This July, our Young Company is presenting the world premiere of RED, a darkly comedic piece drawn from fairy tales by The Brothers Grimm, at our Production Studios in Glasgow.
An interwoven story of the four stages of women’s lives that often feature in folk tales, RED is by award-winning composer Karen MacIver (pictured) with a libretto by our Director of Outreach and Education, Jane Davidson MBE. The conductor is Young Company’s Artistic Director Chris Gray, with Flora Emily Thomson (Maud & Down in the Valley 2023 and As The Seasons Turn 2022) returning to direct the 14 young performers aged between 17 to 21. Set and costume designs are by Finlay McLay.
RED is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Snow White and Hansel & Gretel, and features aspects of the ages of unnamed female figures — girl, maiden, mother, crone — that often appear in these famous stories. The 70-minute opera examines the circular, metamorphic nature of these tales as well as experiences shared by generations of women across time through magical realism.
Tickets for RED, which is supported by our Education Angels and The Rose Fund, are available to buy now from www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/red