Fundraising Events

Marooned Melodies

Festival Theatre Edinburgh
Wednesday 19 November 2025

Music Director Stuart Stratford is castaway on a desert island… but with a twist!

2025 marks a decade of Stuart Stratford at the podium as Scottish Opera’s Music Director and Principal Conductor. During his tenure he has helmed some of the Company’s greatest triumphs; including spearheading our more adventurous, outdoor productions such as Candide in the Scottish Opera carpark and Pagliacci in a circus tent in Paisley; shining a light on lesser-performed repertoire through his Opera in Concert series; and, of course, phenomenal artistic achievements on the mainstage such as Il trittico (2023) and Flight (2018). His creative partnership with The Orchestra of Scottish Opera is one of shared inspiration and passion, whether approaching a new work for the first time like Golijov’s Ainadamar or revisiting Puccini’s La bohème for the hundredth time, the motivation to uncover every detail in the score and play it to the highest artistic standard for audiences is simply inspiring.

Now he finds himself castaway, stranded on a deserted island with only five specially selected tracks, one opera to conduct, and one singer’s back catalogue (quite the luxury!) to keep him company.

Celebrated author and lecturer Michael Downes OBE, Director of Music at the University of St Andrews, will guide Stuart through his choices as we discover where his passion for music and opera began, and how it went from hobby to study to life’s work. Having chosen the music that means the most to him for his solitary sojourn, Stuart will reflect on a life dedicated to music and a decade of artistic successes, risks, and challenges with Scottish Opera, all accompanied by his chosen recordings and with live music from baritone Daniel Barrett.