Guildhall School Professor Dr. Toby Young Awarded Prestigious Future Leaders Fellowship for ‘Immersive Opera’

(Photo credit: Vikram Kushwar) Guildhall School of Music & Drama has announced that Dr. Toby Young has been selected to receive a Future Leaders Fellowship, awarded by UKRI (UK Research & Innovation). The fellowship provides a grant of £1.4 million, the largest research-related funding award Guildhall School has received to date. This funding goes directly towards Dr. Young’s research project {…}

Jun 8, 2024

Susan Bullock, Stacey Alleaume, Helena Dix & Roland Wood Lead Scottish Opera’s 2024-25 Season

The Scottish Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera The season opens with Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex” with Stuart Stratford conducting and Roxana Haines directing. The cast will include Shengzhi Ren, Kitty Whately, Roland Wood, Callum Thorpe, Seumas Begg, and Emyr Wyn Jones. Performance Dates: August 12-19, 2024 Britten’s “Albert Herring” will be conducted by William Cole and directed by Daisy {…}

Apr 16, 2024

Scottish Opera Announces Plans for New Development

The Scottish Opera plans to create an “exceptional development” in Glasgow. The new plans will bring three of its premises under one roof. Known as the New Rotterdam Wharf project, the plan involves redeveloping land beside the company’s purpose built Edington Street production studios. The Scottish Opera currently operates out of a rented headquarters in an “aging” Victorian building in {…}

Mar 1, 2024

Scottish Opera 2023-24 Review: Marx in London

(Photo: James Glossop) Any forward-looking opera company surely must play its part in keeping the artform alive. While there must be a place for the staple repertoire, an over-reliance on the likes of Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart not only contains an element of the parasitic but also displays a mentality of unadventurous programming that will ultimately sap the energy from {…}

Nov 7, 2023

Scottish Opera Announces 2023-24 Emerging Artists

The Scottish Opera has announced the six Emerging Artists joining the 2023-24 season. The artists for the season are baritone Ross Cumming, soprano Inna Husieva, tenor Monwabisi Lindi, costume trainee Lovisa Litsgard, returning mezzo-soprano Lea Shaw (as Associate Artist), and repetiteur José Javier Ucendo. The company’s Emerging Artists program was launched in 2009 and offers young talent a period of full-time {…}

May 14, 2023

Samuel Dale Johnson, Hye-Youn Lee & Roland Wood Lead Scottish Opera’s 2023-24 Season

The Scottish Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. Opera Samuel Dale Johnson, Simone McIntosh, Anthony Gregory, David Stout, and Dingle Yandell star in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” Stuart Stratford conducts the production by Sir Thomas Allen. Performance Dates: Oct. 17-Nov. 25, 2023 Jonathan Dive’s “Marx in London” will be conducted by David Parry and directed by Stephen Barlow. The {…}

Feb 23, 2023

Obituary: Scottish Opera’s Isabel Rodgers Passes Away

Isabel Rodger, the wife of the late Ian Rodger, who was one of the founders of Scottish Opera, died on Feb. 4, 2023. As an early supporter of the Scottish Opera, Rodger was heavily involved and contributed to the growth of the company. She saw nearly every performance at the Theatre Royal, with her last being ‘Ainadamar’ by Golijov in {…}

May 19, 2022

Samantha Hankey, Susan Bullock, Roland Wood & Sinéad Campbell-Wallace Lead Scottish Opera’s 2022-23 Season

The Scottish Opera has announced its 2022-23 season featuring new productions, pop operas, and opera in concert. Opera The season opens with Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” starring Roland Wood, Jonathan McGovern, Zachary Altman, Hye-Youn Lee, Keel Watson, Pablo Bemsch, Shengzhi Ren, Kitty Whately, Lea Shaw, and Emyr Wyn Jones. Stuart Stratford conducts the production by Sir Thomas Allen. Performance Dates: May 28-June {…}

Jun 26, 2021

60 & 50 – Scottish Opera’s Jane Davidson, Karen MacIver & Allan Dunn on the Company’s Anniversary, Education & Outreach

Scottish Opera turns 60 next year, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of its Outreach and Education program, arguably the longest-standing formal company outreach of its kind in the opera world. The department’s activities range from Paisley’s 2018 “Pagliacci”—performed in a tent with a community choir, and for which designer Tim Meacock won the Best Designer Award at the {…}

Jun 15, 2021

Scottish Opera Withdraws from Sky Arts Award Over Controversial ‘Yellowface’

(Credit: James Glossop) The Scottish Opera has withdrawn its nomination for a Sky Arts Award for its production of “Nixon in China.” According to The Times, the company was criticized for its use of “yellowface” makeup as well as casting choices. Sarah Owen, the Labour MP for Luton North, took to social media criticizing the company and wondering why the {…}

Apr 27, 2021

Scottish Opera Marks Anniversary of Outreach & Education Work With New Projects

(Photo Credit: Scottish Opera official website) The Scottish Opera has announced new projects to connect with communities across Scotland in the 50th anniversary year of its Outreach and Education program. The opera house will offer a package of projects for Primary one to seven simultaneously, giving schools the opportunity to engage all pupils in a Scottish Opera primary schools project {…}