We are delighted to share that no fewer than ten Rayfield Allied artists feature in Scottish Opera's newly announced 2018/19 season:
In his role as Scottish Opera’s Music Director, conductor Stuart Stratford has conducted a number of Russian operas at Scottish Opera and will continue this in the 2018-19 season, conducting productions of Katya Kabanova and Eugene Onegin, as well as concert performances of Aleko and Francesca da Rimini. He will also conduct Anthropocene and Pagliacci. Stuart’s conducting has been described as “exemplary… Stuart Stratford draws terrific playing from the orchestra, urgent, pulsating and menacing” (The Guardian).
Italian conductor Gianluca Marcianò will make his debut at Scottish Opera conducting Puccini’s Edgar in concert. Gianluca has conducted at Grange Park Opera and English National Opera in the UK, as well as at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut, where he is Artistic Director. He has received excellent reviews (“Gianluca Marcianò’s idiomatic conducting… The score sounded freshly conceived, sizzling with theatricality… Marcianò is the real deal” Opera magazine)
Swedish conductor Tobias Ringborg returns for his fifth opera with the company, The Magic Flute, following his most recent success there with The Marriage of Figaro. ("I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a single note of Ringborg’s Mozartian soundworld." Opera Magazine). Recent successes also include new productions of Idomeneo at Garsington, Fedora at Royal Swedish Opera, and Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci and Trouble in Tahiti for Opera North. This summer he conducts La bohème at New Zealand Opera.
Soprano Gemma Summerfield makes her house debut as Pamina The Magic Flute. Gemma was a finalist in the inaguaral Glyndebourne Opera Cup and has been described as “a showstopper – pure vocal champagne” (The Telegraph). She recently covered the title role of Rodelinda at English National Opera and will this summer cover Michal Saul for Glyndebourne Opera. Next season she will also make her house debut at Wexford Festival Opera as Paula Johnson in the European première of Dinner at Eight.
With tenor Peter Auty another Scottish Opera favourite returns to the company in the title role of Edgar. In the current season, he has performed Bill Flight there and will sing Lensky Eugene Onegin later in the spring. The Spectator ranked him alongside Jon Vickers for his recent Canio Pagliacci at Opera North, a role in which he also impressed audiences at Teatro Sao Carlos Lisbon and Welsh National Opera. Other recent highlights include Stiffelio at Konzerthaus Berlin and Don José Carmen at Oper Essen.
Baritone David Stout returns to Scottish Opera after his great success as Marcello La boheme in 2017 (“David Stout, as an especially pivotal Marcello, was in magnificent voice” Bachtrack). In the 2018-19 season he will sing Frank Edgar and Abbot The Burning Fiery Furnace for Scottish Opera, as well as Roucher Andrea Chenier (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) and Napoleon War and Peace (Welsh National Opera).
Paul Whelan returns to Scottish Opera in the role of Captain Ross Anthropocene. Paul has recently appeared at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in the role of Gremin Eugene Onegin for which he received fantastic reviews: "Paul Whelan, bass, demonstrates that one can appear in a single scene and still steal the show. His aria as Prince Gremin is sweet and tender, while his bass notes are strong and resonant." (KC Metropolis) Later this season he sings the role of Hagen in selections from Götterdämmerung with the Jacksonville Symphony. He also impressed least season in the UK the roles of Nettuno, Tempo and Antinoo Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria at The Grange Festival.
Bass David Shipley makes his house and role debut as Sparafucile Rigoletto. David sings regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden where his recent roles include Antinous The Return of Ulysses for which he gained excellent reviews (“superbly characterised figures, notably David Shipley’s deep-voiced and black-hearted suitor Antinous” The Times). He recently made his debut with Opera VLaanderen as Sandoval Le Duc d’Albe and will this summer make his debut at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Truffaldino Ariadne auf Naxos.
Stuart MacRae's new work Anthropocene, commissioned by Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circcle, receives its world premiere in January 2019, following the success of MacRae’s The Devil Inside in 2016. Stage director Jack Furness returns to Scottish Opera to assist Matthew Richardson on Anthropocene.
