Scotland’s national opera company takes to the road this autumn (4 September to 8 November 2008) with a brand new production of Franz Léhar’s The Merry Widow, a delightful tale of romance, regret, exotic parties and frustrated love.
The company will perform this much-loved operetta at 25 theatres, village halls and community centres across the country visiting Giffnock, Tain, Thurso, Kirkwall, Ullapool, Stornoway, Plockton, Fort William, Stirling, Perth, Langholm, Ayr, Newton Stewart, Nairn, Drumnadrochit, Oban, Aboyne, Forfar, St Andrews, Dunoon, Kelso, Musselburgh, Peterhead, Pitlochry and Easterhouse.
Set at the start of the twentieth century, in the last few years before The Great War, The Merry Widow depicts life in a world that was about to be changed forever. More than a century after its premier The Merry Widow remains one of the most popular operettas ever thanks to memorable tunes such as Vilja Song, You'll Find Me at Maxim's, and the Merry Widow Waltz.
Trained dancer and choreographer Clare Whistler, who makes her debut with Scottish Opera to direct this production, says, "I am very excited to be directing this production of The Merry Widow for Scottish Opera. I see the piece as all curves and spirals with an emphasis on femininity. It's an opera about two very different women and two very different love stories."
The large cast of fourteen talented singers will perform with piano accompaniment played by Music Director Ruth Wilkinson. This production sees the return of Stephanie Corley following her appearance in Scottish Opera’s touring production of La Bohéme (2006) and Alexander Grove who recently appeared in Five:15, as the two reunited lovers, Hanna and Danilo.
Scottish Opera’s General Director, Alex Reedijk says “The Merry Widow is a lovely show with an alluring combination of good old-fashioned romance and catchy tunes. I urge anyone who hasn’t tried opera before to give this a go- you’ll have a great night. This is Scottish Opera’s largest touring production to date and underlines out commitment to being a truly national company and bringing opera to audiences all over Scotland.”
This production is supported by The Gannochy Trust, JTH Charitable Trust and Eda, Lady Jardine Charitable Trust.
CAST AND PRODUCTION TEAM
Baron Mirko Zeta - Adam Miller
Valencienne - Mary O’Sullivan
Count Danilo Danilovitsch - Alexander Grove
Hanna Glawari - Stephanie Corley
Camille de Rosillon - John-Colyn Gyeantey
Raoul de St Brioche - Andrew Dickinson
Viscomte Cascada - Giles Davies
Bogdanowitsch - Daniel Grice
Sylviane - Catharine Rogers
Kromow - Francis Church
Olga - Louise Collett
Pritschitsch - James Arthur
Praskowia - Susan Boyd
Njegus - Harry Ward
Musical Director - Ruth Wilkinson / Ian Ryan (from 14 Oct)
Director and Coreographer - Clare Whistler
Designer - Dody Nash
Lighting Designer - Simon Mills
Sung in English
PERFORMANCE DIARY
Thu 4 Sept, 7.30pm and Sat 6 Sept, 7.30pm
Eastwood Park Theatre, Giffnock
Tickets: £14, £10 (conc), £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Eastwood Park Theatre, Eastwood Park, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock G46 6UG
Tel: 0141 577 4970
Tue 9 Sept, 7.30pm
Duthac Centre, Tain
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: The Tower Bookshop, 15 High Street, Tain IV19 1AB
Tel: 01862 894 185
Thurs 11 Sept, 7.30pm
Thurso High School
Tickets: £10, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: George McBeath, 6 Traill Street, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 8EJ
Tel: 01847 892 364
and D R Simpson Newsagents, 88/90 High Street, Wick KW1 4LY
Tel: 01955 603 304
Sat 13 Sept, 7.30pm
Orkney Arts Centre, Kirkwall
Tickets: £10, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Nimms, 45 Albert Street, Kirkwall KW15 1HQ
Tel: 01856 877 050
Tue 16 Sept, 7.30pm
Macphail Theatre, Ullapool
Tickets: £10, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Macphail Office, Mill Street, Ullapool IV26 2UN
Tel: 01854 613 336
Thu 18 Sept, 7.30pm
An Lanntair, Stornoway
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: An Lanntair, Kenneth Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2DS
Tel: 01851 703 307
