MUSIC LIST/CLASSICAL
MUSIC
I Music is listed as diary: by day. then by city, then by event.
CLASSICAL
FRIDAY 19 Glasgow
I BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Henry Wood Hall. Claremorit Street. Tickets: 33l)257S(BBCShop). 12.15pm.£3.5l) (£23011). Premiere of Winter .llusfeby Rory Boyle. the Violin Concerto No 2 by Wienawski (soloist Dong Silk Kang)and Beethoven's Symphony .\'o 4. Taktio Yuasa conducts.
Edinburgh
I Organ Recital Mclzw an llall. Bristo Square. 1’ree at door. 1.10pm. Marjorie Bruce visits lidinburgli to play worksby Franck. Petr Izben. Pierne and Dupre.
I 3N0 l‘sher l lall. Lothian Road. 228 1155. 7.30pm. l'..\tra date: Sat 21). (ilasgow. {2501990. .\'o lan Whyte commission as promised on the SNO's brochure. simply because it's too longand would eat up too much of the programme time. The glamourous1.abeque sisters stay in with .‘ylendelssolin's Concerto for 2 Pianos. and Shostakovicli Symphony .\'o 7 is the second half.
SATURDAY 20
Glasgow
I Piccolo Pack Henry Wood Hall. Claremoiit Street. Tickets: 2275511 (Ticket Centre). 1 lam. £1 (adults £2). The SC( )‘s fun morning for kids moves to (ilasgow fora musical mystery tour.
I 8N0 City Hall. Candleriggs. 227 5511. 7.30pm.13.50-13.90. Seel’ri 1‘). Edinburgh. for lull description.
I Young Kilmardinny Music Circle Kilmardinny 1 louse. 5t) ls'ilmardinny Avenue. Bearsden. 9-13 (1312. 7.30pm. Performance by young members.
I Friends of Scottish Opera liitotirist Offices. 8 Belmont Crescent. Further information: (141 248 4567 exts 138 and 141). All day -- phone for starting time 1.5 (incl light lunch). Study Day on Eugene ()negi'n. Scottish ()pera's third Spring production.
I Cosi fan tutte Theatre Royal. Hope Street. 331 123-1. 7. 15pm. lixtra dates: ll) March and 22.1une.1idinburgh + 16 March and 4 June (mat). (ilasgow. £3421 . Scottish ()pera‘s’ new production of Mozart's delightful comedy ofsexual manners. complete with \‘esuvius spewing up rabbits.
I The Thelma Yellin Youth Symphony Orchestra Henry Wood Hall. Clarernont Street. Tickets: at door. 8. 15pm. Youth orchestra from Israel on first stop ofUK tour play music by Beethoven. Stamitz and Mozart with some Renaissance brass music too.
Edinburgh
I Edinburgh Royal Choral Union Usher Hall. Lothian Road. 228 l 155. 7.30pm. £3.5(l—i7. The .‘lly‘sric Trumpeter by Hamilton llarty and Vaughan Williams‘ Dona Nobis Paeem. with Roderick Brydon conducting and soloists Andre Back and Charles Naylor. The SCO provides the orchestral forces.
I Georgian Concert Society St Cecilia's Hall. Cowgate. Tickets: 668 2019 (Oueen‘sllall Box Office). 7.45pm. £4 (£3). Le Nouveau Ouatour with Elizabeth Lowe. soprano. offer a programme of French Baroque. including Rameau's pieces (Ie clai'eciri.
I The Sound of Music Lecture Theatre. Royal Museum of Scotland. Chambers Street. Free at door. 1 lam. Talk and demonstration for 8—1-1 year-olds on how musical instruments work. Bring (ifyou can) a comb and tissue paper. a balloon. a 3llcm length ofstring or ribbon and a tiriof dried beans or beads. See also Sat 27.
I Lunchtime Concert Assembly Rooms. (ieorge Street. Free at door. 12.30pm. Violin. flute and piano trio. Cieminae. perform as part of the Edinburgh Peace l-‘estival.
I Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra Sponsored PIay-ln (ieorge Watson‘s College. Colinton Road. Tickets: at door. Sessions at 2pm and (ipm. lixtra date: Sun
THE PEARL FISHERS
For all that Bizet's ‘The Pearl Fishers' is not actually about pearl fishing, Scottish Opera‘s new production which opened last Tuesday at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, has a rather pearly feel about it. Not quite the sparkle of diamonds, northe character of coloured gems, but a rounded, misty creaminess. Obviously not a financial extravaganza, effect came from simple devices —the juxtaposition of keenly focused circles of spotlights with circular floor shapes (including a rather puzzling revolving stage) and yo-yo like shroudish testoon blinds to change scene. But ‘The Pearl Fishers’ is hardly essentially a drama : the simple tale of two pearl fishers in conflict over the same priestess is merely a handy story board for some of opera's most melodious lines, albeit carrying the leitmotit theme of friendship throughout. (Even the librettists admitted to the unworthiness of their work. To quote the programme notes ‘he (Cormon) remarked shamefacedly, that he and Carre would never have inflicted such a dreadful abortion of a libretto on Bizet had they known what talent he had.’) Unfortunate then that tenor Kim Begley met opening night with a throat infection and frustrating difficulties in the famous tenor/baritone duet and his own Romance ‘Je crois entendre encore'. Of the otherthree main roles, no one performances was particularly outstanding. Rita Cullis as the priestess was suitably bird-like in her suspended cage, while Patrick Wheatley’s characterisation of Zorga was unavoidably affected by the lack of voice from his opposite number. Nourabad the priest is perhaps not the ideal role forJohn Tranter, his high notes sounding stifled at times. As
I Hall. (ilasgoyv 1 his ersity.
