Tag: Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera’s Breath Cycle wins prestigious international award

Berlin, Germany

Scottish Opera has won the prestigious Classical:NEXT Innovation Award for its ground-breaking project Breath Cycle.

Started in 2012, it helps those with lung conditions, such as Long Covid, using breathing techniques in singing and songwriting workshops. It beat competition from across the world to pick up the award at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday (14 May).

The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award is decided by nominations from renowned international journalists and leaders in the arts and is selected by the Classical:NEXT community. It recognises organisations and projects that ‘push the boundaries of classical music through innovative approaches, audience engagement, and artistic excellence’.

Breath Cycle was praised for its pioneering work supporting people with respiratory conditions, which included its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing the project back to life through the lens of Long COVID. 

Since then, the project has relaunched to include new video and audio resources, one-to-one song writing sessions exploring the participants’ experiences of living with Long COVID – resulting in The Covid Composers Songbook – and a series of intimate performances showcasing these heartfelt and emotive songs in 2023 and 2025, including A Story of Healing:Breath Cycle on Stage.

Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, and composer Gareth Williams, travelled to Germany for the award ceremony.

Jane Davidson said: ‘Voice is such an integral part of what makes us human. Your voice is yours and yours alone, and to lose control over it can be devastating. We’ve learnt so much about how loss of voice through lung conditions of all types, attacks the very core of one’s identity, often leading to profound loneliness and isolation.

“So, from the beginning, the challenge for us was twofold: to help alleviate the physical symptoms of their illness, and to help participants regain their self-worth through the song-writing programme. Hearing these authentic voices ‘singing’ out is an artistic and a human experience that speaks to us all.’

Breath Cycle began in 2012 as a partnership between Scottish Opera and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service in Glasgow. The programme has since worked with nearly 2,500 people, with participants reporting improvements in mental and physical health and wellbeing.

The 2025 Breath Cycle sessions have shown remarkable results, with participants reporting significant improvements in their wellbeing, physical and mental health, as well as reductions in stress levels and increases in energy and motivation.

Classical:NEXT 2025, the world’s largest networking event for classical music professionals, featured over 220 contributors and delegates from 54 countries.

Scottish Opera shared the Innovation Award spotlight with two other recipients: OPERA APERTA (Ukraine) and Clásica No Convencional (Chile).

Scottish Opera’s Outreach & Education department is the oldest outreach and education unit of any opera company in Europe, forming in 1971 under the leadership of Scottish Opera’s founder Sir Alexander Gibson.

Breath Cycle will continue throughout Scottish Opera’s 2025-2026 Season with support from The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, WM Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust, and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

For more information about Breath Cycle, visit Breath Cycle | Scottish Opera

For full details about Classical:NEXT, visit Innovation Award – Classical:NEXT

Scottish Opera brings Pop-Up Opera to communities and schools across Scotland this summer

Scottish Opera’s much-loved Pop-up Opera tours to audiences all over the country from 31 May, with performances of Gilbert & Sullivan’s celebrated comic operas A Little Bit of The Gondoliers and A Little Bit of The Pirates of Penzance, and children’s opera, Puffy MacPuffer and the Crabbit Canals.

The Company has joined forces with Scottish Canals to bring public Pop-up performances to the Union Canal, Edinburgh, The Falkirk Wheel, Caledonian Canal Centre in Fort Augustus, The Egg Shed at Crinan Canal, on board a barge in partnership with Forth & Clyde Canal Society, and Stockingfield Bridge in Glasgow, in partnership with North United Communities.  

There will be additional performances in communities at Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival in Sanquhar, Moniaive, Musselburgh, Cupar, Charlestown, Milngavie, Coatbridge (at Monkland Canal), Lochcarron, Cruden Bay, Kirriemuir, Ayr and East Kilbride.

There will also be free schools performances in Dumfries & Galloway, West Lothian, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, Strathcarron, Fort Augustus, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeenshire.

In addition, Scottish Opera will be offering illustration workshops to local primary schools in some venues so they can meet and draw the characters from Puffy MacPuffer & the Crabbit Canals before coming along to see the show.

Scottish Opera’s productions use ten specially created illustrations to help the performers — storytellers Allan Dunn and Katie Barnett, along with singers Jessica Leary, Holly Teague, Colin Murray and Paul Grant, cellist Andrew Drummond Huggan and guitarists Sasha Savaloni and Luke Anderson — present the story.

Scottish Opera’sDirector of Outreach & Education, Jane Davidson MBE said: ‘This year we are once again delighted to bring our miniature musical tales to locations across the country.

‘Gilbert & Sullivan’s topsy-turvy nautical adventures will be navigating the waterways from Penzance to Venice, and we will be stopping at some of Scotland’s most beautiful canalside spots.’

Scottish Canals CEO John Paterson said: ‘We are delighted to be able to bring opera to our canalside locations this summer.

