Scottish Opera
Encyclopedia
Scottish Opera is the national opera
company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow
, it is the largest performing arts
organisation in Scotland.
, Scottish Opera has grown to become one of the world's most renowned opera companies, building a considerable reputation for its distinguished productions.
In 1975 Scottish Opera bought the Theatre Royal
in Glasgow from Scottish Television
re-opening it as the first national opera house for Scotland in October 1975 with Die Fledermaus
. In March 2005, the management of the Theatre Royal was transferred to the Ambassador Theatre Group
, but remains the home of Scottish Opera and of Scottish Ballet.
Scottish Opera is committed to bringing the widest range of opera, to the maximum audience in Scotland and the United Kingdom. The company's education unit is committed to delivering socially inclusive outreach and educational productions.
Scottish Opera dealt with various financial troubles, related to lack of funding and accusations of fiscal profligacy, during the first part of the 2000s. Its cycle of Richard Wagner's Ring was critically acclaimed, but also was highly draining of the company's financial resources. In 2004, a financial restructuring plan had called for the elimination of 88 jobs, including all 34 members of the chorus, and the suspension of the entire 2005-2006 season. In protest, Sir Richard Armstrong
announced his resignation in December 2004, effective at the end of the 2004-2005 season.
Alex Reedijk became general director of the company in 2006. In August 2007, effective the same month, the company announced the appointment of Francesco Corti as its next music director.
Recent commissions include the widely acclaimed Five:15 Operas Made in Scotland, part of a five-year research and development project to find the next generation of opera-makers, composers and librettists.
and Der Rosenkavalier
(both in 1994) and for Die Walküre
and Siegfried
(both in 2002), as well as the South Bank Show Award for "Best Opera" for the Ring Cycle (2004) and a Herald Angel Award for The Two Widows
at the Edinburgh International Festival
in 2008.
in Florence, L`Egisto in Venice, tours in Germany, Austria, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Iceland and recent years including Peter Grimes
and Tristan und Isolde
in Lisbon; Macbeth at the Vienna International Festival and the European premiere of MacMillan
's Ines de Castro
in Porto, Portugal.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, it is the largest performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
organisation in Scotland.
History
Founded in 1962 by Alexander GibsonAlexander Gibson (conductor)
Sir Alexander Gibson, CBE was a Scottish conductor and opera intendant.Gibson was born in Motherwell and studied music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, as well as in London, Salzburg and Siena, Italy...
, Scottish Opera has grown to become one of the world's most renowned opera companies, building a considerable reputation for its distinguished productions.
In 1975 Scottish Opera bought the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
The Theatre Royal is the oldest theatre in Glasgow, located at 282 Hope Street in Cowcaddens. The theatre originally opened in 1867, changing its name to the Theatre Royal in 1869, and is the longest running theatre in Scotland...
in Glasgow from Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
re-opening it as the first national opera house for Scotland in October 1975 with Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
. In March 2005, the management of the Theatre Royal was transferred to the Ambassador Theatre Group
Ambassador Theatre Group
The Ambassador Theatre Group is an independent operator of theatres in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1992, by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire,OBE, it acquired the Live Nation theatre group in November 2009.-List of theatres:...
, but remains the home of Scottish Opera and of Scottish Ballet.
Scottish Opera is committed to bringing the widest range of opera, to the maximum audience in Scotland and the United Kingdom. The company's education unit is committed to delivering socially inclusive outreach and educational productions.
Scottish Opera dealt with various financial troubles, related to lack of funding and accusations of fiscal profligacy, during the first part of the 2000s. Its cycle of Richard Wagner's Ring was critically acclaimed, but also was highly draining of the company's financial resources. In 2004, a financial restructuring plan had called for the elimination of 88 jobs, including all 34 members of the chorus, and the suspension of the entire 2005-2006 season. In protest, Sir Richard Armstrong
Richard Armstrong (conductor)
Sir Richard Armstrong, CBE is a British conductor. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar.-Overview:...
announced his resignation in December 2004, effective at the end of the 2004-2005 season.
Alex Reedijk became general director of the company in 2006. In August 2007, effective the same month, the company announced the appointment of Francesco Corti as its next music director.
Recent commissions include the widely acclaimed Five:15 Operas Made in Scotland, part of a five-year research and development project to find the next generation of opera-makers, composers and librettists.
Awards
The company has won a host of illustrious awards, including the Barclays TMA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for MacbethMacbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
and Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(both in 1994) and for Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
and Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
(both in 2002), as well as the South Bank Show Award for "Best Opera" for the Ring Cycle (2004) and a Herald Angel Award for The Two Widows
The Two Widows
The Two Widows is a two-act Czech opera by Bedřich Smetana based on the libretto of Emanuel Züngel. The libretto is based on Jean Pierre Felicien Mallefille's one-act play "Les deux veuves." The opera was composed between June 1873 and January 1874, with its first première on March 27th, 1874 at...
at the Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
in 2008.
Foreign tours
Scottish Opera has also staged many successful productions abroad, including Albert HerringAlbert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
in Florence, L`Egisto in Venice, tours in Germany, Austria, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Iceland and recent years including Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
and Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
in Lisbon; Macbeth at the Vienna International Festival and the European premiere of MacMillan
James MacMillan (musician)
James MacMillan CBE is a Scottish classical composer and conductor.-Early life:MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977....
's Ines de Castro
Inês de Castro
Inês Peres de Castro was a Galician noblewoman born of a Portuguese mother...
in Porto, Portugal.
Music directors
- Sir Alexander GibsonAlexander Gibson (conductor)Sir Alexander Gibson, CBE was a Scottish conductor and opera intendant.Gibson was born in Motherwell and studied music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, as well as in London, Salzburg and Siena, Italy...
(1962–1986) - John MauceriJohn MauceriJohn Francis Mauceri is an American conductor, producer and arranger for theatre, opera and television. For fifteen years, he served on the faculty of Yale University. He was a protege of Leonard Bernstein...
(1986–1992) - Sir Richard ArmstrongRichard Armstrong (conductor)Sir Richard Armstrong, CBE is a British conductor. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar.-Overview:...
(1992–2005) - Francesco Corti (2007–present)