a special sound world for each, from the French impressionism and passion of Il tabarro to the unbearably sweet, yet poignant, outbursts of Suor Angelica, to the quick-fire stand-up comedy of Gianni Schicchi, leaving the listener after four hours having gone on an exhausting, challenging yet memorable climb to the summit.’

Scottish Opera General Director, Alex Reedijk said: ‘It’s something of a serendipitous confluence that this year sees our 60th Anniversary, Sir David McVicar’s return to Scottish Opera and the staging of Puccini’s triptych by the Company for the very first time. What a way to celebrate our Diamond Anniversary!  We are so excited to bring these incredible operas to Glasgow and Edinburgh, where audiences can expect a truly memorable theatrical experience and the chance to hear all three glorious operas in one night.’

The Company recently launched new afternoon Access shows to allow audience members the flexibility and freedom to relax and move about as required during performances. This Season there will be Access performances (supported by Scottish Opera’s Education Angels) of Gianni Schicchi in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

With Dementia Friendly values at their core, these shorter performances (under two hours including an interval) are open to all, whether you’re recovering from an operation, have breathing difficulties, are living with dementia, have a young baby or on the autism spectrum.

The Access performances, which include a presenter to help guide audiences through the story, are conducted by Head of Music Derek Clark, and performed by a cast of singers. Doors open 45 minutes before the start time so there is no need to rush, brighter lighting levels than usual in the auditorium and there are television screens around the theatre for those who prefer to watch in the lobby or sit in a quiet area.

Half-hour pre-show talks, delving into the detail of Il trittico are also available this season. Those who are visually impaired can take advantage of audio-described performances, where a live commentary is provided, describing the action on stage without compromising the music. As part of the experience, a recorded introduction to the operas is provided in advance, and there is a free Touch Tour of the set and a live audio introduction before the start of the performance.

Performance diary

 

Il trittico

 

Theatre Royal Glasgow

11, 15, 18 March 2023, 6pm

Pre-show talk and Touch Tour, 18 March, 4.45pm

Audio-described performance, 18 March 6pm

Access Gianni Schicchi, 16 March, 3pm

 

Festival Theatre Edinburgh

22 & 25 March 2023, 6pm

Pre-show talk and Touch Tour, 25 March, 4.45pm

Audio-described performance, 25 March, 6pm

Access Gianni Schicchi, 23 March, 3

IMAGES: JAMES GLOSSOP

REVIEW: Iris – Scottish Opera at The City Halls, Glasgow

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Iris, Pietro Mascagni’s little seen third opera, is presented in concert form at the City Halls in Glasgow, by Scottish Opera. Originally intended to be semi-staged, almost universal cast illness means that this is a little more no frills. However, the music is so glorious, nothing more is required.

Set in Japan in the Edo period, innocent Iris (Kiandra Howarth, replacing the indisposed Helena Dix), the daughter of blind Il Cieco (James Creswell) lives a simple life. Her world is turned on its head when young Lord Osaka (Ric Furman) carries Iris off to Kyoto’s (Roland Wood) geisha house and a world so cruel she can barely comprehend.

Mascagni’s work pre-dates Puccini’s Butterfly by six years and is considerably more demanding – this is basically the tale of a young Japanese girl who is sold into sex-trafficking, and it makes no bones about it’s presentation of it, what Puccini glosses over, Mascagni and his librettist Luigi Illica, lay bare. The problematic nature of the story is only made more difficult by the fact that there is no remorse for the unpalatable actions of the men in the story and to add insult to injury, the males are inevitably handed all the best music.

The ominous bass solo with which the work begins, sets the tone for Iris’ fate, but it begins one of the most beautiful openings in opera, as the sun rises over Japan. This glorious opening is a precursor to a work filled with beautiful music, played faultlessly by the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and accompanied impeccably by the chorus of Iris. The first rate singers, the icing on the cake.

While the subject matter may not be to many’s taste, Iris, is utterly hypnotic, completely beguiling, and in the intimate setting of the City Halls, with it’s world-class acoustics, a five-star, absolute highlight of the current opera season.