‘Partnering with Scottish Opera allows us to both deliver a truly unique, entertaining, and accessible experience for all.

‘I would encourage everyone to get out and about this summer, and enjoy some canal magic as our canal corridors become the perfect stage for these performances’

Cleverlyre-scored by Scottish Opera’s former Head of Music, Derek Clark, in A Little Bit of The Pirates of Penzance, a young man bound by an overactive sense of duty, a soft-hearted pirate king with a hopeless band of rogues at his side, a beautiful young girl, a very modern major-general and an ineffectual bevy of policemen add to a plot hinging on the technicalities of having a birthday on the 29th of February. What could possibly go wrong? 

A Little Bit of The Gondoliers satirises the ruling classes and their position within society, with the tale of two happy-go-lucky gondoliers who discover that one of them is the heir to the throne of a distant kingdom. In a show packed full of fun, the gondoliers set off to rule with an idealistic – if somewhat chaotic – plan.

Created specifically for five to eight year olds, with music and words by Marion Christie, PuffyMacPuffer & The Crabbit Canals is a tale of the five waterways that link Scotland from the North Sea to the Atlantic. Like most families, each one is different: Caledonian – the longest; Crinan – the most beautiful; hard-working Monkland; Union – the fastest; wise old Forth & Clyde. Each one thinks they’re the best. Can an ordinary little puffer boat make them think again?

These 30-minute shows take opera out of the theatre into unexpected places, and are ideal for anyone new to the artform.

Pop-up Opera was originally inspired by the ancient Japanese art of Kamishibai (which roughly translates as ‘paper story’), a form of entertainment where itinerant storytellers travelled between small communities, telling traditional folk tales using a set of small paintings to accompany the narrative.

Pop-up Opera is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera.

Tickets are on sale now at www.scottishopera.org.uk/pop-up-opera-2025/

www.scottishopera.org.uk

You can follow Scottish Opera on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik-Tok, You Tube and Instagram @ScottishOpera

Cast

Storytellers Allan Dunn & Katie Barnett

Sopranos  Jessica Leary &Holly Teague

Baritones   Colin Murray & Paul Grant

CelloAndrew Drummond Huggan  

Guitar Sasha Savaloni & Luke Anderson

With illustrations by Iain Piercy & Otto von Beach

Performance Diary

Public performances

A’ the Airts, Sanquhar 

31 May, 1pm & 3pm

Glencairn Memorial Institute, Moniaive

1 June, 1pm & 3pm

North Esk Parish Church, Musselburgh

5 June, 7pm (double bill performance)

Cupar Corn Exchange

6 June, 7pm (double bill performance)

Queen’s Hall, Charlestown, Dunfermline

7 June, 1pm & 3pm

Lochrin Basin, Edinburgh (Union Canal)

8 June, 1pm & 3pm (free outdoor performances)

Milngavie Town Hall

13 June, 2pm & 4pm

Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Coatbridge (Monkland Canal)

14 June, 3pm (free performance), 7pm (ticketed double bill)

The Falkirk Wheel

15 June, 1pm & 3pm (free outdoor performances)

The Lochcarron Centre, Strathcarron

18 June, 7pm (double bill performance)

Caledonian Canal Centre, Fort Augustus

20 June, 7pm (double bill performance)

The Egg Shed, Lochgilphead (Crinan Canal)

22 June, 12pm, 1.30pm & 4pm (plus illustration workshop at 11am)

Port Errol Public Hall, Cruden Bay

28 June, 2pm & 4pm

Kirriemuir Town Hall

29 June, 2pm & 4pm

The Cutty Sark Centre, Ayr

2 July, 12pm, 1.30pm & 4pm (plus illustration workshop at The Grain Exchange at 11am)

Forth & Clyde Canal Society

3 July, 1pm & 3pm, Kirkintilloch Southbank Marina to Hillhead Basin (30 minute circuit)

Forth & Clyde Canal Society

4 July 1pm & 3pm, Glasgow Canal House, Applecross Street to Firhill Basin (30 minute circuit)

Stockingfield Bridge, near Brassey Street, Glasgow

5 July, 1pm & 3pm (free outdoor performances)

East Kilbride Arts Centre

6 July, 1pm & 3pm (free outdoor performances)

Scottish Opera’s first ever animated opera JOSEFINE comes to Edinburgh

Scottish Opera’s award-winning animated short film Josefine will screen at The Scotsman Picturehouse in Edinburgh on 25 March, with showings at 4.30pm and 6.30pm.

The 14-minute film, Scottish Opera’s first venture into animation, brings Franz Kafka’s last short story ‘Josefine the Singer’ to life through a unique blend of operatic performance and contemporary animation.

Set in a striking desert landscape, the story follows a mysterious creature whose ethereal voice captures an audience of sprites, exploring themes of artistry, crisis and hope.

