Author: Brett Herriot

**** (4 stars)

“Showcases the breadth of talent that defines Scottish Opera”

I badly want to give this production five stars – and if I saw it a little later in the run, I’m sure I would.  The production is lively and doesn’t muck about with the basic story; the characters are very well cast; the music is of course wonderful; costumes, lighting and set design serve to enhance rather than hinder the story-telling; and the singers range from very good to outstanding. 

My reservations come from the huge weight of the four main roles – Count and Countess Almaviva and their servants, Figaro and Susanna.  All four singers had really great moments, and were never less than very good – it’s just that maintaining excellence throughout a long a complex opera is hard.  Knowing when to relax slightly in order to give your all in a few moments’ time, when not to push but allow the voice to float over the orchestra; husbanding your energy for when you really need it…all takes time to work out and absorb.  Not to mention first night nerves!  All this will come with time, and very soon in the case of these four very talented singers – which is why I’d really like to see another performance in a few weeks’ time, when it will fulfil its first night promises and dazzle everyone who comes to see it.

The basic plot is simple – Figaro wants to marry Susanna; the Count wants to bed her before her wedding night; the Countess struggles with the misery of having been wooed and won then rejected by her husband.  Complications arise in the form of Cherubino, a young lad who’s besotted with every woman in sight; Marcellina, who also wants to marry Figaro; Dr Bartolo who wants revenge on Figaro for preventing him from marrying his wealthy ward, Rosina [now the Countess]; Don Basilio simply delights in scandal and intrigue; Barbarina wants Cherubino; and her father Antonio simply wants to stop people jumping out of windows and crushing his geraniums.  Plots, disguises, locked closets, a military commission, a foundling reunited with his parents, and a chorus of servants who simply want to get on with the promised party all add to the mayhem.

Thomas Allen’s production is wonderful in that it makes the story as easy to follow as it might be while not forcing it into some strange Concept that makes one feel the producer hasn’t actually read the script.  I must confess I wondered about Susanna’s praising the friendly darkness ofthe night when there was a giant harvest moon in the sky, and whether the cornfield which provided the helpful stooks of corn actually grew right up to the walls of the Almaviva home – but these are design rather than production quibbles.  Costumes are appropriate to the period and quietly underline the difference in social standing between master and servant.  Lighting, as it should, illuminates the plot, and good choreography also helped us see what was going on.

And, of course, there’s Mozart, who with librettist da Ponte created one of the most beautifully balanced and plotted of all operas.  Amanda Holden’s translation is superb, especially in the plot-advancing recitatives and, while I might wish that the singers didn’t need to have their words up in the supertitles, it meant that everyone present was able to understand, enjoy, and be completely involved in what was going on on stage.  I wonder how many ‘first timers’ were present?  Certainly there was a huge laugh when Marcellina is revealed to be Figaro’s mother!

Scottish Opera’s orchestra were, as ever, brilliant, and conducted for this run by Dane Lam.  As for the singers – well!  It’s a cast which needs a vast range of superlatives to describe them all.  Emerging Artist Edward Jowle has already shown his quality in a number of smaller roles with Scottish Opera, while Ava Dodd as his Susanna was making her Scottish Opera début and making me keen to see her again very soon.  Ian Rucker, another debutant, was an excellent Count, with just the occasional American ‘a’ colouring his delivery: his Countess, Alexandra Lowe, stood up to him spiritedly, generous with her forgiveness after all his hypocritical blustering.  I just wish I could believe his repentance would last… 

Simone McIntosh was captivating as Cherubino – the perfectly awkward, emotionally overflowing teenager who can’t control his reactions and is desperate to gain experience with any woman who’ll allow this.  Jeni Bern was a wonderfully warm and engaging Marcellina, rather than the bitter, ageing spinster so often seen on stage – I’m just really sad she didn’t get her pro-women aria which is a wonderful counterfoil to Figaro’s bitter condemnation of them which immediately follows in the score.  Edward Hawkins was a delight as Dr Bartolo – tall, elegant, wryly witty rather than the blustering old fool one so often sees – while Scottish Opera Emerging Artist, tenor Luva Maranti, made the most of Basilio’s all-too-brief contributions.  I really look forward to hearing his gorgeous voice in a more prominent role very soon.

The whole production showcased the breadth of talent that defines Scottish Opera’s productions.  The audience showed their appreciation with applause for many of the arias and ensembles and were loudly vociferous in their congratulations at the final curtain.  Another thoroughly enjoyable evening, an entertainment which will be brought to a theatre near you in the coming weeks.  Don’t miss it!

And oh my – next year’s programme is mouth-wateringly delectable!  Puccini’s Turandot, Beethoven’s Fidelio and my all-time favourite Handel – Alcina – are the main attractions, but there’s more… get hold of a copy of The next era which outlines the programme for 2026/7 and start clearing dates in your diary!!

Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Scottish Opera, Theatre Royal, Glasgow runs until Saturday 23^rd May for more information and tickets go to: Scottish Opera – The Marriage of Figaro Tickets | Theatre Royal Glasgow in Glasgow | ATG Tickets

The Production will also perform at:

The Festival Theatre Edinburgh, Friday 29^th May to Saturday 6^th June for more info go to: The Marriage of Figaro – Capital Theatres

His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen Thursday 11^th June to Saturday 13^th June for more information go to: The Marriage of Figaro | Aberdeen Performing Arts

Eden Court Theatre, Inverness Thursday 18^th June to Saturday 20^th June for more info go to: The Marriage of Figaro | Eden Court

***** (5 stars)

“A Joy and a Delight!”

