SCOTTISH OPERA
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A cut above
Carol Main talks to mezzo soprano Karen Cargill and Sir Thomas Allen, who is directing The Barber of Seville for Scottish Opera
he's 3|. lies ()2. She's a young Scot at
the start ol‘ her operatic career. he's a
singer who seems to haye been at the top
oi his lot net: But in Scottish ()pera‘s new
production ol‘ The Barber of'Set'il/e. it is not as
singers that the two cotne together. While
inc//o-soprano Karen (‘argill portrays Rossini's
delightl'ul Rosina. baritone Sir Thomas Allen. in
the operatic equhalcnt oI poacher turned gamekccpcr. takes the \ery real part ol' director.
.\‘otching tip more than 40 dil’l'ercnt roles at the
Royal Opera House. ('oy ent (iarden. alone. he
must hayc sung in hundreds upon hundreds of
operatic pcrl'ormances and recordings. and still does. the 35th anniycrsary ol‘ his debut with the New York .\Ict was last year and he is still taking on new roles. (iiunni .S‘e/u'ee/Ii I‘or I.os .>\ngc|cs ()pera with another .'\llen. natnely one Woody. directing opera tor the first time — is on the stocks I-Ul' nc\t \casnll.
I-‘or ('argill. and the other singers in Scottish ()pera's young cast. someone of Allen‘s t'I‘homas. that isl stature is instinctiyely awe- inspiring. 'It‘s just incredible] she says. ‘It was really scary singing in limit of hitn tor the lirst time. because he‘s had such an ama/ing career. Iiyery day there is something new. He‘s a natural stage animal. I-‘or c\ample. he ga\e its an e\ercisc. picking up a hat and stick as his only props and showed us how to become a dandy. He just morphed into this character. All the phy sicality was there. He makes it easier for us through sensation and demonstration. These
14 THE LIST. 8-»:
are good way s ol‘ learning how to do your _iob.' By his own admission. Allen is indeed stage- era/ed. ‘Basically. I low the theatre.~ he says. He turned to directing (The Barber ()fSt't'i/lt' is his lil‘th opera). which is a tnuch less coiiyentioiial moy'e tor a singer than for an actor. lor the same reason as he wrote a book. ‘I wanted to do something creative. rather than recreatiy'e.‘ he says. 'lt‘s a way of testing the imagination so that it causes it to flourish. to keep you aliye. It‘s something that you can put your own stamp on.‘ In opera. the stamp is a long and complex process. Allen. whose lirst title role in I969 was
with Welsh National Opera in The Barber of
Seville. has had the new Scottish ()pera production in his mind for two years. ('argill has been working on her role tor 18 months. Yet singers and director don‘t get properly together until only a matter ol‘ weeks before opening night. ‘The director giycs his idea ol‘ the character and you haye your own idea. so you hayc to meet somewhere in the middle.‘ says (‘argill 'It's actually the best job in the world because you spend your day playing 7— you get to pretend to be someone else.‘
The relationship between young woman and older man in the actual opera is one or ward and strict. conniying guardian. l‘ar remoyed from any possibility of compromise. For (‘argilL Rosina is naive. a girl in her late teens with no experience ol~ the world. who is Very shielded by her protector. ‘I guess you just have to take yourself back to when you were younger.‘ she says. ‘You
‘IT'S NOT JUST WHAT THE CHARACTER SINGS THAT COUNTS. IT'S THE STUFF THAT'S WRITTEN BETWEEN THE LINES'