After watching the film (produced in partnership with Maestro Broadcasting), audiences will hear director Antonia Bain, Scottish Opera’s resident filmmaker, composer Samuel Bordoli, andconductor Susannah Wapshott, in conversation with The Scotsman’s classical music critic, Ken Walton, about how the animation came together.

Josefine’s soundtrack features 2022/23 Emerging Artist soprano Zoe Drummond, a chorus, and The Orchestra of Scottish Opera. It was animated by a team headed by Sophie Bird.

At last year’sMessina Film Festival – Cinema & Opera, Josefine was chosen from 1400 entries to receive the Emi Mammoliti Award for best short film. This award adds to the growing list of laurels for Josefine which was named Best Animation at this year’s Cannes Arts Film Fest, Mannheim Arts and Film Festival Winner for Best Family and Children Friendly, and received an Honourable Mention in Animation. It has been screened at festivals all over the world, including Vienna’s Rathausplatz and the Venice Biennale.

Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera General Director said: ‘We’re delighted to present Josefine, Scottish Opera’s first ever opera animation, at The Scotsman Picturehouse, in partnership with The Scotsman.

“This film represents our commitment to pushing creative boundaries and finding new ways to present opera, and it will be wonderful to see it in this special Edinburgh venue.

“There’s also the added bonus of listening to Ken Walton, with his wealth of classical music knowledge, speak to the creative team behind this animation. We look forward to welcoming you to this unique event.’

Director Antonia Bain said: ‘Josefine was born as a response to arts place in a time of crisis. It’s also a story about parenthood, a child discovering their talent, nurturing creativity, how to search for hope within when there seems to be only darkness outside, and most importantly the beauty of the voice and the overwhelming power of music to nourish the human soul.

‘Loosely inspired by Franz Kafka’s last short story ‘Josefine the Singer’, which looks at the relationship a singer has with her impoverished audience who find solace in her singing but have no time for her creative demands, was first introduced to me by my friend and collaborator, the composer and librettist Samuel Bordoli.

‘Creating Josefine has been a dream come true for our whole team and we all fell in love with this beautiful little character. It has been amazing to see her sing in cinema’s across the world, from New York to Venice, to a packed audience on an outdoor screen in Vienna and then winning the best short film award at the Messina Opera and Cinema festival in Sicily. 

‘I’m absolutely thrilled then, that Josefine is coming home to Scotland and I can’t wait to watch the film together with all of the creative team, my friends and family and Scottish audiences for the first time.’

Josefine is also showing at Northampton Film Festival on 8 March, and at Glasgow Short Film Festival on 21 March, so this is another brilliant opportunity to see the UK’s first newly commissioned opera made specifically for animation, on the big screen.

Tickets for Josefine at The Scotsman Picturehouse are available from:

 www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/josefine/

Scottish Opera’s Primary Schools tour show The Tale o’ Tam O’Shanter explores Robert Burns’ classic

Scottish Opera’s much-loved Primary Schools Tour visits over 120 schools from 3 February until 27 June with The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter, a show created to re-introduce young people to the works of celebrated poet, Robert Burns.

Based on Tam o’ Shanter, this fast-paced adventure was written especially for children in primaries 5, 6 and 7, and the fully-booked tour heads to schools in Glasgow, Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, the Highlands, Clackmannanshire, Aberdeen, Angus, Fife, Lanarkshire, Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, the Scottish Borders, West Lothian and Shetland, as well as Newcastle.

Last performed in 2017, The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter features original lyrics by Ross Stenhouse and music by Karen MacIver, who composed the score for Special Delivery, the Christmas 2024 co-production between Scottish Opera, Visible Fictions and Lanterhouse at Cumbernauld Theatre. She also wrote the music for RED, performed by Scottish Opera Young Company last summer.  

The show follows the farmer Tam o’ Shanter, as he makes his way home from market day with his faithful horse Meg. As the night grows darker, the rain falls and the wind shrieks through the branches of the trees, he finds himself outside the church where he discovers a coven of witches dancing. Fascinated, Tam stops to watch, but suddenly one of them spots him, and he and Meg must run for their lives.

Schools are provided with high quality, online teaching resources in advance, including a teachers’ support pack, to help introduce the songs from The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter to pupils. A team of Scottish Opera performers and arts education specialists then spend a day rehearsing and preparing the pupils for a 30-minute, choreographed, fully-costumed performance for family and friends, helping teachers deliver aspects of A Curriculum for Excellence.

Forming part of a suite of Scottish Opera’s digital offerings for schools, which includes The Curse of MacCabbra Opera House, How The Dragon Was Made, and Vikings! The Quest for the Dragon’s Treasure, The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter has been re-imagined and expanded to make it even more accessible and adaptable for all schools in Scotland to take part.

Schools can now engage with the production as a digital only learning and teaching experience, using online resources currently available on Scottish Opera’s website, to prepare the children for all aspects of presenting a performance to an audience.

This online delivery method — which includes Scottish Opera singers appearing on screen in classrooms to sing alongside the class — makes the project even easier and more affordable for teachers to engage with, particularly in those schools without specialist music teachers at primary level.

