Scottish Opera is delighted to have won the Achievement in Opera award at the 2017 UK Theatre Awards for its production of Debussy’s Pelléas and Mélisande.
The award was collected by Scottish Opera’s General Director, Alex Reedijk, and Music Director, Stuart Stratford, at an awards ceremony at London’s historic Guildhall, on Sunday 15 October 2017.
Debussy’s iconic opera was directed by Sir David McVicar, making a welcome return to Scottish Opera, and was designed by the acclaimed team behind the hit show War Horse, Paule Constable and Rae Smith. Together, they created a production that brought to life this enigmatic tale of love, honour, jealousy and loss, inspired by the paintings of Danish artist Villhelm Hammershøi.
Stuart Stratford conducted The Orchestra of Scottish Opera and an outstanding cast including soprano Carolyn Sampson (The Rake’s Progress 2012) as Mélisande, Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize winner Andrei Bondarenko as Pelléas, Roland Wood (Il trovatore 2015) as Golaud, Alastair Miles as Arkel, Anne Mason (Il trovatore 2015) as Geneviève, and Jonathan May as the Doctor.
Pelléas and Mélisande delighted critics and audiences alike in February of this year, as part of the Company’s 2016/17 Season.
The UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in regional theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Alex Reedijk said: ‘I am extremely proud of Scottish Opera and all the artists in the creative team, the wonderful performers and glorious playing by the Orchestra of Scottish Opera alongside all the other folk involved in making this fantastic production. Sir David McVicar’s superb creative energies and Stuart Stratford’s musical talents came together to create a production that spoke to the audience and critics alike and most eloquently reflects the high standards we aspire to here at Scottish Opera.’
Paule Constable said: 'How thrilling! I loved being up at Scottish Opera and working with the team, there was a sense of doing something really important. Everyone was so committed. Huge congratulations!’
In the Achievement in Opera category, Pelléas and Mélisande’s fellow nominees were Opera North’s Turandot and Welsh National Opera’s Le vin herbé.
It was a successful day for Scotland with Scottish Ballet winning two awards; for Achievement in Dance, and Achievement in Marketing/Audience Development.