Simon Holledge's Letter from Glasgow 

Notes on the 2004-2005 Season of Scottish Opera

Fidelio at Scottish Opera: the prisoners' chorus with Elizabeth Byrne as Leonore (left) Photo: Bill Cooper

Scottish Opera is an anomaly. Just as Scotland is at one and the same time a country, a region of Britain and a dependency of the United Kingdom, Scottish Opera operates on three different levels - as an international, national and regional company. At its best, the company is capable of excellent work, but it operates under considerable pressure from politicians concerned not to be seen to support elitism in the arts. Despite generally poor local facilities the company is expected to bring opera to the people, rather than (perhaps more appopriately) to attract the people to the opera. The 2004-2005 was marked by a succession of political crises and the 2005-2006 season was cancelled (with the exception of some educational projects) to make up a budget deficit, nonethless the company had some significant successes diring the year.

Handel's Semele: Lisa Milne in the title role Photo: Bill Cooper

Performed in February and March 2005, Handel's Semele was the outstanding production of the season. Music and drama complemented each other perfectly in a witty, economical new presentation which never asked more of the singers than was necessary. If the production was conceived as a vehicle for Lisa Milne, Scotland's young soprano star, the work proved equally suited to showing off the virtues of the company. The whole cast excelled.

Semele: Kate Royal as Iris Photo: Bill Cooper

The Glasgow-born early music specialist Christian Curnym led the Orchestra of Scottish Opera from the deep-set pit of Glasgow's Theatre Royal in a lively and engaging reading of the score with some beautiful solo playing. Lisa Milne did not disappoint in the title role. She has a wonderful easy, pleasing, comfortable sound, and sings with musicality and good diction. It remains to be seen whether she has a distinctive enough voice to have a major career.

Susan Bickley was excellent as Ino with very clear diction, perhaps less successful in the more formidable, and more demanding, role of Jupiter's neglected wife, Juno. Jeremy Ovenden was an elegant, stylish and incisive Jupiter, particularly in 'Lest she too much explain' and 'Where'er you walk', and Kate Royal was effective, and very funny, as Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow. Michael George as the Chief Priest, Cadmus and Somnus, and Arnon Zlotnik at Athamas were also well cast.

Semele: Kate Royal as Iris and Susan Bickley as Juno Photo: Bill Cooper

Semele originated as an oratorio rather than an opera, and that provided the starting point of John La Bouchardièr's production. the chorus and soloists entered in concert garb and occupied two rows of collapsible metal chairs, however the composure of the main characters soon broke down and the drama took off.

The witty 'nouveau baroque' production used outsized 18th-century costumes, cosmic projections, clever use of some grainy video, and some very effective props. Semele luxuriated and frolicked on a giant pillow for 'Endless pleasure', then appeared resplendent in gold for 'Myself I shall adore' while Iris, who first appeared as a pink-wigged ice-cream seller in the initial 'oratorio' titillated Somnus, God of Sleep, by revealing some spectacularly reflective underwear. The big dramatic moments including Semele's scorching at the sight of her immortal lover's true appearance were all handled effectively and economically.

Tosca: John Hudson as Cavaradossi and Elena Zelenskaya as the diva Photo: Drew Farrell

A production of Tosca dating back to 1980 was revived by the company in November and December 2004. Conductor Guido Ajmone-Marsan inspired a consistently beautiful and dramatic reading of the score from his players. The chorus also acquitted themselves well, though they don’t have a lot to do, except for the impressive Te Deum ending to Act One.

The main weakness of the performance was the drama direction - there didn’t seem to be any! The blocking was awkward, singers sauntered on and off with little feeling for the tension of the drama, and the action was not synchronized with the text.

Matthew Best as Scarpia and Elena Zelenskaya as Tosca Photo: Drew Farrell

The principals were strong rather than subtle, but rose to the big moments. John Hudson as Cavaradossi sang an impassioned ‘Vittoria! Vittoria!’, and Elena Zelenskaya delivered a fine and studied ‘Vissi d’arte’. Unfortunately Hudson and Matthew Best as Scarpia sang the Italian with so little fluency, and such awkward phrasing, that I wished they were singing in English. Given that the action was so unfocussed, it's likely that they didn’t always remember what the words meant. Zelenskaya may be in a different class, but unfortunately she made little attempt to act the role as well as sing it.