With 50-plus years of experience in classrooms, Scottish Opera’s Outreach and Education Programme has developed this approach because it recognised that the in-person learning Primary Schools Tour experience reaches capacity very quickly each year, so a complementary strand of the programme has been created in the form of a set of exclusivelyonline resources — so many more schools across Scotland can participate — and at a much lower cost per pupil.

Scottish Opera’s Director of Outreach and Education, Jane Davidson said: ‘Our children’s operas make learning both enjoyable and challenging, giving pupils the opportunity to engage their creative and expressive capacities.

“Originally commissioned in 2002, this vibrant interpretation of Burns’ iconic poem enables a new generation to explore the culture, identity and language that remain key to the enduring appeal of Scotland’s most famous poet.

“With the aim of making Tam accessible to many more schools, the project is now available in two formats, and both involve downloading digital resources which prepare them for performance.’

The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter is kindly supported by The Jean Armour Burns Trust, The David and June Gordon Memorial Trust, The Harbinson Charitable Trust, The W M Mann Foundation and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

For more information visit www.scottishopera.org.uk/join-in/opera-for-schools/the-tale-o-tam-o-shanter/

National Opera Studio returns to Scottish Opera for February showcase

Scottish Opera is delighted to welcome 15 rising stars from the National Opera Studio for a week long residency, culminating in Lust & Laughter at Theatre Royal Glasgow on 21 February. 

Building on a 45 year-strong partnership, 11 singers and four repetiteurs work intensively for a week with Scottish Opera music staff to rehearse their repertoire, before taking to the stage with The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, conducted by Music Director, Stuart Stratford.  

The director of the showcase is Emma Jenkins, who has previously directed for Scottish Opera the National Opera Studio’s Anarchy at the Opera performance in 2022, Opera Highlights 2022/23, and the critically acclaimed Scottish premiere of Strauss’ Daphne in 2023.

This international cohort consists of artists from all over the world, including South Africa, Russia and the UK, as well as Scottish soprano Rachel McLean, who graduated in 2023 with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Audience members can look forward to afun and energetic show with a programme that includesexcerpts from Hansel & Gretel by Humperdinck, The Merry Wives of Windsor by Nicolai, Cendrillon by Massenet and Così fan tutte by Mozart.

Director Emma Jenkins said: ‘This showcase performance is a rollercoaster ride through fairy tale romances, vengeful encounters, love triangles and mistaken identity, all taking place on one crazy night. 

“We invite you to jump down the rabbit-hole of human emotion, and celebrate with us as conflict becomes harmony and love finally conquers all.’

Eric Melear, Artistic Director of National Opera Studio said: ‘The National Opera Studio’s partnership with Scottish Opera is one of our most valued relationships. Working with their team provides our Young Artists with an immersive, professional experience that’s essential to their development.

“The unique mentorship and practical skills they gain here are invaluable to their careers. We share a commitment to nurturing emerging talent, and our artists consistently find Scottish audiences to be wonderfully welcoming and supportive.’

The National Opera Studio offers intensive and bespoke professional training for the next generation of opera stars. Alumni include Gerald Finley, Alfie Boe, Lesley Garrett, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Nicky Spence, who was the Patron of Scottish Opera Young Company.

Scottish Opera audiences will be familiar with NOS alumni including current Emerging Artist soprano Kira Kaplan, and tenor Robert Forrest. They are both cast members in the Opera Highlights tour this year. Kira has already appeared in the Company’s production of Albert Herring, and will perform in Trial by Jury and A Matter of Misconduct! in May. 

Tickets are on sale now at www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/national-opera-studio-showcase/

Scottish Opera celebrates healing through music with Breath Cycle live performances

Scottish Opera brings its pioneering health and arts initiative, Breath Cycle, to the stage with two special evenings of live performance at The Beacon, Greenock (31 January), and Glasgow’s Tron Theatre (1 February).

These intimate performances showcase the transformative powers of daily practice in breath control and vocal training for individuals suffering from a range of lung conditions, as well as supporting them to share their lived experience of coping with often life limiting lung conditions, through a series of song writing workshops.

The intention is to support people in their journey to reclaim their physical and mental resilience.

Award-winning composer Gareth Williams and writer Martin O’Connor lead an exceptional ensemble featuring Admiral Fallow’s Louis Abbott, operatic tenor David Douglas (pictured above), and actor-songwriter Frances Thorburn, accompanied by violin, cello, and piano who will perform their renditions of a selection of the songs that have been created during the workshops over the past three years.

Breath Cycle was originally developed in 2013 by Scottish Opera and Glasgow’s Gartnavel General Hospital West of Scotland Adult Cystic Fibrosis Unit, to explore whether building lung capacity and developing breath control as part of a daily vocal routine could prove beneficial to the physical and mental health and wellbeing of patients.

