News

Our brand new production of  Orfeo ed Euridice opened on Thursday 19 February and audiences are loving it! "Absolutely brilliant", "amazing", "exquisite" - just some of the comments so far. Listen to more here. 

You can also see the production images, and watch an interview with Caitlin Hulcup, who sings the role of Orfeo. 

Find out more about the production here. 

2 Feb 2015
We're celebrating the 21st anniversary of Opera Highlights with a 17-date tour of Scotland.

Arias from Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Verdi’s La traviata will be showcased alongside the famous Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen and Gilbert & Sullivan classics from HMS Pinafore and The Gondoliers. This year’s Opera Highlights programme also includes a world premiere from Scottish Opera’s new Composer in Residence, Lliam Paterson, entitled Touching Eden.

This year’s singers are former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist Sioned Gwen Davies and tenor Sam Furness, who performed as Kate and Frederic in 2013’s The Pirates of Penzance. They are joined by Welsh tenor Joshua Owen Mills, Ben McAteer, winner of NI Opera’s inaugural Festival of Voice competition in 2011, and soprano Reisha Adams, winner of the 2012 Ian Stoutzker prize for outstanding musicianship. They will be accompanied by pianist Ina Selvelieva and the production is directed by Max Webster.

Find out where the show is touring to, see the production imagesand find out what opera singers do on their days off with our tongue-in-cheek trailer. 
 

Scottish Opera audiences were able to enjoy the brand new foyers of the Theatre Royal Glasgow for the first time as Ines de Castro opened on Thursday 22 January before moving on to Edinburgh Festival Theatre. 

Stephanie Corley (Inés) with Ordinary People - Ronan Busfield, Laura Margaret Smith, Rosalind Coad & Andrew McTaggart.

A 'macabre tale in a richly embroidered musical robe', 'beautifully sung and superbly acted', read extracts of what the critics are saying about the production.

Peter Wedd and Brindley Sherratt

See the rest of the production photographs and listen to what the audience thoughtof the prodution. 

16 Dec 2014
The doors of Theatre Royal Glasgow's new foyers were opened to the public today, after a major project to transform the 19th-century theatre, led by Scottish Opera.

The work to dramatically improve the theatre’s public spaces involved the building of spacious foyers housing facilities including a new box office, better bars, more toilets and a roof-top terrace. And new lifts have opened up access, meaning for the first time in the theatre's 147 year history, all audience members can reach all levels.

Purpose-built education rooms, supported by The Robertson Trust, have been created, and will provide much-needed space for education and outreach activity run by Scottish Opera and The Ambassador Theatre Group, managers of the theatre.

Alongside the building work, a heritage project - supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund - aims to share the theatre's rich architectural and performance history which has helped shape the face of popular entertainment in Glasgow. Interactive touchscreens tell the story of the theatre from its early days staging variety shows, to life as the home of Howard and Wyndham (fathers of modern pantomime), the birthplace of Scottish Television, and its transformation from TV studio back to a theatre, becoming the performance home of Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet. A heritage exhibition will open in the theatre's previous foyers on Hope Street later in the month.

The project was funded by the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Glasgow City Council, as well as a host of trusts and foundations, corporate supporters and donations from private individuals.

Scottish Opera’s General Director, Alex Reedijk said:
 

“I’m tremendously proud of the newly transformed Theatre Royal. We wanted to create 21st century facilities fit for the next 100 years of Glasgow theatre-goers and also to deliver a great new addition to the city’s social and cultural life.

“It was past time to bring the Victorian public spaces up to the standards that today’s audiences expect and I know audience members will enjoy the facilities and access that the new foyers provide.

"But it's also a great new space that is open all day now, as well as for performances, and I hope as many people as possible will take the opportunity to pop in and spend some time there."
 

11 Nov 2014
We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected death of designer Johan Engels.

Scottish Opera’s thoughts are with his family and friends, and we join them and the international opera community in mourning his loss.

Johan had an incredible international career, designing theatre and opera sets for some of the world’s most well-known companies, including in 2013 an extraordinary Magic Flute for Bregenz Festival.

Johan had recently been working with Scottish Opera to design our forthcoming production of Orfeo ed Euridice.

28 October 2014
Scottish Opera have enjoyed taking to the waterways of Scotland with our recent performances of Puffy MacPuffer & the Crabbit Canals.

Commissioned in collaboration with Scottish Canals, the production told the adventures of Puffy, the bold, coal guzzling steam boat, as he sailed with cargo through Scotland’s canals.

