Tickets are now on sale for our new production of Opera Highlights, which hits the road from 2 October to 22 November, bringing world-class opera to 17 communities across the country.
The audience will follow the story of four very different characters, watching how their personal relationships intertwine at the office party. With no shortage of messy romance and an unforgettable work soiree, this will be a night of opera to remember!
Performing in this one-of-a-kind show, created specifically for us each season, are 2025/26 Emerging Artists mezzo-soprano Chloe Harris and tenor Luvo Maranti, along with soprano Ceferina Penny and baritone James Geidt, both making their Company debuts. Accompanying the singers on piano is Music Director Meghan Rhoades, Emerging Artist Repetiteur.
Transforming smaller venues into a local opera house, the show travels to East Kilbride, Ayr, Gartmore, Brechin, Ellon, Crail, Castle Douglas, Melrose, Crawfordjohn, Birnam, Nairn, Lochinver, Glenuig, Castlebay (a return visit following our Opera Highlights performance in February being cancelled due to bad weather), Lochranza, Johnstone, and Edinburgh. Our extensive touring programme is one of the largest of any European opera company, ensuring performances are within reach of as many of Scotland’s dispersed population as possible.
The show’s Director is Emma Doherty who last worked with us on the Outreach & Education show, The Giant’s Harp, and was Assistant Director in 2024 on Oedipus Rex and Marx in London! Designs are by the award-winning Kenneth MacLeod, who worked on last Season’s Opera Highlights.
The playlist cleverly combines a fabulous collection of much-loved classics with a treasure trove of lesser-known pieces. These include music from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette, Massenet’s Werther, Handel’s Alcina, Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus and Samuel Barber’s one-act opera, A Hand of Bridge.
These operatic snapshots are curated by Fiona MacSherry, our Head of Music. All are sung in English or an English translation, making the story immediate and accessible for the audience.
While on tour with Opera Highlights, we are running school and community workshops, with more details to be announced soon. At these free ‘How to stage an opera’ interactive sessions, those attending will learn about the process of powerful storytelling through opera, using scenes from the tour as inspiration.
Opera Highlights goes on the road again in Spring 2026, when Emerging Artist Repetiteur Toby Stanford accompanies singers including Emerging Artists Daniel Barrett and Kira Kaplan along with Alexandria Moon and Connor James Smith.
The tour runs from 3 February to 14 March, with performances in Glasgow, Tillicoultry, Helensburgh, Town Yetholm, Newton Stewart, Dunlop, Dalmally, Dornie, Stornoway, Gairloch, Newtonmore, Banchory, Fraserburgh, Cromarty, Orkney, Wick, Lairg, and Bathgate.
Opera Highlights is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and JTH Charitable Trust.
Tickets are on sale now at Opera Highlights 2025/26 | Scottish Opera