Scottish Opera repurposed the project during lockdown to offer support to people struggling with the debilitating effects of Long COVID.  Since Autumn 2021, nearly 500 people from Scotland and across the world have taken part in the Breath Cycle sessions mentored by Scottish Opera artists, and over 3000 individuals have accessed the online resources freely available from the Company’s website to use at home at their own convenience.

Last year, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) and Scottish Opera joined forces to develop online singing classes for people living with aphasia. These built on the Breath Cycle project, to unlock the therapeutic benefits of singing and song writing to people living with aphasia, which is caused by damage to the part of the brain that controls language, and in some cases leaves some unable to speak at all.

Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach and Education at Scottish Opera said: ‘As we expand the Breath Cycle II programme in 2025, we’re excited to bring these remarkable stories to the stage for the first time.

‘Our ensemble will bring to life the experiences of Breath Cycle participants through songs crafted by Gareth Williams and Martin O’Connor. These performances not only showcase personal journeys, but also raise awareness about respiratory health challenges facing many Scots. Audiences will even have the opportunity to experience some of our proven breathing exercises and vocal techniques firsthand.’

Breath Cycle: A Story of Healing is supported by The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

Tickets, priced £5 to £10 (pay what you can) are available now from www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/a-story-of-healing-breath-cycle-on-stage/

www.scottishopera.org.uk

You can follow Scottish Opera on Facebook, Instagram and Tik-Tok @ScottishOpera

The Small Magician: Scottish Opera launches free vocal education resource

On Monday (18 November), Scottish Opera is launching a new, trauma-aware, inclusive, accessible vocal education resource, created by Education Artist in Residence, Lea Shaw, entitled The Small Magician, which enables participants to healthily challenge and build their vocal technique and knowledge from the comfort of their own home or chosen space.

The launch coincides with National Self-Care week, which runs from 18-24 November and isan annual awareness week that focuses on embedding support for self-care across communities, families and generations, with this year’s theme being ‘Mind & Body’.

Lea is an award-winning Black/BIPOC mezzo-soprano from Colorado, who lives and works in Scotland. A Scottish Opera Emerging and Associate Artist since 2021, she has performed in many recent Company productions including Ainadamar, Il trittico and Opera Highlights.

With The Small Magician, Lea aims to empower participants to embrace their voices (both singing and speaking) and practice, as part of a wider sense of well-being and an awareness of mental and physical health.

The guidance draws on classic pedagogy, scientific research, and Yoga and embodiment practices, and Lea has created a series of short videos, audio guides and workbooks covering breath-work, texture, diction, intonation, pattern, embodiment, and recovery which can be accessed for no charge on Scottish Opera’s website.

Designed to be a safe place to explore and foster curiosity, The Small Magician puts emphasis on engaging with the voice as a form of play, with every voice being valid.

The written resources are presented in PDF form so that they are easily accessible and printable if desired, whilst contents come in a digestible quantity of exercises, with the time needed to work through a session being flexible.

Lea also designed the resources using trauma aware and responsive principles, understanding that anyone coming to the project, either as a facilitator or as a participant, will have their own complex history. That history does not have to be shared with anyone to be valid, and the impacts they feel do not need to be justified.

Knowing this, the language of the project is open, encouraging, and positive, and there is a large emphasis placed on participants’ personal sovereignty, autonomy, and intuitive practice.

By being aware of all of this, The Small Magician can respond to the needs of participants by providing tools that can be of use, and by having a clear practice of open, non-judgemental communication, creating resources in direct response to these needs as they are shared. 

Lea is currently working on more resources that are still in the research and development stage and will be added to The Small Magician in the near future, including workbooks for changing voices (transitioning voices, and for menopausal and menstruating people), lesson plans for teachers, warm-up books for choirs and in-person workshops.

Lea Shaw said: ‘I gave The Small Magician this title as it originated with the idea that working with the voice and its relationship with the brain and body is indeed, magical!

‘It has always been important to me to feel part of something bigger, and to make others feel welcome in whatever space I’m in, in whatever way I can. Working with my voice has given me so much: a passion to share with others, a home within myself, and a community that gives me confidence and context. I know how crucial it is to have a positive working relationship with your voice, both artistically and in life as a whole. 

‘The Small Magician is my way of opening my practice outward, and creating a support net and toolbox for anyone who wants to explore their voice: those who are be right at the beginning of their vocal learning, those who want to engage with their voice in a holistic way, or those who may not know where to start. 

‘While many desire to engage with voice-work, they may not always feel that it is accessible to them. This can be due to the cost of accessing lessons or resources, a fear of an unfamiliar person critiquing a very vulnerable part of themselves, other accessibility needs that are not considered, or because of the events that led them to feeling voiceless from the outset: harsh words from authority figures or friends, their right to personal autonomy and consent being denied.

‘Their wishes and needs being disregarded or ridiculed, or anything else. Because our voices are so linked to our internal landscape and our mental wellbeing, it is important to me that this project is as safe a space as possible in approach and method. 

