Strathpeffer and Ullapool are stops on Scottish Opera's pop-up roadshow featuring a taster of Gilbert and Sullivan classics including HMS Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance
AUDIENCES in two Ross-shire communities are to get the chance to sample a taste of opera when a popular pop-up tour rolls around.
Scottish Opera returns to live outdoor performance for the first time in nine months, with a roadshow which will take in Strathpeffer and Ullapool.
Attracting expected socially-distanced audiences, two specially-adapted trailers will take to the road at the same time, condensing five fun-filled Gilbert and Sullivan classics and all their frivolity into 30 minute performances of A Little Bit of… The Gondoliers, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and Iolanthe.
Featuring some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s wittiest lyrics and best- known tunes, the shows are an ideal opportunity for anyone new to opera to try a taster. Re-scored by Scottish Opera’s head of music, Derek Clark, with story text by Allan Dunn, the shows will be popping up at a variety of iconic and surprising locations across Scotland.
The shows are brought to life by storyteller Allan Dunn, along with singers Stephanie Stanway, Charlotte Hoather, Andrew McTaggart, Mark Nathan, Jessica Leary, instrumentalists Andrew Drummond Huggan, Laura Sergeant, Sasha Savaloni and Ian Watt, with a series of colourful illustrations helping guide the audiences through the somewhat convoluted, but always comical, adventurous tales of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Scottish Opera’s general director, Alex Reedijk, said: "The return to live performance is something we have long awaited and after 9 months we are delighted to kick off what is sure to be a summer like no other, with Pop-up Opera. The roadshow is at the heart of what we do as a company, travelling the highways and byways of Scotland to local communities and making opera accessible to all. So, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to return to this in a safe manner at locations across Scotland. Using two trailers allows us to offer over 200 performances with double the fun for double the audiences. We look forward to seeing everyone at our outdoor performances very soon and hopefully inside theatres in the near future."
A Little bit of HMS Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance comes to Strathpeffer pavilion on July 17 and to Ullapool High School on July 23 and 24.
Tickets are on sale on the Scottish Opera website at https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/
