Event - Essential Scottish Opera comes to Campbeltown

[Kintyre Forum News]

Here is your chance on enjoy Opera live in Campbeltown on Tuesday 12th February 2008!

Essential Scottish Opera
Touring Scotland 15 January to 16 February

Sponsored by the Friends of Scottish Opera

Got the winter blues? Cheer yourself up on a night out with some of opera’s freshest talent.



Four young and dynamic singers are packing their bags this January to bring Essential Scottish Opera to a venue near you. Essential Scottish Opera gives you the chance to sample live opera close up during a relaxed and informal evening. The show features a mixture of musical styles including old favourites from Carmen, La traviata and Rigoletto as well as music by Britten, Mozart and Bernstein. There's something for everyone, whether you're new to opera or an old hand.

This year’s cast are soprano Amanda Forbes, a recent graduate of the National Opera Studio, mezzo-soprano Catriona Barr, who played Kate Pinkerton in Scottish Opera’s recent production of Madama Butterfly, tenor Blake Fischer, winner of the Royal Northern College of Music’s prestigious Gold Medal in 2003, and baritone Anders Östberg, a Swedish singer who is also a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

With accompaniment provided by Scottish Opera’s own Ian Shaw on piano, it all adds up to a night of guaranteed entertainment, and with tickets at the price of a couple of fish suppers, there’s no excuse not to book.

Midwinter was never this good.

'If you haven't experienced opera before…then here's the opportunity to dip your toe in the water…slick, quick and unpretentious'
The Scotsman (on Essential Scottish Opera 2007)

'It was as if we'd all been transported to La Scala. For a wet January night on Skye, that's quite an uplift!'
West Highland Free Press (on Essential Scottish Opera 2007)

Musical Director/Pianist Ian Shaw

Director Martin Lloyd-Evans

Company Stage Manager Sophie Peel

Running Time 2 hours approx. (including) one 20 min interval

Tuesday 12 February, 7.30pm
Victoria Hall, Campbeltown
Tickets: £10, £8 (conc.)
Tickets from: Aqualibrium, Kinloch Road, Campbeltown, Argyll PA28 6EG
Tel: 01586 551212
Book Now

In addition tickets for all performances can also be purchased by calling the 24 hour booking line on 0844 847 1645. Please note that tickets bought online or from the 24 hour booking line will be subject to a booking fee.

Advance booking is highly recommended. Any remaining unsold tickets will be available for sale at the door. Doors open 30 minutes before the performance begins.

Scottish Opera reserves the right to alter casts, performances, seating and ticket arrangements.

Supported by The Gannochy Trust (logo), The JTH Charitable Trust, Lady Eda Jardine Charitable Trust
Core funded by The Scottish Gov’t (logo)

Photography by Mark Hamilton

[Kintyre Forum News]

Just a reminder that this is on, this Tuesday.

[WC1]

A superb night at the opera with a great programme, brilliantly sung and acted, and good to see the Vic well filled. It might not be Covent Garden, but it hit the spot tonight. Let's hope we'll have Scottish Opera back again soon.

[spangles]

Mmm A bit spoiled by the Soprano who's voice was off most of the time and the programme could have been a bit more audience friendly. Some of the choices were overly long and obscure for this type of performence.

I thought they were mediocre and overall were disappointing, especially so "Pria di partir, o Dio" ...........but as you say, nice to see a good turnout and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Not sure if my journey from Carradale was worth it though!!

S

[abbey craig]

Mmm A bit spoiled by the Soprano who's voice was off most of the time and the programme could have been a bit more audience friendly. Some of the choices were overly long and obscure for this type of performence.

I thought they were mediocre and overall were disappointing, especially so "Pria di partir, o Dio" ...........but as you say, nice to see a good turnout and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Not sure if my journey from Carradale was worth it though!!

S

what are you looking for, for a tenner on a winters night in the victoria hall... world opera singer of the year

[spangles]

what are you looking for, for a tenner on a winters night in the victoria hall... world opera singer of the year

Are you saying because it's winter and Campbeltown any old crap will do?

Would you pay to hear good music in the vic and when you get there a kareoke in the clachan would have been better and a hell of a sight cheaper and naw comment on the price and performence of the vic act?

These artists get paid a lot of money to perform after years of training and to represent Scottish Opera with that performence last night was disappointing and a poor reflection of the talent that Scotland has in the operatic field. IMHO

Maybe I can simplify it for you. Would you pay £50.00 to watch a Scotland game at Hamden and the pupils walk out the tunnel. Naethin wrong wae the pupils at their own level but I wouldn't pay £50.00 to watch them.

S

[abbey craig]

i woudnt pay £50 to watch scotland never mind the pupils ,especially now with an english coach

well you could prob pay up to a £100 a ticket for a seat at the opera???? a tenners not to bad eh for a young group of people learning theyre trade

[spangles]

,especially now with an english coach

They might learn how to play with an English coach. Being English myself I really believe that. We (The English) are the best on this small Island at the moment.

By the way it was Australians that were singing last night. The Shiela's were awful and the Tenors weren't worth a Tenner!!!!

S

[abbey craig]

i think youve had a few today spangles...why is the england team coached by italians then,you might have given butcher a job if he`s that good

[WC1]

Oh dear. What did I start? I once had a seat behind Michael Tumelty at a prom given by the BBC Scottish Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall and had to wonder, on reading his review in the Herald, whether we had been at the same concert. To respond to Spangles' somewhat dyspeptic 'review' of Essential Scottish Opera's wee show at the Vic on Tuesday, yes, the soprano had one or two dodgy moments, extremely so at the end of the Monteverdi, but then again, even the great Maria Callas's singing wasn't by any means perfect (or indeed very beautiful) all of the time. I paid over £80 for a seat in the 'gods' at Covent Garden for the Kirov Opera's production of Turandot a couple of years ago, and would have to say that the tenor was distinctly under-powered. On Tuesday night I didn't think the singers were by any means as bad as Spangles claims, on the contrary, I thought that overall they were pretty good (allowing for the fact that they're in the company's second string) but hey, that's his humble opinion and it's no less valid than mine. As for the programme, the first half had lots of familiar pieces. I'll admit to a wee bit of concern when I scanned the programme and didn't recognise very many of the pieces lined up for the second half, but even there we were treated to some lovely moments and a good deal of humour, verging on hilarity. The inclusion of the Britten was a bit puzzling, given the threads that ran through of the rest of the line-up. The only really lengthy item was the wee extract from Carmen in the first half, but it was well worth it; most of them were at most 4 or 5 minutes long, and it's good to come across music you don't know - sort of broadens your horizons. To judge by their reactions throughout most of the audience found it 'friendly' enough. Even the unfamiliar pieces were very accessible. Everyone I spoke to at the end seemed to agree with me that it had been a good night and worth the price of a couple of fish suppers at that!

[JEM]

I certainly enjoyed it. I had been cajoled into going and didn't expect it to be so good, frankly.
I don't think Spangles' view was shared by the majority of the audience.

[mrn]

I don't think Spangles' view was shared by the majority of the audience.

Totally agree! Spangles must be on the spangles!

Superb night from start to finish and that included a wonderul pre opera meal at the Mussel Ebb.

Certainly worth £10.00