‘My wish is that you feel empowered to use your voice as an extension of your authentic self, and to revel in the small magic that makes you, and your voice, unique.’

Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach and Education at Scottish Opera said: ‘Lea’s beautiful and empathetic programme aligns perfectly with a key objective that underpins much of the past 50 years of our work with schools and communities; namely, to encourage people of all ages to learn about the unique relationship between their voice and their sense of ‘self’.

‘We use the phrase ‘to have a voice’ in everyday conversation, but what does that really mean? Our voices are one of the most precious ways in which we can express ourselves – through the spoken word and through song, as individuals and as a group. Regular singing can ground us and help us to feel more at ease with ourselves, and others. Learning to use The Small Magician’s simple vocal, physical and mindfulness techniques is a wonderful way to help us negotiate the sometimes complex world we live in.’

More information about The Small Magician is available from 18 November at:

 www.scottishopera.org.uk/the-small-magician/

To find out more about National Self Care Week visit:

 www.selfcareforum.org/events/self-care-week/

Scottish Opera presents The Puccini Collection

Scottish Opera – Puccini, Caird Hall, Dundee.

November 2024 marks 100 years since the death of Giacomo Puccini, one of opera’s most popular composers. Scottish Opera is offering audiences at Usher Hall in Edinburgh and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall a magnificent journey through beloved arias and ensembles from Puccini’s operas. 

The Company’s Music Director Stuart Stratford presents this carefully curated selection of highlights, which includes some of Puccini’s most famous works, such as La bohème, Manon Lescaut and Tosca.

Audiences can also enjoy a taster of his earlier compositions including Le villi and Edgar, as well as glorious excerpts from underappreciated masterpieces such as La fanciulla del West, and his final, unfinished opera Turandot.

This gala performance promises to be an unforgettable evening celebrating a century of passion, drama, and exquisite music that has captivated audiences worldwide, including here in Scotland. 

This concert is an ideal opportunity for anyone not familiar with Puccini — whose music is frequently incorporated into popular culture, including films and musicals — as well as seasoned operagoers.

Stuart Stratford conducts an exceptional cast of international talent including soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace  (known for her stunning portrayal of diva Floria Tosca in Tosca 2019), tenor Mykhailo Malafii (performing the role of Cavaradossi in Lviv National Opera’s Tosca this October) making his Company debut and baritone Roland Wood, who in 2023 brought depth and nuance to the complex characters of Michele and Gianni Schicchi in the Company’s award- winning production of Il trittico. They are accompanied on stage by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera. 

Soprano Kira Kaplan, one of Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artists for the 2024/25 Season, who was in the Company’s recent production of Albert Herring, also joins the cast, along with tenor Fraser Simpson (La traviata 2024).  

‘This concert is big, passionate sections from one of opera’s greatest composers, sung by a first-rate cast, including Sinéad Campbell Wallace and Roland Wood,” said Stuart Stratford who curated The Puccini Collection with Scottish Opera’s Head of Music, Fiona MacSherry.

“Puccini’s music has stood the test of time, and this concert is a tremendous opportunity to see these brilliant singers onstage with a full orchestra, and mark the centenary of this iconic composer’s death, which is on 29 November this year,   

‘You’ll hear huge excerpts from Tosca and La bohème, and sections from Manon Lescaut and La fanciulla del West, among other arias and interludes. Whether you are looking to relive your Italia 90 moment, or discover even more about the great Italian master, it promises to be an evening of unforgettable treasures.’  

A Rich History of Puccini in Scotland 

The work of Puccini has a special place in the history of Scottish Opera: the Company’s very first production was Madama Butterfly in 1962. More recently, the Company’s staging of Il trittico received an International Opera Award Nomination, and won Outstanding Achievement in Opera at the Critics’ Circle Awards 2023.  

Other notable Scottish Opera productions of Puccini’s work include a contemporary La bohème outdoors in the car park of its Edington Street Production Studios in Glasgow during the pandemic, a new Madama Butterfly by Sir David McVicar in 2000, director Anthony Besch’s legendary staging of Tosca (first performed in 1980 and revived nine times since then), and it was in the Company’s 2010 concert staging of La fanciulla del West that acclaimed soprano Susan Bullock first performed the role of Minnie.  

Puccini’s music also helped Scottish Opera mark its 60th Anniversary. In 2022, the Company commissioned a custom made gin from Biggar Gin, called Suonare, featuring a red label with die-cut holes which when removed and placed in a music box played ‘Un bel di’ from Madama Butterfly, a favourite of Scottish Opera’s founder, Sir Alexander Gibson.

This rich history with Puccini’s works demonstrates Scottish Opera has developed a deep understanding and appreciation for the composer’s music.

The Puccini Collection was originally performed in Dundee in December 2021, under pandemic conditions. The Dundee Courier praised the concert as ‘a perfect tribute to a man whose melodies are to die for.’

