SCOTTISH Opera has unveiled its 2023/24 Season, which includes a UK premiere, a Scottish premiere, a Scottish Opera Young Company double bill, and revivals of some of its most beloved productions. The Season promises to be a celebratory showcase of the power and beauty of opera.
Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera General Director, said: “Following the ambition and achievement of our 60th Anniversary Season, we are thrilled to present a 61st Season of exciting premieres and cherished classics – performed across Scotland and continuing the Company’s reputation for high quality opera, artistic flexibility, and innovation.
“Sir Thomas Allen’s much-loved, whimsical production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville returns this autumn and tours to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, and Aberdeen. Next is the UK premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Marx in London! directed by Stephen Barlow, a madcap comedy seeking to unearth the human side of the great theorist. To finish the Season, Verdi’s ever-popular La traviata returns in Sir David McVicar’s sumptuous production – adored around the world and now back home in Scotland.
“Scottish Opera Young Company presents an innovative, immersive double bill of Henry McPherson’s Maud and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley. Our partnership with Lammermuir Festival continues with Richard Strauss’ Daphne, which receives its Scottish premiere 85 years after its first performance. The French Collection offers the variety, innovation, and crowd-pleasing creations of France’s great composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Opera Highlights, Pop-up Opera, and schools projects travel to all corners of the country, continuing our unabated dedication to bringing opera to everyone in Scotland. This Season you can also see productions that began their lives at Scottish Opera around the world, from Cardiff to Vancouver.
“While times are hard for all right now, we are hugely proud of the standards of work achieved over recent years. We are immensely grateful for the loyal support of everyone who makes our work possible, and we hope that you find much to enjoy and look forward to welcoming you soon.’
Stuart Stratford, Scottish Opera Music Director, added: “There is so much to look forward to in this new season. I am particularly delighted to present the Scottish premiere of Daphne, a rarely performed work by Richard Strauss. It shows the composer at the height of his powers, and the orchestration is not just about the sonic power of seventy instruments but the subtle blending of all the different colour palettes. The singing roles are as virtuosic as the orchestral writing.
“Jonathan Dove is one of Britain’s most successful international composers, and his Marx in London! is a brilliant satirical take on one of history’s most iconic and divisive thinkers, which gives real human understanding to all of the protagonist’s idiosyncrasies. It has a really poignant conclusion, relevant to us all today.
“We are also thrilled to be reviving The Barber of Seville, this time in English, which promises only to strengthen the riotous hilarity of this comic masterpiece. An incredible, first rate cast features in La traviata, originally directed by Sir David McVicar, whose production of Il trittico blew audiences away earlier this year.’
A truly international line-up of singers appears throughout the season. Making their debuts with the Company are Ross Cumming, Paul Hopwood, Inna Husieva, Claire Barnett-Jones, Jerome Knox, Innocent Masuku, Simone McIntosh, Ji-Min Park and Katy Thomson.
There are welcome return visits from Katherine Aitken, Orla Boylan, Francis Church, Alasdair Elliott, Anthony Gregory, Catriona Hewitson, Thomas D Hopkinson, Heather Ireson, Samuel Dale Johnson, Jessica Leary, Hye-Youn Lee, Monwabisi Lindi, Jamie MacDougall, Andrew McTaggart, William Morgan, Colin Murray, Shengzhi Ren, Lucy Schaufer, Lea Shaw, Paula Sides, David Stout, Roland Wood, and Dingle Yandell.
For more details of the 2023/24 Productions, visit: https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/what-s-on/season-202324-brochure/
