Opera Scotland

Eugene Onegin 2003Scottish Opera-Go-Round

Read more about the opera Eugene Onegin

Scottish Opera's 2002-03 season was dominated by the continuation of its production by Tim Albery of The Ring.  The third instalment, Siegfried, opened at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival, followed by performances in Glasgow, with Götterdämmerung scheduled for the Spring.  Complete cycles were planned for the 2003 Festival and the opening of the main Glasgow autumn season.

The non-Wagner repertoire consisted of a revived Fledermaus and new Orfeo ed Euridice in the autumn, along with a medium-scale Bohème. The new year saw performances of Rigoletto, with The Magic Flute in the spring.

Scottish Opera Go Round - in its last staging providing a service outside the main touring theatres - opened this production of Eugene Onegin with a piano-accompanied tour in the spring of 2003.  A year later, as Scottish Opera On Tour, it was revived with most of the same singers and a cleverly reduced orchestration (by Julian Grant), stylishly played by principals of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

The production was fine in the intimate scenes, and, with clever use of mirrors, made a surprising success of the grander elements, even the last act ball scene.

This piano-accompanied series of eleven performances worked well.