Egisto 1982Scottish Opera
Read more about the opera Egisto
One of the most obviously successful fruits of John Cox's years with Scottish Opera was his ability to import existing stagings from elsewhere. Egisto was completely unknown in Britain, but Cox had mounted a successful production in Santa Fe which turned out to be an absolute winner, even if Raymond Leppard's realisation-style was by now controversially lush. The designs and lighting of Allen Charles Klein made it simply one of the most beautiful stagings of any opera to have been seen recently, and an extra performance was tagged on at the end of the season with BBC cameras on hand to record it. The tape has never been made available in any commercial format, though some kind soul has set it up on YouTube for everyone to enjoy.
In May, the production was taken on a European tour, with a total of nine performances divided between Schwetzingen (3), Frankfurt (1), and most interestingly Venice (5 performances at La Fenice). On this tour, it seems that a counter-tenor singing baroque was still reckoned an outlandish prospect, so a baritone was substituted. How times have changed.
Performance Cast
- Notte Night
- Aurora Dawn
- Clori from Delos, in love with Lidio
- Lidio of Zacynthos
-
Andrew Dalton (Exc Apr 10; May)
James Bowman (Apr 10)
Tom McDonnell (May)
- Egisto from Delos, formerly betrothed to Clori
- Climene of Zacynthos, formerly betrothed to Lidio
-
Delia Wallis (Exc May)
Teresa Cahill (May)
- Ipparco Climene's brother, ruler of Zacynthos
- Dema Ipparco's old nurse
-
Francis Egerton (Exc Apr 10)
Hugh Hetherington (Apr 10)
- Bellezza goddess of Beauty
- Volupia goddess of Pleasure
- Amor Cupid, son of Venus
- Venere Venus
- Semele a Heroine who died for love
- Fedra Phaedra, a Heroine who died for love
- Didone Dido, a Heroine who died for love
- Hero a Heroine who died for love
- Apollo
-
Tom McDonnell (Exc May)
Alan Oke (May)
- Primavera Spring
- Estate Summer
- Autunno Autumn
- Inverno Winter
Performance DatesEgisto 1982
Theatre Royal, Glasgow | Glasgow
13 Jan, 19.15 16 Jan, 19.15 19 Jan, 19.15 21 Jan, 19.15 23 Jan, 14.15 10 Apr, 19.15
Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh | Edinburgh
3 Feb, 19.15 5 Feb, 19.15
Theatre Royal, Newcastle | Newcastle-upon-Tyne
10 Feb, 19.15 12 Feb, 19.15
Grand Opera House, Belfast | Belfast
17 Feb, 19.15 19 Feb, 19.15
Dominion Theatre | London
10 Mar, 19.30 12 Mar, 19.30
Schlosstheater | Schwetzingen
16 May, 00.00 18 May, 00.00 20 May, 00.00
Alte Oper | Frankfurt
23 May, 00.00
Teatro la Fenice | Venice
26 May, 20.30 27 May, 20.30 28 May, 20.30 29 May, 20.30 30 May, 20.30