There’s always a risk when it comes to outdoor events in Scotland, but last weekend at the Slessor Gardens brollies and waterproofs could be safely discarded as the shine shone brightly.
There was also brightness in Scottish Opera’s latest pop-up concert, a welcome and yearly visit to Dundee by Scotland’s premier opera company.
I’d love to see the trend reversed, where instead of a scaled-down scenario they brought the full package with them next time – principals, chorus and orchestra.
Small, but mighty
Scaled down the operas might have been, but even in a 25-minute synopsis Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Rossini’s Barber of Seville shows a little bit can go a long way.
This was mainly due to the ability of Scottish Opera’s Derek Clark to switch from thousands of notes to hundreds without losing the gist of either opera, both of which are long-standing, well-loved operatic icons.
The scaling down consisted of just two soloists – soprano Sarah Power and Andy McTaggart (baritone) – instrumentalists Andrew Drummond Huggan and Sasha Savaloni and narrator Allan Dunn.
Maybe not a famous five but a pretty fantastic one at that.
Both Sarah and Andy had to multi-task when it came to characterisation – the former Rosina in the Barber and Susanna in the Marriage of Figaro, with the latter switching hat, cloak, neckerchief etc as he morphed from Count Almaviva to Figaro, each character in either opera.
It was bright, it was breezy and it was great fun.
Bridging the gaps
Naturally, some of the “hits” of each opera had to included, albeit abridged, and I enjoyed Sarah’s curtailed Dove Sono as much as I enjoyed Andy’s trimmed Largo Al Factotum.
Interaction between the pair was always there, with Allan’s continuity – aided by suitable illustration – bridging the gaps in each opera’s story-line that had to be left out.
This was obviously aimed at adults, but prior to Mozart and Rossini, the five artistes took time to aim at a younger audience.
Fun for the kids
Be A Sport, Spike – music by Karen MacIver, words by Ross Stenhouse – saw the sporting prowess of Andy, in this case Mike the Spike McTavish, gaining a valuable asset – the ability to sing, coached by Sarah and cajoled by Allan.
Kids’ stuff it might have been, but mums and dads, grannies and grandads could easily join in the fun.
What better way to spend a sunny afternoon in Scotland’s sunniest city?
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