The staging was set in the Fascist period, rather than Napoleonic times. This made little difference as the locations were unchanged. However there were some over-the top touches to liven up the old war-horse. Scarpia was in bed with a prostitute at the beginning of Act Two, despite the fact it is early evening and he is waiting for Tosca. At the end of Act Three, the Castel Sant’Angelo was lit up by rockets, like a firework display. It was 1944 and the Americans had arrived!

The Knot Garden by Michael Tippett: (from left to right) Derrick Parker as Mel, Hilton Marlton as Dov and Rachel Nicholls as Flora in Act I Photo: Drew Farrell

A new production of Michael Tippett's The Knot Garden opened in Glasgow in January. It's a difficult opera - probably the most inaccessible piece I've been to since Karl-Birger Blomdahl's science fiction opera Aniara at the Stockholm Opera when I was 17 and only had a programme in Swedish. I went into the Knot Garden 'cold', having failed to get hold of a text beforehand, and was able to catch very few of the words, despite the fact that it's in English.

The Knot Garden by Michael Tippett: Derrick Parker as Mel/Caliban and Rachel Nicholls as Flora/Miranda in Act III Photo: Drew Farrell

I would have appreciated surtitles. The allusions to Shakespeare's The Tempest may be obvious, but the continually changing orientation of the characters is confusing without registering all the words. The orchestral music is fascinating, but always seems to have priority over the vocal writing, with the singers often struggling to make themselves heard over the climaxes.

The Knot Garden by Michael Tippett: (from left to right) Andrew Shore as Faber/Ferdinand, Derrick Parker as Mel/Caliban and Peter Savidge as Mangus/Prospero in Act III Photo: Drew Farrell

Was Scottish Opera fearless or foolhardy in presenting this work? Not perhaps the obvious choice for a financially-strapped company under political siege! Nevertheless the production by Antony McDonald was excellent and all the singers, Peter Savidge, Jane Irwin, Rachel Nicholls, Andrew Shore, Hilton Marlton, Derrick Parker, and Rachel Hynes were committed and effective, even if they didn't succeed in making the vocal writing sound very beautiful. Richard Armstrong did a fine job. He seems to be more at home with cerebral 20th-century works like the Tippett than he does with mainstream lyrical Italian and German works.

Fidelo: Peter Sidhom as Don Pizarro Photo: Bill Cooper

Scottish Opera revived its 1994 production of Fidelio in the early summer. The first performance on 25 May was a gritty, lumpy, choppy affair which finally won out against its flaws to deliver the powerful message of the drama.

The success of the evening was largely due to the supporting singers. Ulrich Dünnebach was a fine Rocco, singing with such beauty, elegance and good diction that the jailer could have been mistaken as the hero of the drama. Sharper direction might have made it clearer that he was there for the money, rather than to rescue Fidelio! Sarah Redgwick was an enchanting Marzelline with beautiful diction. No doubt a singer to watch in the future. Peter Sidhom was a manic, blustery Don Pizarro who shouted as much as he sang, but was absolutely effective as the villain.

Fidelo: (left to right) Colin Judson as Jaquino, Ulrich Dünnebach as Rocco, Elizabeth Byrne as Leonore and Sarah Redgwick as Marzelline in Act I Photo: Bill Cooper

Elizabeth Byrne has an attractive youthful voice, but from her first entry as Fidelio/Leonore it was apparent that she would be paying less attention to the text than the singers around her. She also had a tendency to be shrill. For some reason the production did not include any transformation from the male Fidelio to the female Leonore (normally indicated by the soprano letting her hair down, donning a skirt or whatever) and poor jilted Marzelline may have been left wondering whether her Fidelio in the Angela Merkel-style grey suit had turned out to be gay. As Florestan, Ian Storey produced ringing, dramatic tones, but without being able to sustain the music, and the words, to the ends of the lines.

Fidelo: Ulrich Dünnebach as Rocco and Sarah Redgwick as Marzelline in Act I Photo: Bill Cooper

The orchestra of Scottish Opera can often be the true hero of the night but on this occasion they were off form, with intonation problems and wrong notes. Richard Armstrong began the evening with a choppy account of the overture, and proceeded with a reading that was consistently dramatic, rather than smooth or beautiful.