Photo Credit Bartosz Madejski

Our Director of Education, Jane Davidson was delighted with the production,

“It was an exciting production which really engaged youngsters through song and music. We wanted to make a show that both entertained and informed youngsters about the key role that the canals played in the social and economic life of Scotland’s past, but which also highlighted the many and varied activities on offer for families visiting the canals in the present day.”

Photo Credit Bartosz Madejski
 

The production began at the Falkirk Wheel and concluded its tour at the Summerlee Museum in Coatbridge.

Look out for more children’s performances later in our 2014/15 season especially with Mister MacNeep has lost his Sheep!

16 October 2014 
Cinderella opened Scottish Opera’s 2014-15 season yesterday and is set to visit Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh after its run in Glasgow. 

The title role is sung by Russian mezzo-soprano Victoria Yarovaya, winner of the 2013 Mercedes Viñas Prize.

Victoria Yarovaya as Cinderella - Credit Ken Dundas

Rising Rossini tenor Nico Darmanin sings Ramiro after two successful engagements at the Royal Opera House in 2013-14 (Les Vêpres siciliennes; Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Rebecca Bottone returns to Scottish Opera after her performances in The Pirates of Penzance, 2013.

Nico Darmanin as Ramiro - Credit Ken Dundas

Sandrine Anglade directs, leading a team that is rapidly becoming acknowledged as expert in staging Rossini’s comedies - comprised of designer Claude Chestier, lighting designer Eric Blosse and choreographer Pascaline Verrier.

Nico Darmanin as Don Ramiro, Máire Flavin as Tisbe,
Umberto Chiummo as Don Magnifico, Rebecca Bottone as Clorinda,  
Richard Burkhard as Dandini and Victoria Yarovaya as Cinderella - Credit: Ken Dundas 

Cinderella continues to play at the Theatre Royal until Sat 25th Nov.

26 September 2014
Scottish Opera’s Macbeth opened last night to a sell out audience at Eastwood Park Theatre.
 

This revival of Dominic Hill’s 2005 production stays true to the Shakespearean tale of betrayal, murder and power.

The opera chronicles the fatal downfall of Macbeth – urged on by his wife to realise the prophecy of a trio of witches and claim Scotland’s throne.

David Stephenson is reprising his leading role singing Macbeth after a successful run earlier this year.

From the left; Laura – Margaret Smith, Marie Claire Breen and Sarah Shorter
The Three Witches | Credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Part of the witches trio Marie Claire Breen returns to Scottish Opera following her successful time as an Emerging Artist for the company in 2010 – 12.

Laura - Margaret Smith, a Scottish Opera Emerging Artist for 2014/15, commences her season with this production.

Tickets are still on sale across all 14 venues.

19 September 2014
With the costumes donned, the lighting fixed and the last notes delivered, today marks not only the final floor run of our wicked revival but is just six days till opening night.

Inspired by the Balkans conflict of the late 1990s, Scottish Opera’s Macbeth is preparing to haunt 15 of Scotland’s smaller venues with David Stephenson singing the title role.

Our Education Team is currently travelling the length of Scotland in advance of the tour, providing opera workshops to school children whilst scouting six participants from each workshop to be included in their local performance.

 Photo credit: Kevin McGarry

Participants from Netherlee Primary School in Giffnock ( pictured above) were yesterday rehearsing their final scenes with the main cast in what’s shaping up to be an unforgettable performance.

Tickets are still available across all performances.

5 September 2014 

We’re delighted to welcome this season’s group of new Emerging Artists to our team.

The scheme gives talented young artists a period of full-time work with the Company to help them launch their careers.

You can hear our Emerging Artist singers performing in several of our operas this season, including Jenůfa and Macbeth. They will also be performing at two recitals during the year.

Who are the Emerging Artists?
Born in Winchester and a graduate of the Royal College of Music, your first chance to see soprano Rosalind Coad will be in La Cenerentola Unwrapped from the 22nd October.

Left to right:
Soojeong Joo, Laura Margaret Smith, Lliam Paterson and Rosalind Coad

Mezzo-soprano Laura Margaret Smith is a winner of the Making Music Young Concert Artist Award as well as a recent graduate of the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Laura is currently in rehearsal for her role as a witch in Verdi’s Macbeth, which will tour to smaller venues throughout Scotland this Autumn.

Fresh from a spell with English National Opera as a trainee Repetiteur, New York City School of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate Soojeong Joo is welcomed to the Emerging Artist programme as our Repetiteur.

And recent University of Cambridge Music graduate Lliam Paterson also joins the programme as Composer in Residence for the 2014 /15 season.