SCOTTISH OPERA’S POP-UP OPERA JOURNEYS TO COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS ACROSS SCOTLAND THIS SUMMER
Scottish Opera’s much-loved Pop-up Opera hits the road from 29 May, with performances of A Little Bit of The Elixir of Love, A Little Bit of Rigoletto, and children’s opera, Be a Sport, Spike!
These 30-minute shows take opera out of the theatre into unexpected places all over the country and are ideal for anyone new to the art form who would like to try a taster of these classics. Whether you’re a seasoned fan or have never seen an opera before, these bite-sized, illustrated shows are designed to be welcoming, understandable, and open to everyone.
Between 2021 and 2025, almost 21,000 people have seen a performance of Pop-up Opera, from Orkney to the Isle of Lewis, across the Central Belt and down to Dumfries & Galloway, at a variety of iconic and surprising locations.
At last year’s Pop-up Opera tour, one audience member commented that ‘it was great to see and hear world-class musicians and singers in our local environment. It makes it possible for people who cannot travel far.’
Another added that Pop-up Opera ‘was a fun event, the narrator kept the audience involved, musicians were excellent and best of all it was local.’
This summer, audiences can experience opera on a miniature scale at public Pop-up Opera performances at Perth Festival of the Arts and Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, and in Tayport, Peebles, Mull, Connel, Fochabers, Stonehaven, New Stevenston, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Giffnock, Barrhead, Linlithgow, Glasgow and Newtongrange, plus free illustration workshops for children aged 4 to 8, at select venues.
There will also be free school performances in Perth, Dumfries & Galloway, Mull, Dundee, Aberdeenshire, Moray and North Lanarkshire.
Scottish Opera’s productions use ten specially created illustrations to help the performers — storytellers Marc MacKinnon and Dani Heron, along with singers Holly Teague, Marie Claire Breen, Ross Cumming, Colin Murray, cellist Andrew Drummond Huggan and guitarist Sasha Savaloni— present the story.
Scottish Opera’sDirector of Outreach & Education, Jane Davidson MBE said: ‘This year we are once again delighted to be visiting locations and venues across Scotland, swapping theatres for venues right on your doorstep. We are presenting a trio of Pop-up productions, contrasting the ‘light and the dark’ of the operatic repertoire.
‘Be A Sport, Spike! is being performed this summer just in time for the football world cup, and as athletes from all over the world journey to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games.
“Written for children and their families, we tell the story of Mike ‘The Spike’ McTavish – the world’s greatest all round sporting hero!’ But there is one thing that Spike can’t do – sing! Audiences will join Spike and his friends as he starts to exercise those vocal cords and finds out that a little perseverance can go a long way.
‘Verdi’s most famous revenge tragedy Rigoletto is a gripping tale of deceit and despair, with the title character’s plan to protect his daughter from a villainous Duke going horribly wrong.
‘But love takes many forms in the world of opera – not least in Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love – a delicately balanced comedy in which a naïve country boy learns that true love is not conjured up with the aid of a magic potion but won through character and perseverance.’
Be A Sport, Spike! was originally commissioned for Festival 2018, the cultural programme surrounding the city’s hosting of the first ever European Championships.
Pop-up Opera, supported by Friends of Scottish Opera,was originally inspired by Japanese storytellers who brought folk tales to villages, just as this tour does.
Tickets are on sale now at www.scottishopera.org.uk/pop-up-opera-2026
You can follow Scottish Opera on Bluesky, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram @ScottishOpera
CAST and CREATIVE TEAM
Storytellers Marc MacKinnon & Dani Heron
Sopranos Marie Claire Breen &Holly Teague
Baritones Ross Cumming & Colin Murray
CelloAndrew Drummond Huggan
GuitarSasha Savaloni
Costume Supervisor Ailsa Munro
Illustrations by Agnes Xantippa Boman, Essi Kimpimäki & Iain Piercy.
PERFORMANCE DIARY
Public performances:
Perth Festival of the Arts, St Matthew’s Church, Perth
29 May, 2.30pm (plus free kid’s art workshop at 1pm)
30 May, 2pm & 4pm
The Larick Centre, Tayport
31 May, 12.30pm & 2.30pm (double bill performance). Free kid’s art workshop at 11am.
Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, Wigtown County Buildings
6 June, 1pm & 3pm
Eastgate Theatre, Peebles
7 June, 2pm (double bill performance)
Craignure Village Hall, Isle of Mull
13 June, 2.30pm (double bill performance)
Connel Village Hall
14 June, 2pm & 4pm (plus free kid’s art workshop at 12.30pm)
Fochabers Public Institute
20 June, 2pm & 4pm (plus free kid’s art workshop at 12.30pm)
Venue to be announced, Stonehaven
21 June (free performance)
New Stevenston Community Centre
25 June, 7pm (double bill performance)
The Royal Scot Club, Edinburgh
26 June, 7pm (double bill performance)
Portobello Town Hall
27 June, 7pm (double bill performance)
Callander House, Falkirk
28 June, 2pm & 4pm (free outdoor trailer performance). Free kid’s art workshop at 12.30pm
Eastwood House, Giffnock
1 July, 3pm & 7pm (double bill performance)
Arthurlie House, Barrhead
2 July, 1pm & 3pm (Free kid’s art workshop at 11am)
Linlithgow Burgh Halls
3 July, 1pm & 3pm (Free kid’s art workshop at 11am)
Stockingfield Bridge, near Brassey Bridge, Glasgow
4 July, 1pm & 3pm (Free outdoor performances using trailer stage)
National Mining Museum, Midlothian
5 July, 1pm & 3pm (Free kid’s art workshop at 11am).