The production was updated to a 20th-century 'gulag'. A black, curtain-less set was used, divided into small, separately-revealed spaces, that was only opened up, full stage, for the prisoners' chorus. This was effective, though it left the singers with little personal space to manoeuvre in, to the extent that it was noticeable when they weren't followed the blocking!

Fidelo: Elizabeth Byrne as Leonore and Ulrich Dünnebach as Rocco in Act II Photo: Bill Cooper

Unfortunately some short, over the top, effects spoilt the general austerity of the conception: simultaneous purple, yellow and red lighting of the climax to the dungeon scene, and a sudden backcloth of incongruous skyscrapers right at the end of the opera. Simon Daw was credited, unusually, as 'Revival Designer', after Stewart Laing as 'Original designer', implying that the sets had been changed to some extent, while Tim Albery returned as director.

Fidelo: (left to right) Ulrich Dünnebach as Rocco, Colin Judson as Jaquino, Michael George as Don Fernando, Ian Storey as Florestan and Elizabeth Byrne as Leonore Photo: Bill Cooper

Andrea Chénier was performed in concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 13 March. Finding a spinto or dramatic tenor to undertake the demanding title role of this opera can be difficult. Franco Farina doesn’t have the most beautiful voice in the world, but he deserved every credit for getting the show on the road. His voice is dark and baritonal, with a constricted top that somehow squeezes out the higher notes. He made a fine job of his first act aria ‘Un dì, all’azzurro spazio’ but his final ‘Come un bel dì di maggio’ in the last act was effortful.

Claire Rutter, as the heroine Maddalena, produced some ravishing sounds, while also proving completely equal to the powerful climax at the end of the work. Just a bit more text, a little more attention to diction, would have nailed the drama down perfectly, nevertheless ‘La mamma morta’ in the third act was splendid.

This is the first time I’ve heard the baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore live - a terrific singing actor. His portrayal of the bitter and ambivalent Gérard was not only beautifully sung, but also dramatically right inside the role, stylistically absolute right. The minor roles were also well sung without exception, and the chorus was excellent.

Conductor Richard Armstrong, the music director of Scottish Opera, was doubtless involved in the decision to put on the work, but unfortunately verismo doesn’t seem to be his thing. Instead of the expected simple, bitter sweet, elegant, singing sound, we heard music that was precise, deliberate, unidiomatic, stolid, and symphonic in its seriousness. The orchestra played well enough with some fine solo passages, but overall the effect was just wrong - not verismo, not Giordano - as if the orchestra had been playing Debussy, or maybe Mahler, with great concentration, and then made a delicate transition into Andrea Chénier. Wrong style!

'Scottish Opera on Tour' performed Hänsel and Gretel in Stirling on 9 April on the first leg of a tour bound for Aberdeen, Forfar, Ayr, Kelso, Inverness, Portree and Wick.

For touring requirements, the conductor Derek Clark wrote a new, reduced version of the score for a 19-piece orchestra of 'Soloists of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera' (for the record: two violins, two violas, two celli, one double bass, one flute/piccolo, one oboe/cor anglais, one clarinet, one clarinet/bass clarinet, one bassoon, 2 horns, one trumpet, one trombone, one timpani, one percussion, and one harp).

I was wondering whether the diluted orchestration would sound disappointing in the theatre, but it didn't. It was too good in fact, as the music in the reverberant acoustic (of the 872-seat Albert Halls/Main Hall) effectively overpowered the stage business. While it's difficult to get the right balance when you are performing in a series of different venues, Derek Clark might be advised to adopt the practice of handing the baton to someone else and walking around to hear how everything sounds from different parts of the auditorium.

None of the cast - Jennifer Johnston as Hansel, Claire Wild as Gretel, Miranda Keys as both the mother and the witch and Roland Wood as the father - were able to project musically or dramatically much beyond the orchestra, though Rebecca Bottone was charming as the Sandman and the Dew Fairy.

The production was confusing with lots of shrine-like white boxes around the stage, which eventually were opened up to form the witch's gingerbread house, but there were amusing effects with puppets, broomsticks etc.

One of the reasons for staging this opera was to involve local children - in this case 15 of them - but they were controlled, static and limited in what they were allowed to do. Letting them loose on the production (rather like the 1999 Corsaro/Sendak Zurich production) would have made it more fun. The hall was only about three-quarters full and contained few children. Perhaps it would have been better to put it on at Christmas?

© Simon Holledge, 10 October 2005