I’m really sorry to have missed the opening night of this show in Glasgow – but being in Finland at the time, I wasn’t able to come.  Instead you and I had to wait till Starstruck came to Edinburgh for me to tell you what a joy and delight this ballet is. 

The late great Gene Kelly was an impressively talented man.  Most of us remember him as an actor, singer, and dancer, with a sense of humour that enabled him to send himself up as the self-obsessed silent movie star in Singin’ in the rain.  Who knew that he was also a choreographer, linguist, reader, deep thinker, and overall lovely human being?

His widow and biographer, Patricia Ward Kelly, that’s who.  Which is why she was delighted to collaborate with Scottish Ballet’s Christopher Hampson and designer Lez Brotherston to create what in September 2021 I described as “An exhilarating, effervescent, exultant, eye-catching extravaganza, Starstruck is the perfect choice for Scottish Ballet’s first ‘live in front of an audience’ production.”

This first version of Starstruck took Pas de Dieux, an original ballet about the love life of the gods of Olympus which Gene Kelly choreographed for the Paris Opéra, and set it within the framework of a company rehearsal, which gave a fascinating insight into life backstage as well as allowing all the very talented Scottish Ballet company to shine in their individuality.  Gradual emergence from lockdown meant that the Scottish Ballet orchestra didn’t perform live, but pre-recorded their score which made much use of the music of Chopin and Gershwin.

Today’s version of Starstruck expanded the ‘outside’ story to give even more richness and depth with a thought-provoking exploration of star quality, the behaviour stars can display, and the challenges facing anyone trying to create new work.  The rehearsal begins with three female dancers auditioning for the lead in the Choreographer’s new show and showing their desperation to get the part – Choreographer and Pianist have a hard time of it keeping the dancers at arm’s length. 

A true Star Ballerina enters and the others retire discomfited.  Star and Choreographer fall in love – but as the Choreographer becomes increasingly absorbed in his work, the Star Ballerina becomes increasingly discontented: nothing she can do can make him pay her the attention she demands.  She leaves.  The Choreographer dreams that she has gone to Hollywood, and met a Film Star.  They dance together at a gloriously glittering party, and the Choreographer is unable to reach her and get her back.

Rehearsals continue, but it’s not until the Star Ballerina re-enters that the ballet can be completed.  The dress rehearsal takes place: Choreographer and Star Ballerina now dance the parts of Zeus and Aphrodite.  She is bored and travels to earth with her friend Eros, where she starts a flirtation with a Life Guard, charming him away from his fiancée.  Zeus sends a thunderclap of warning, but this is ignored – he has to come down to earth himself and restore things to normal, leaving Aphrodite annoyed at his interference.

The rehearsal pauses while the Choreographer works with the other dancers, including the young lovers.  The Star Ballerina, finding herself once more ignored, starts a flirtation with a Stagehand.  This provokes a fight between Stagehand and Choreographer which the latter wins, winning back the Star Ballerina at the same time.  Their love duet morphs into the reconciliation of Zeus and Aphrodite, and a sparklingly successful curtain call at the Paris Opéra.  Reunited, the two lovers leave the rehearsal studio to its quiet darkness.

One of the huge joys of this production was the presence of the Scottish Ballet orchestra, under guest conductor Martin Yates, with the incredible pianistic skills of Lynda Cochrane.  I’m so glad she got her own curtain call at the end – she gave us the equivalent of two piano concerti [Gershwin and Ravel] as well as goodness knows how much Chopin.  And I have to confess that more than once I was torn between watching the dancers on stage and the musicians in the pit!  As with opera, ballet orchestras play in the darkness, unable to see the art they are accompanying – I do hope they get the opportunity to see it all at some point!

Need I say that the dancing was superb?  It’s always a joy to see dancers progressing within the company, so to have Bruno Micchiardi and Jessica Fyfe as the romantic leads was a great satisfaction to me, as well as a great pleasure.  Thomas Edwards and Alfie McPherson shone as the Pianist/ Eros and Stagehand/Film Star, and Urara Takata and Yipeng Xu made a touchingly sweet pair of lovers both in ‘real life’ and ‘on stage’.  The rest of the company shone too, obviously enjoying the challenge of dancing in so many different styles, especially the angular and strongly grounded ‘American show style’ dancing which is so very different from the elegant, ethereal ‘ballet style’ they do so well.

The Edinburgh audience loved this show, and applause at the end was loud and long.  The show has already been to Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen, so you’ve only got a couple of days left to catch it.  We can only hope that it will revisit us very soon…

But with Mary Queen of Scots already legendary [and going to New York very soon], Emergence making its debut in the autumn, Cinders! returning this Christmas with the joy of seeing same-sex romance danced for us, and the promise of Mayerling next year, there’s a whole lot more balletic brilliance to look forward to in the coming year.  Don’t miss it!

Star Struck, Scottish Ballet, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, runs until Saturday 9^th May for more information and tickets go to: Starstruck – Capital Theatres