A Night at the Opera

On Saturday 11th February at 7.30pm, Opera Highlights will burst forth in Brodick Hall. Four young singers from Scottish Opera will be coming to Arran to perform arias and ensembles from well-known operas including Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Among the well-loved songs are Where e’er You Walk, from the opera Semele – but there will be some exciting work by Britten and Rimsky-Korsakov as well. As if that were not enough, the Arran audience will be among the first to hear Dance ‘til the Sun Sets by Gareth Williams, Scottish Opera’s first-ever composer in residence. Scottish Opera’s Head of Music Derek Clark has been selecting the Opera Highlights programme for over a decade, but he is particularly excited about Gareth’s work. The composer worked closely with the four singers in revising the piece for this cameo performance, and says, ‘It’s been an exciting challenge for them, and will make for a real treat for audiences.’ He adds, ‘It fits beautifully into the programme too, which is a real mixed bag of familiar favourites and lesser-known gems, so even if you’ve never tried opera I’m sure you’ll find something in there to love.’ Opera buffs, of course, will need no enticement – this promises to be an evening of sheer delight.

Gareth Williams is a lecturer at the RSAMD and has composed works for the Hebrides Ensemble, the Paragon Ensemble, Symposia, the Black Hair Ensemble, and the London Sinfionetta. He was the winner of the British Conservatoire Composers Forum 2000, and in 2004 won the Dinah Wolf prize for composition. Dance ‘til the Sun Sets has a libretto by Marjorie Chan and was developed during an intensive week-long project for writers and composers.

The four singers who will be performing on Arran are baritone Marcus Farnsworth, soprano Anita Watson, mezzo-soprano Rosie Aldridge and tenor Robert Anthony Gardiner. Susannah Wapshott, who will accompany them on the 5 week tour is at this moment packing her own piano to bring.

Tickets from the Book and Card Centre in Brodick.

& online at http://www.ents24.com/web/event/Opera-Highlights-Brodick-Hall-2751121.html

For any further details, see www.scottishopera.org.uk