The cast of Scots Opera Project’s revival of the Celtic folk opera The Seal Woman have landed on the shores of Perth ahead of their performance at this year’s Perth Festival of the Arts which kicks of this Thursday.
The Scots Opera Project makes its Perth Festival of the Arts debut with Marjory Kennedy-Fraser’s and Granville Bantock’s Celtic folk opera, The Seal-Woman, based on the folk legend of the mythical Selkie.
Born in Perth, co-writer Marjory Kennedy-Fraser CBE was a Scottish singer, composer and music teacher and supporter of women’s suffrage and pacifism.
This opera, which was first performed in 1924, is inspired and created from songs of the Scottish Hebrides. In this legendary tale of two worlds intertwined, The Seal-Woman features some well-known Scottish favourites, such as An Eriskay Love Lilt, The Seal Woman’s Sea Joy and Sea Sounds, making this the perfect opera for newcomers and seasoned opera goers alike.
This year’s Festival (18-27 May) will see venues across Perth welcome internationally renowned and Scottish talent from across the worlds of music, arts and culture for this 10-day celebration.
Festival goers can expect to see a host of well-known faces from both film and television: Hollywood actor Richard E Grant discusses his new book A Pocketful of Happiness and comedian Iain Stirling headlines a mixed bill comedy night.
Remaining true to the Festival’s longstanding classical core, this year’s programme invites local and international classical performers to take to stages in Perth. The Grammy award-winning Estonian National Symphony Orchestra will be joined by pianist Barry Douglas on 20 May and Red Priest present their brand-new programme A Baroque Extravaganza!
Closing the Festival with a bang, the SNJO’s Tommy Smith reunites with the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers for a breath-taking performance of The World of the Gods.