21. £2 (511p) per session. All Beethoven's‘) Symphonies over two days in an effort to raise funds. First session is .\'os l andZ. finishing with No 3. the [:‘roiea. 1n the evening you can hear .\'os 4. 5 and (i. the Pastoral. Also prize draws and competitions.
I St Margaret's Singers of Edinburgh t 'llt'isl Church. Morningside. Tickets: at door. 7.3(lpm. £2 (£1 ). A popular concert of music by Mendelssohn. 'I'onikins. plus Scots Songs by this young choir which was the BBC Regional winner in the Scots Choir of the Year competition in l‘).\‘4aiid 1986.
SUNDAY 21 §
Edinburgh
I Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra Sponsored Play-In (ieorgc “alsoth College. Colinton Road. Tickets: at door. Sessions at 2pm and 8pm. £2 ( 511p ) per session. The Beethoven Symphonies continue where they left off yesterday with Nos 7 and S in the afternoon and .\‘o t) Iflr' Choral in the evening. Prize draw s and Competitions too.
MONDAY 22
Glasgow
I Open Rehearsal Theatre Royal. l lope Street. 331 l23~1.(i..‘~(lpm. £1.51). A chalice to witness Scottish ()pcra's lingerie ()riegiri in its final stages before going public.
I Glasgow Harpsichord Society ( ‘oiicert
.fillpllt. l‘rce
.7
i E
usual, the Scottish Opera Orchestra is in good shape. (Carol Main)
The Pearl Fishers in a new Scottish Opera production by Stephen Lawless and conducted by Peter Robinson is on at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow on 11, 13 and 24 February and moves to the
at door. A students' invitation recital in collaboration witll the Department of Music.
TUESDAY 23 Glasgow
I Lunchtime Concert Assembly l lall. l'niversity of Stratliclyde. James Weir Building. Montrose Street.
1.15pm 2.00pm. l-‘ree at door. A varied programme of chamber music given by the gifted young students of lhe.lunior Department of the RSAMI).
Edinburgh
I Lunchtime Concert Reid Concert Hall. Bristo Square. l-‘ree at door. 1.lllpm. Concert by studentsof lidinburgh l'niversity ‘s faculty of Music.
I Pro Arte Recital Reid Concert Hall. lirlslo Square. Tickets: 668 2(lll)(()ueen's Hall). 7.30pm. L.‘.5ll(£1.‘)5). lixtradate: Fri 26. ( ilasgow. ‘l'exas~born pianist William Blaine plays a fiery progranimeof Beethoven's ( )p 31 Sonata. Prokofiev's Sonata in 1) minor and l.is/t‘s l'erieziae Nil/Hill.
WEDNESDAY 24
Glasgow
I Lunch and Listen Theatre Royal. t lope Sll‘c‘c‘l. l'l'c‘L‘ ill tltitir. 1pm. The cast of larreerie ()Iieeul. Scottish ()pera's latest production. are today ~s guests. ()ptional lunch for £15“.
I Cramb Lecture Concert Hall. (ilasgow l'niy ersity. free at door. 5pm. Professor
i llans'l'ischlerfromthel'niversityof
Al
fl _
the lovers who come in disguise to woo
, the women to whom they are already
Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh on 9 and
11 March.
0031 FAN TUTTE
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Dominating everything in this production of Cosi fan tutte by Scottish Opera is a huge image of Vesuvius. lt‘s set in the middle of the stage like a giant conical firework which glows red at moments of crisis, as though its about to erupt and bury everybody under lava at any moment.
It’s both a daring and a playful concept and geared entirely to the mood of this production. Mozart has wrapped his theme -whether or not fidelity can really exist in love — in an opera of great lightness and director Richard Jenkins plays up its sense of childish whimsy to clever effect. A sense of theatricality permeates it and all that is unreal — like the costumes of
betrothed - is exaggerated. Eliminating the chorus also shrinks it to the dimensions of an intimate chamber piece and concentrates the drama entirely on the machinations of the six characters at the centre of the story.
If there was no other reason for
: setting it in Italy, the need to make
Oespina an Italian would be enough. Played by Elizabeth Gale she is a flirtatious Italian to her fingertips and she teases, coaxes and cajoles Fiordiligi and Oorabella to take new lovers with all the determination of man seducing a rich widow. Andrew
Shore as Don Alfonso, her co-schemer,
is also a fine actor and easily has the measure of this generous, benevolent and far-sighted character.
At its best this is a witty, tonguesin-cheek production, finely sung and effortlessly shaped into a comedy by its lively translation. If the internal contradictions of the piece aren’t entirely resolved, in the end its a problem which lies within the opera itself as much as with this production. (Sally Kinnes)
111C l.isl 1‘)1-'eb--3.\1ar198833