www.lanntair.com
Sat 20 Sept, 7.30pm
Plockton High School
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Kyle Pharmacy, Station Road, Kyle, IV40 8AE
Tue 23 Sept, 7.30pm
Nevis Centre, Fort William
Tickets: £10, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Nevis Centre, An Aird, Fort William PH33 6AN
Tel: 01397 700 707
info@neviscentre.co.uk
Thu 25 Sept, 7.30pm
Albert Halls, Stirling
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Albert Halls, Albert Place, Dumbarton Road, Stirling FK8 2QL
Tel: 01786 473 544
Sat 27 Sept, 7.45pm
Perth Theatre
185 High Street, Perth PH1 5UW
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s), horsecrossregular 10% discount applies
Tickets from: Perth Theatre, 185 High Street, Perth PH1 5UW
and Perth Concert Hall, Mill St, Perth, PH1 5HZ
Tel: 01738 621 031
www.horsecross.co.uk
Tue 30 Sept, 7.30pm
The Buccleuch Centre, Langholm
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: The Buccleuch Centre, Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, DG13 0AW
Tel: 01387 381 196
Thu 2 Oct, 7.30pm
The Gaiety Theatre, Ayr
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: The Gaiety Theatre, Carrick Street, Ayr KA7 1NU
Tel: 01292 611 222
Sat 4 Oct. 7.30pm
The Cinema, Newton Stewart (part of the Wigtown Book Festival)
Tickets: £12.50
Tickets from: Wigtown Book Festival Box Office, County Buildings, Wigtown, Newton Stewart DG8 9JH
Tel: 01988 403 222
Tue 14 Oct, 7.30pm
Nairn Community Centre
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Nairn Community Centre, King Street, Nairn IV12 4BQ
Tel: 01667 404 763
Please note tickets on sale 23 September
Thu 16 Oct, 7.30pm
Craigmonie Centre, Glen Urquhart High School, Drumnadrochit
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Craigmonie Centre, Glen Urquhart High School, Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire IV63 6XA
Tel: 01456 459 224
www.craigmoniecentre.co.uk
Sat 18 Oct, 7.30pm
Corran Halls, Oban
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Corran Halls, The Esplanade, Oban PA34 5AB
Tel: 01631 567 333
Tue 21 Oct, 7.30pm
Deeside Theatre, Aboyne
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Deeside Theatre, Bridgeview Road, Aboyne AB34 5JN
Tel: 01339 886 222
Thu 23 Oct, 7.30pm
Reid Hall, Forfar
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: The Meffan Museum, 20 West High Street, Forfar DD8 1BB
Tel: 01307 464123
and The Webster Theatre, 64 High Street, Arbroath DD11 1AW
Tel: 01241 435800
Sat 25 Oct, 7.30pm
Byre Theatre, St Andrews
Tickets: £16, £14 (conc), £10 (u26s)
Tickets from: Byre Theatre, Abbey Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9LA
Tel: 01334 475 000
Tue 28 Oct. 7.30pm
Queen’s Hall, Dunoon
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Queen’s Hall, Argyll Street, Dunoon, Argyll PA23 7HH
Tel: 01369 702 800
Thu 30 Oct, 7.30pm
Tait Hall, Kelso
Tickets: £13, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Browns Newsagents, 13 Woodmarket, Kelso TD5 7AT
Tel: 01573 224 269
Sat 1 Nov, 7.30pm
Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh
Tickets: £13, £11 (conc), £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Brunton Theatre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, East Lothian EH21 6AA
Tel: 0131 665 2240
www.bruntontheatre.co.uk
Tue 4 Nov, 7.30pm
Peterhead Community Centre
Tickets: £10, £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Peterhead Community Centre, Balmoor Terrace, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire AB42 1EP
Tel: 01779 477 277
Thu 6 Nov, 7.30pm
Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Tickets: £18-20 (concs available), £5 (u26s)
Tickets from: Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Port-Na-Craig, Pitlochry PH16 5DR
Tel: 01796 484 626
www.pitlochry.org.uk
Sat 8 Nov, 7.30pm
Platform, The Bridge, Easterhouse
Tickets: £10, £5 (u26s and Local Links)
Tickets from: Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Glasgow G34 9JW
Tel: 0141 276 9696 (opt.1)
Tickets for all performances can also be purchased online from scottishopera.org.uk or by calling the 24 hour booking line on 0844 847 1645 (booking fee applies)
