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The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
'A real show-stopper' - Review: Suor Angelica at Perth Festival
St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth Keith Bruce four stars The three steps up to a specially-constructed performance platform created in the middle of Perth Cathedral could not compete with the grand staircase that dominated Sir David McVicar's recent Scottish Opera staging of the central opera in Puccini's Il Trittico trilogy, but they were emblematic of the more compact success of Opera Bohemia's version in partnership with Amicus Orchestra. Douglas Nairne's production makes the fullest possible use of the venue, which is a new one for the festival with more open sight-lines than St John's Kirk and ample room for the orchestra, which was placed beyond the stage, with the singers often making their entrances from behind the audience. That device made the most of the reverberant acoustic for the choruses, while the instrumentalists, under the very attentive and often exuberant baton of Alistair Digges, always sounded in focus, with well-balanced wind soloists and a rich string sound. A couple of keyboards provide crucial extra sonic colour when required. Read more With simple costuming, stylish stage blocking, and minimal props, the tragic tale of Sister Angelica, rejected by her family for falling pregnant and estranged from her son, unfolds in classic story-book fashion, much of the work done by Puccini's masterly scoring. In soprano Jenny Stafford, who covered the role for English National Opera, Bohemia have a fine new recruit to the more familiar faces in the company. Absolutely on top of the part vocally, she avoids any melodrama in a performance of affecting sincerity, her aria when she learns of the death of her child a real show-stopper. Around her the women swiftly create the impression of a strict but mutually-supportive community into which Angelica's aunt, The Princess, steps as the embodiment of moral severity. Mezzo Louise Collett's nuanced approach to that role is as impressive, the latest of a series of fine performances for the company. Sioned Gwen Davies, Cheryl Forbes and Monica McGhee add important solo voices, and the ensemble of the ten women is the production's heart, suggestive of more rehearsal time together than was probably actually available. Although it is being seen elsewhere – including a performance on the Isle of Bute on Saturday - this is a contribution to Perth Festival of the Arts truly in the tradition of the bespoke opera productions of the event's earliest years, and it should set a template for the future.
The Herald Scotland
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Beneditti entrances young and old in SCO finale
Keith Bruce four stars JOHANNES Brahms and child star violinist Joseph Joachim were friends from their teenage years, although well into their maturity when Brahms composed a concerto for him to play. Felix Mendelssohn was a published composer at 13 and conducted the precocious Joachim in London when the violinist was 12. There was plenty in the SCO's season finale programme to inspire the many young people in the audience, attracted by Scotland's classical star, Nicola Benedetti. The Brahms Violin Concerto has long been a staple of her repertoire, the rhythmic dance of the closing movement perhaps identified with her as much as any piece of music. Partnered with the chamber orchestra and conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, the concerto was heard as a beautifully-integrated whole, and her dialogue with guest first oboe Jose Masmano Villar in the slow second movement as much of a highlight. There is still an arresting ferocity in Benedetti's first entry at the start of the work, and mature precision in her statement of the chords played across three strings now accompanies the expressive intensity that her fans, young and older, love in her playing. Emelyanychev ensured that every dynamic detail of the rich orchestration was heard in immaculate balance with his soloist. After the interval, the conductor's skills were even more in evidence on Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony, an old war horse brought to vibrant new life. Whether or not the opening bars conjure up images of Romantic ruins at the foot of the Royal Mile – and despite the stormy weather depicted in sound being a long way from the current climate – this is music most people already know. Few, however, will have heard the clarinet's statement of the opening theme so perfectly placed in the mix, or the cellos recapitulation of the melody in the slow movement so richly-toned. Alert young eyes might also have spotted the viola section cope with their leader's broken string with slick professionalism. The SCO strings added an exquisite encore of the second of Edvard Grieg's Elegiac Melodies, Last Spring. It was a poignant tribute to the orchestra's former principal cello David Watkin, who become a much-loved teacher at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland when illness cut short a stellar playing career, and who died aged 60 last week.