To book your tickets, visit www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/the-puccini-collection/  

The Puccini Collection is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust. 

Following the success of Daphne in 2023, the Opera in Concert series is rounded off for the 2024/25 Season, with The Strauss Collection in March, which features some of the finest pieces Richard Strauss ever wrote, with music from Ariadne auf Naxos, Arabella, and Der Rosenkavalier. 

The first half moves between a clash of artistically opposed theatre troupes in Ariadne to a nostalgic Viennese romance complete with disguises and mistaken identities in Arabella. The second half captures the highlights of Der Rosenkavalier’s three acts, following two colliding love stories with all the complications and grandeur of human relationships.    

Stuart Stratford conducts The Orchestra of Scottish Opera through these lush sound worlds. The all-star cast includes sopranos Helena Dix and Rhian Lois (La bohème 2020), mezzo-soprano Hanna Hipp (Kátya Kabanová 2019), and baritone Roland Wood (Oedipus Rex 2024), all making the most of Strauss’ astounding understanding of the human voice.    

The Puccini Collection cast and creative team  

Conductor Stuart Stratford   

Soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace 

Tenor Mykhailo Malafii 

Baritone Roland Wood  

Soprano Kira Kaplan  

Tenor Fraser Simpson  

The Puccini Collection performance diary  

Usher Hall, Edinburgh 22 November 2024, 7.30pm  

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 23 November 2024, 7.30pm  

Scottish Opera’s revival of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale opens this October

OPENS AT THEATRE ROYAL GLASGOW BEFORE TOURING TO INVERNESS, EDINBURGH AND ABERDEEN

This autumn, Scottish Opera presents a revival of the much-loved 2014 production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, which opens at Theatre Royal Glasgow on 12 October and tours to Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

It is performed alongside the Company’s specially created staging of Britten’s Albert Herring, which is at Lammermuir Festival, Theatre Royal Glasgow and Festival Theatre Edinburgh, bringing even more opera to Scottish audiences.

Conducted by Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford, Director-Designer duo Renaud Doucet and André Barbe (La bohème 2017) and Lighting Designer Guy Simard bring this quick-witted comedy to life with typically colourful and quirky style. Set in Rome at the cusp of the Swinging Sixties, the eccentric characters are given life in a world that is the perfect setting for a titanic clash of generations.

This highly successful production of Don Pasquale, which began life at Scottish Opera, was recently seen in Miami, Genoa, Vancouver, and Toronto.

David Stout, who delighted audiences in The Barber of Seville in Autumn 2023, returns to Scottish Opera as Don Pasquale, with three up-and-coming singers making their Scottish Opera debuts in the main roles.

Opera Australia principal soprano Stacey Alleaume is Norina, Filipe Manu (Jette Parker Young Artist 2019/20) is Pasquale’s son Ernesto, and Josef Jeongmeen Ahn (a member of the Jette Parker Artists Company of 2023/24) is Doctor Malatesta.

Don Pasquale runs a crumbling boarding house in Rome, and determined to keep his fortune to himself, he decides to marry, spiting his nephew Ernesto. But, when he finds a bride, he discovers that married life is not as simple as he expected …​

Renaud Doucet and André Barbe said: ‘We are delighted to be returning to Scottish Opera with Don Pasquale. After studying the score, we thought that the creative vitality and energy of Rome in the mid 1960’s was an ideal setting for Donizetti’s generation clash opera.

‘We imagined that Don Pasquale owns a small, run-down pensione. Old and something of a hermit, he leaves the running of the hotel to his nephew Ernesto and to his staff – a rum bunch including a chain-smoking chambermaid, a greasy cook and a past-it porter, so old that he has shrunk inside his uniform. A chorus of tourists come and go.

‘The dramaturgy of the opera is illustrated during the overture by the video projection of a typically Italian 1960s ‘fotoromanzo’ — sequential storytelling using photographs, text and speech bubbles — starring the principal characters, enabling the audience to immediately jump into the action of this ‘dramma giocoso’ (drama with jokes).’

Stuart Stratford said: ‘Donizetti was at the absolute height of his powers in terms of melodic gifts and spectacular writing for voices in Don Pasquale.

‘This production by Renaud Doucet and André Barbe is amazing, and it sits alongside Britten’s quintessential British comedy, Albert Herring.

‘Both are very different ways of approaching laughs in the theatre, and they were written just about 100 years apart.’​

Those who wish to discover more about how Don Pasquale was created can attend Pre-show Talks which delve into the detail of the opera. Tickets are free but should be booked in advance.​

Audience members with a visual impairment can enjoy the full opera experience at Audio-described performances, which have a live commentary describing the action on stage without compromising the music. There are also free Touch Tours of the set, and a live audio introduction before the start of the performance.

Specially created Access performances of Don Pasquale run alongside the mainstage productions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. With Dementia Friendly values at their core, afternoon Access performances are for those who enjoy a more relaxed opera experience.

