$9880“.

x"

Mozart with Sir Charles Mackerras, an

evening with John Dankworth, Beethoven's

C minor Mass, and Faure's Requiem.

World-class music from a world-Class

Orchestra

THE SCO's 1991/92 SEASON

Starting this October, the SCO brings the very best in the world of music to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Violin Concerto with Frank-Peter Zimmerman, Alfred Brendel playing Mozart, a Christmas special with Carl

Davis—just some of the highlights in the SCO's new

A season rich in guest artists and soloists—Peter Donohoe with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, Barry Tuckwell with Strauss' Horn Concerto and Alexei Sultanov with Ravel's Piano Concerto. The new 8C0 Chorus, and a distinguished line-up of singers present some of the great

choral masterpieces: Handel's Messiah and Saul, Mozart's

The SCO's new season offers a

wealth of musical talent and great

musical masterpieces.

little as £14.

(031) 668 2019

The Ticket Centre,

SCO FREEPOST

Full details available from: The Queen's Hall Box Office

The Royal Concert Hall Box Office (041) 332 3123

Candleriggs (041) 227 5511 (no stamp required),

4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 0L0 t03l) 557 6802

Subscribe now! 5 concerts from as

“The SCO is superb.”

Miami Herald, March 1991

X ’.: éw‘l'éi-‘i King's Theatre, Edinburgh, 31 August.

L-__

321thisl 13— 26.5CDIL‘TT113C1'1991

WSWBEYlEW- ' 7 LIVE

LA CLEMENZA DI TITO

Opening at the King‘s Theatre in the final weekend of the Edinburgh Festival and neatly dovetailing with the start of Scottish Opera‘swinterseason, ‘La Clemenza di Tito’, Mozart‘s last opera,

found an ideal setting. Surprisingly,

this new production marks the first return by Scottish Opera to the Festival

since 1984. Howtitting thatthey should

resurrect this unjustly neglected opera

with a production of touching sincerity.

Costumes and set were refreshingly

,3 simple and remained unchanged

throughout, emphasising the refined

, simplicity of Mozart’s textures and

character delineation. Underthe baton , of Nicholas McGegan, the orchestra

had a clear lead, his expertise in the

clarity of lines unmuddied by excessive

Beacon)

Scottish Opera‘s La Clemenza di Tito is on at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow on

Sat 14, Thurs 19 and Tue 24.

music of this period evident in the

vibrato.

Some fine singing was enhanced by the acting of the six soloists, most notably Glenn Winslade's deeply moving account of the EmperorTito and Juliana Gondek as the delightful femme fatale, Vitellia. After a somewhat shaky start, Anne Mason proved a notable Sextus, her luscious warmth oftone, especially in the upper-middle register, successfully conveying the generosity of spirit which triumphs overthe duplicitous nature of the character. Robert Poulton was an assured Publius, demonstrating that he continues to grow in stature with each new role.

If this production is in any way flawed, it is in the rushed nature of the recitatives and the insistence on performing the work in English with a ludicrously inadequate translation. However, the overwhelming sense of a performance of profound sensitivity and quality. Let us hope that this production marks the 'coming out' once and for all of one of Mozart’s finest and most pertinent ofoperas. (Janie

' Venue, Edinburgh, 9 Sept.

. from their seats or from the wall to " cavort in front of the stage. But even theirenthusiasm seems slightly ' ? forced. A short set by Pure Blind Panic.

v LIVE . . THE LIBERTY CAGE

Even on a Monday night, The Men They

Couldn’t Hang could have filled this place to the rafters, so word can‘t have

gotten around yet that The Liberty Cage

is the new group formed by the Men’s

2 two main songwriters. Phil Odgers and , g of songs augurs badly forthe rest of the l

set. Not long afterthis begins the slow

Paul Simmonds. Tonight‘s show is sparsely attended, with only a hard core of eight or so peeling themselves

who threw themselves into it so fiercely

thatbitsoftheirsongsarestillstuckto i

7' - theVenuewalls,hadraised l . the set. There IS definitely something

missing, a glaring gap that the fouron stage can’tfill.ltcomes as no surprise

expectations that the headliners are

going to raise the energy level still ,

higher. l The Liberty Cage areafour-piece :

(vocaIS/acoustic guitar. discreet

electric guitar, stand-up bass and

drums) playing, forwanlof a more I

suitable description, an intelligent ; ~ derivative of rockabilly: spartan, but 3

heavily reliant on Odgers’ words and ; lackingthe urgencythatsuch

bare-bones music needs. That a distracting quarrel by the bar seems far ) more interesting than their first handfqu

but steady trickle towards the exit. In retrospect, the band might have made a mistake by saving theirthree most lively songs until the end.

That isn‘t to say that The Liberty Cage are inherently boring, but something nags like the de-tuned guitar string that rings haplessly away through much of

to find out afterwards that they’d been gigging with a pianist last month. Let me tell you, they need him back. (Alastair Mabbott)