This two week visit to Glasgow by the Covent Garden company gave Scottish audiences their first opportunity to see two new works - not just the Festival of Britain commission, Billy Budd, but also a fascinating late work by Vaughan Williams, The Pilgrim's Progress.
The schedule for the fortnight was:
Week commencing 17 March: Mon Turandot, Tue Pilgrim's Progress, Wed Salome, Thu Magic Flute, Fri Aïda, Sat mat Bohème, Sat eve Tosca.
Week commencing 24 March: Mon Aïda, Tue Salome, Wed Magic Flute, Thu Bohème, Fri Billy Budd, Sat mat Tosca, Sat eve Turandot.
The designer Oliver Messel had an excellent reputation in the postwar years, designing productions for Glyndebourne that were seen at the Edinburgh Festival. He also designed notably attractive sets and costumes for the Royal Ballet.
The Australian tenor John Lanigan had joined the company the previous year, and sang several leading lyric roles, including Rodolfo, Pinkerton and Cassio, as well as Tamino. He remained a member of the company throughout his long career, quickly taking on character roles including Shuisky in Boris Godunov and Caius in Falstaff.
Cast details are from our programme for 20 March.
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