With a shorter running time (under two hours including an interval) and tickets at just £12.50, these performances are open to all, including those who may be living with dementia or Long COVID, more comfortable at a shorter show, struggling to get to evening performances, or would simply benefit from the more relaxed atmosphere.

Don Pasquale is supported by The Scottish Opera Syndicate.

Tickets for Don Pasquale are on sale now at www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/don-pasquale/

Don Pasquale creative team​

Conductor                               Stuart Stratford & Susannah Wapshott (21 November)

Director & Choreographer      Renaud Doucet

Designer                                  André Barbe

Lighting Designer                    Guy Simard

​

Don Pasquale cast​

Don Pasquale                         David Stout

Norina                                     Stacey Alleaume

Ernesto                                   Filipe Manu

Doctor Malatesta                  Josef Jeongmeen Ahn

A Notary                                Jonathan Forbes Kennedy

​

Performance Diary​

Theatre Royal Glasgow  

12 • 17 • 26 October 2024, 7.15pm  

20 October, 3pm (Audio-described performance with Touch Tour at 1.45pm)

Pre-show talk, 17 October, 6pm

Relaxed Access performance, 25 October, 3pm (Audio-described performance)

Eden Court Inverness  

31 October, 7.15pm

2 November, 7.15pm (Audio-described performance with Pre-show talk and Touch Tour at 6pm)

Festival Theatre Edinburgh  

8 • 16 November, 7.15pm 

Pre-show talk, 16 November, 6pm

10 November, 3pm (Audio-described performance with Touch Tour at 1.45pm)

Relaxed Access performance,15 November, 3pm (Audio-described performance)

His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen  

21 November, 7.15pm (Audio-described performance with Pre-show talk and Touch Tour at 6pm).

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and Scottish Opera from new partnership to bring the therapeutic benefits of song to those with aphasia

  • Building on Scottish Opera’s ground breaking Breath Cycle project, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is collaborating with the country’s largest performing arts organisation to improve the lives of those living with aphasia, a communication difficulty that is a common effect of strokes
  • A new research report launched earlier this month by CHSS revealed that poor mental health and loneliness are severely impacting people in Scotland living with aphasia

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) and Scottish Opera have joined forces to develop online singing classes for people living with aphasia, which is caused by damage to the part of the brain that controls language, and in some cases leaves some unable to speak at all.​

These new CHSS and Scottish Opera sessions coincide with Aphasia Awareness Month, which runs throughout June. This year’s theme is #AphasiaTogether, emphasising that those with the condition do not need to deal with this on their own.​

This new strand of creative music making with CHSS — Scotland’s largest health charity working to help people with chest, heart and stroke conditions live life to the full — expands upon Scottish Opera’s pioneering Breath Cycle project, designed to support those with a range of conditions affecting lung health.​

Following research and development sessions with medical educators, CHSS staff and people living with aphasia are working with Scottish Opera to provide supported communication and aphasia training, and help deliver the therapeutic singing, song-writing and breath control sessions.

The aim of these workshops is to improve the mental wellbeing and confidence in communication of those with aphasia and respiratory issues including COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), across the country.​

Earlier this month, CHSS launched a report about the impact of aphasia on those living with the condition which revealed that:

  • More than half (52 per cent) of people with aphasia say their condition affects their mental health
  • Nearly half (48 per cent) with aphasia said they experienced loneliness as a result of their condition.
  • 43 per cent of people with aphasia said it impacted on their ability to work as before
  • A third (34 per cent) of people with aphasia reported being treated negatively due to their condition.

CEO of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, Jane-Claire Judson, commented: “Working with Scottish Opera to unlock the therapeutic benefits of singing and song-writing to people living with aphasia is a fantastic opportunity to tackle real issues facing people across the country.

“We regularly hear from the people we support that living with a communication difficulty following stroke can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness and have a negative impact on mental health.

“We look forward to bringing people together to experience the joy of singing with others whilst exploring the benefits of singing and song writing to their communication skills.”

Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, said: “Following on from the increased awareness of our Breath Cycle II programme in 2020, which was designed for people living with Long COVID and other respiratory conditions, Scottish Opera is excited to partner with CHSS to support people with aphasia.

“The work that CHSS undertakes each year with hundreds of thousands of Scots has set really high standards in the positive integration of mental health and well-being initiatives with clinical intervention.

“As Scotland’s largest performing arts company, we feel that the values of both our organisations are beautifully aligned in this new collaboration that seeks to enhance the quality of people’s lives across the country.”

Composer Gareth Williams, who along with writer Martin O’Connor, mentored the most recent online song writing Breath Cycle sessions said: “Our encounters with the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland team, and our first conversations with our participants who have aphasia have been so inspiring.

“Our challenge is to help people find and connect with their voices again, both their physical voices and their creative voices. There are incredible stories to tell in this community, and together we will find them and share them through song.”