The Scottish Opera
Podcast
Welcome to The Scottish Opera Podcast
Step into the exciting world of opera with Scottish Opera's debut podcast series! Join host Jamie MacDougall, tenor and BBC Radio Scotland presenter, as each new guest brings their unique perspective about what goes on behind the scenes at a national opera company. You’ll hear from directors and designers who dramatise these stories, conductors who interpret music new and old, and singers from international stars to our dedicated Community Chorus members.
Expect deep dives on beloved classics, previews of world premieres, and explorations of opera as a tool for education and wellbeing. With each new episode, we celebrate the talent, dedication, humanity, and creativity that makes opera special and offer new angles on this vibrant art form.
Whether you're an opera aficionado or just dipping your toe into this world, The Scottish Opera Podcast is your window into the craft, challenges, and diversity of opera today.
This podcast is produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College and supported by students on Broadcasting courses at the college, with thanks to James Wilson, Curriculum Head of Broadcasting.
Meet Our host
Jamie MacDougall
Born in Glasgow, Jamie MacDougall has sung with Scottish Opera, Opera Holland Park, English National Opera, and Opera North as well as with companies across Europe and Canada. He has also presented Grace Notes and Classics Unwrapped on BBC Radio Scotland as well as regular broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. He has performed as a soloist with pianists including Malcolm Martineau, Susan Tomes, Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, and Julius Drake. He has sung at the Edinburgh International Festival, Perth Festival Australia, Salzburg Festival, and Aldeburgh Festival. In 2017 he was artist-in-residence at the St Andrews Voices festival. His extensive discography of more than 40 releases covers Baroque and Classical music, as well as German, Scottish, and English song.
Scottish Opera appearances: Mayor Upfold Albert Herring, Spy Marx in London!, Tinca Il tabarro, Gherardo Gianni Schicchi , Baron / Governor / Vanderdendur / Ragotski Candide, Tom Snout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bardolfo Falstaff, Dancing Master Ariadne auf Naxos, Lauder.
Episodes
Presenter Jamie MacDougall welcomes our listeners into the whimsical world of Donizetti's Don Pasquale, as he hosts internationally acclaimed director-designer duo Barbe & Doucet, alongside star baritone David Stout to discuss Scottish Opera's production. This beloved production has charmed audiences from Miami to Toronto since its 2014 debut with Scottish Opera.
Barbe & Doucet share their vision for setting this classic opera in the 1960s, where Don Pasquale owns a cat-themed crumbling boarding house complete with eccentric staff. Meanwhile, David Stout offers unique insights into bringing the titular role to life, discussing the rehearsal process and the challenges of portraying this complex character. And of course, our canine stars get a mention, too!
This episode was produced by Scottish Opera's Antonia Bain.
Listen below or click here to listen directly from Spotify or Amazon Music.
Presenter Jamie MacDougall sat down to discuss The Small Magician with Lea Shaw, Scottish Opera's Education Artist in Residence.
Supported by Scottish Opera, The Small Magician is a new, trauma-aware, inclusive, accessible series of vocal education resources in the form of workbooks, and audio and video guides.
Designed to be a safe way for you to explore and foster curiosity - using your voice as a form of play - these resources are open to all and free of charge.
This episode was produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College, and supported by broadcast students, Kayleigh, Grace, and Ophelia.
Listen below or click here to listen directly from Spotify or Amazon Music.
Join our presenter Jamie MacDougall as he chats to Karen MacIver, composer for Special Delivery. Entirely led by music, Special Delivery is a new children’s production for ages 3-7 produced in-house at Lanternhouse, a state-of-the-art performing arts centre based at Cumbernauld Community Campus, in a co-production with Cumbernauld Theatre Company, Visible Fictions and Scottish Opera.
This episode was produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College and supported by broadcast students, Kayleigh, Grace, and Ophelia.
Listen below or click here to listen directly from Spotify or Amazon Music.
Director Rebecca Meltzer and Emerging Artist Ross Cumming join Jamie MacDougall to discuss this season's Opera Highlights tour.
The playful production by Meltzer and designer Kenneth MacLeod celebrates Scotland's diverse landscape through operatic vignettes set in various train stations - places of meetings, farewells, and new beginnings where all walks of life intersect.
Curated by Scottish Opera's Head of Music Fiona MacSherry, the show features singers Robert Forrest alongside 2024/25 Emerging Artists Ross Cumming, Chloe Harris, and Kira Kaplan performing classic works by Beethoven, Bizet, Handel, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky and more, with musical direction by Joseph Beesley.
Alongside Opera Highlights, Scottish Opera will also run 10 secondary school workshops in Fochabers, Stranraer, Lerwick, Mid Yell, Oban, Castlebay, Tarbert, Ullapool, Thurso and Anstruther, and four community workshops on 'How to stage an opera' in Tain, Lerwick, Tarbert, and Dundee.
This episode was produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College and supported by broadcast students, Kayleigh and Grace.
Listen below or click here to listen directly from Spotify or Amazon Music.
Director Olivia Fuchs joins Jamie MacDougall in the studio to discuss her production of Leoš Janáček's opera, The Makropulos Affair.
This co-production with Welsh National Opera is Scottish Opera's first full staging of the opera since 1993. Hailed as ‘an unmissable triumph’ (The Telegraph), this production focuses on the immortal Emilia Marty, or Elina Makropulos, a woman who has managed to live for over 300 years and is confronted with her past lives, and lovers as her existence raises questions of science versus nature and life versus death.
Jamie and Olivia discuss Olivia's journey into directing opera and how Olivia has been working with the cast as the production team takes this opera from the rehearsal room to the stage.
This episode was produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College and supported by broadcast students, Ophélie and Grace.
Listen below or click here to listen directly from Spotify or Amazon Music.
Filmmaker Antonia Bain and composer Samuel Bordoli discuss the creative partnership behind Josefine, Scottish Opera's groundbreaking animated opera short.
Drawing inspiration from Kafka's final story 'Josefine The Singer', the pair reveal how they developed their 14-minute award-winning film exploring the performer-audience relationship. They share insights on co-authoring the libretto, directing for animation, and composing music that brings Josefine's desert world to life. Together with host Jamie MacDougall, they explore the technical challenges and philosophical questions that drove their innovative fusion of opera and animation.
This episode was produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College, and supported by broadcast students, Kayleigh, Grace, and Ophelia.
Listen below or click here to listen directly from Spotify or Amazon Music.