Image: James Glossop

REVIEW: Tosca – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Sumptuous, stunning, shocking, and still sensational, Anthony Besch’s production for Scottish Opera of Giacomo Puccini’s once decried, but now beloved, “shabby little shocker” Tosca, still has the power to stir almost 40 years on. As evidenced by the packed house, this ninth revival, is as popular as ever, and rightly so.

Now widely utilised, but ground-breaking in the 1980s, was Besch’s re-setting of the work from the Napoleonic era to 1940s Fascist-era Rome, and the production looks and feels as fresh and relevant as the moment it first appeared.

As the curtain rises on Peter Rice’s glorious set there is an audible gasp from both those new to this production and those in the audience welcoming home an old and much-loved friend from its extensive travels around the globe. The magnificent realisation of the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, is truly breath-taking, never more so than in the Te Deum, where the splendidly clad clergy and congregation bring the curtain down on the first act. The representations of Scarpio’s office in the Palazzo Farnese and the ramparts of the Castel Sant’Angelo are just as magnificent and historically accurate.

Puccini’s sublime music sounds strikingly modern and almost cinematic throughout, and the orchestra under the baton of Stuart Stratford sounds majestic, managing to strike the perfect balance of power without ever overwhelming the singers.

Natalya Romaniw is an out-standing Tosca, seamlessly marrying her stunning vocals to beautifully measured and highly convincing acting skills. Roland Wood is an assured Scarpia, but it is Gwyn Hughes Jones as Cavaradossi who is the knock out of the evening, never was a voice more perfectly married to a role, he is truly stunning.

This is a five-star, breath-taking production in every respect, and the perfect example of what opera can and should be.

Runs until 26 October 2019, then touring to Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

For more information visit Scottish Opera

IMAGES: JAMES GLOSSOP

 

 

REVIEW: Flight – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis’ contemporary opera Flight is almost universally loved and with good reason. A knockout score and a story filled with both drama and humour make it a hit with audiences world wide.

Image: James Glossop

Beginning as a story about a series of couples stranded at an airport due to electrical storms, librettist De Angelis discovered the real-life story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri stranded at Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006 (a story which spawned a book The Terminal Man; French movie Tombés du ciel (Lost in Transit); the Steven Spielberg film The Terminal; short story The Fifteen Year Layover; two documentaries Waiting For Godot at De Gaulle and Sir Alfred of Charles De Gaulle Airport as well as the mockumentary Here To Where) and she and Dove wove the story of a refugee hiding at the terminal around the more comic aspects of the opera. The relationships unravel and entwine and all the while the refugee strives to overcome his plight.

Image: James Glossop

Many of the cast reprise their roles from the previous Opera Holland Park production (Jennifer France as the Controller, Victoria Simmonds as Minskwoman and James Laing as the Refugee) and their comfort and familiarity with the roles shows, especially Countertenor Laing whose voice gives goose bumps) however, while France has an impressive top range she was a little underpowered at times). Peter Auty (Bill) and Stephanie Corley (Tina) provide comic relief as the long-married couple seeking to spice up their marriage as do Jonathan McGovern and Sioned Gwen Davies as the randy Steward and Stewardess.

Image: James Glossop

Image: James Glossop

The music has a mid-century cinema musical feel – almost Bernstein or Gershwin-like, it is, at all times, melodic and an absolute joy to the ear. However, personally I can’t help wonder if it would have sounded better for being less ‘operatic’ and more ‘musical theatre’: the operatic voices, in this production all excellent, don’t entirely do the fabulous score justice.

Image: James Glossop

This re-imagined production by director Stepehn Barlow and the design team of Andrew Riley, Richard Howell and Jack Henry James is an absolute joy to watch and listen to, a welcome addition to this season’s operatic programme at Scottish Opera and one not to miss.

Image: James Glossop

The production continues at Glasgow Theatre Royal until 24 February then at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh from 1 to 3 March 2018. 

