Opera Scotland

Dinner Engagement 2011St Andrews Opera

Read more about the opera Dinner Engagement

St Andrews Opera, under Dr Michael Downes of St Andrews University, produced an intriguing double bill of operatic comedies, partnering Lennox Berkeley's delightful piece of frivolity set in post-war austerity, with The Judgment of Paris, a rare operatic Restoration comedy by Eccles, to a witty text by Congreve.

.A Dinner Engagement is beautifully composed for the small group of musicians required, and this band produced an excellent performance. The only difficulty resulting from their placement at audience level was that some of the more exuberant orchestral passages made it difficult to hear words from the higher voices. All seven principals have opportunities to shine which were gratefully seized by these young singers. Scott Brooks stood out as a lugubrious Earl, with Annabel Philips also very effective as the magnanimous Grand Duchess.