REVIEW: L’amico Fritz – The Sunday Series: Opera in Concert

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Scottish Opera’s music director Stuart Stratford starts this year’s Sunday Series on a high note with an outstanding concert performance of Pietro Mascagni’s rarely seen, but utterly charming bucolic tale of unrequited love, L’amico Fritz.

Written after his verismo masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana, Mascagni’s intention was to write a work as far removed from Cavalleria as he could and in L’amico, that is absolutely achieved, this is a simple, gentle, pastoral love story – there’s none of Cavalleria’s bloodshed and the body count is nil. It’s 19th Century, pre Franco-Prussia War Alsace where the Protestant and Jewish communities live in blissful harmony. Rabbi and local matchmaker David bets his friend, the marriage phobic, wealthy landowner Fritz Kobus that he will succumb, within the year, to the charms of married life. In the meantime Fritz falls in love with Suzette, the daughter of one of his tenants and a happy ending is guaranteed for all.

Stuart Stratford has previous form with L’amico, conducting a fully staged performance for Opera Holland Park in 2011, and his familiarity with, and love for the piece shines through. The Orchestra of Scottish Opera freed from the pit and onstage in their purpose-built acoustic shell, have rarely sounded better, the gorgeous melodies and beautiful lyricism of the piece are a ravishing treat for the ears. The singers are universally deserving of praise, with Peter Auty’s Fritz, Stephen Gadd’s David and Hanna Hipp in another ‘trouser role’ particularly fine.

If the glorious L’amico Fritz is a marker of the quality to be expected for the rest of the Sunday Series, then opera lovers in Scotland are in for a treat indeed.

The next offering from the Sunday Series will be Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue on 5th February 2017 at 3pm

For more information visit: https://www.scottishopera.org.uk

 

REVIEW: The Elixir of Love – The Concert Hall, Motherwell

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Scottish Opera’s latest touring production, Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, is a wonderfully witty, beautifully staged and finely sung treasure. An utter joy from start to finish, this is opera for people who think they don’t like opera. Donizetti’s gloriously melodic score is a treat for the ears and Oliver Townsend and Mark Howland’s charming and clever design – re-set from the 19th Century Mediterranean to a country garden in 1920s England, is simply gorgeous.

Humble gardener Nemorino is hopelessly in love with wealthy landowner Adina, but her head (if not her heart) is turned by the flashy Sergeant Belcore. But all is not lost when quack medicine man Dr Dulcamara literally rides into town, selling our hero a powerful love potion that promises to deliver the girl of his dreams into his arms within a day.

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Ellie Laugharne and Elgan Llyr Thomas as Adina and Nemorino in Scottish Opera’s The Elixir of Love Image: Tim Morozzo

This effervescent production bubbles and fizzes throughout, thanks largely to the delightful cast, and as befitting this ‘male Cinderella’ story, it is the boys who dominate. Elgan Llyr Thomas is thoroughly appealing as our love-lorn hero Nemorino and his show-stopping Una furtiva lagrima (one single tear falls silently) is a real crowd-pleaser, but he doesn’t have the limelight solely to himself thanks to scene-stealing turns from Toby Girling as the preposterously pompous Sergeant Belcore and the outstanding James Cleverton as the dodgy Doctor Dulcamara, whose timing, sonorous tones and perfect diction are a masterclass in comic opera acting.

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James Cleverton as Dulcamara Scottish in Opera’s The Elixir of Love Image: Tim Morozzo

Mention must be made of music Derek Clark, who deserves plaudits for trimming Donizetti’s score from 53 instruments to five without losing any of its richness and the brisk baton of conductor Stuart Stratford who drives the score along.

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Ellie Laugharne, Elgan Llyr Thomas and Toby Girling in Scottish Opera’s The Elixir of Love Image: Tim Morozzo

For a work that was written, if not in the two weeks that opera folklore claims, but certainly astonishingly quickly nearly 200 years ago, this sunny, funny, dazzling and delightful work is a five-star, must-see production.

Currently touring Scotland, booking information here: https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/our-operas/16-17/the-elixir-of-love