We are delighted to announce a second year of Live at No. 40 at our Production Studios in Glasgow. Following two years of 5 star, outdoor productions of La Boheme (2020) and Falstaff (2021), this year we present a promenade production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide.
Join us for three weeks of live theatre, music and opera as Citizens Theatre also present shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, and a concert by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, with performances taking place from 11 August until 3 September. This year’s performances will be staged under a tented structure on land between Scottish Opera’s Edington Street Studio and the canal, known as New Rotterdam Wharf.
There will be six performances of Candide from 11 to 20 August. This energetic production aims to embrace the audience in a fully immersive experience, sweeping you along with the larger-than-life characters on their chaotic adventures across Europe and South America. From the same composer as West Side Story this is an opportunity to experience opera in an exciting new way as we put you at the heart of the action, following the performers around the marquee. Performing side-by-side with a cast of international soloists will be an 80-strong community chorus in partnership with Maryhill Integration Network, an organisation bringing, asylum seekers, refugees and settled inhabitants of Glasgow together through art. The chorus range in age from teens to those in their sixties, all with different life experiences.
Also at Live at No.40 is a performance from The Orchestra of Scottish Opera on 17 August. The programme includes Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and four songs from Old American Songs (Books 1 and 2) featuring mezzo-soprano and Scottish Opera Emerging Artist Lea Shaw. The concert will close with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World'.
Scottish Opera General Director Alex Reedijk said: ‘We are delighted to be bringing back Live at No.40 for a second year at our Production Studios, in the heart of Glasgow. For Scottish Opera, this is a journey that began with the promenade production of Pagliacci in Paisley, and outdoor shows of La bohème and Falstaff. The success of last summer’s event demonstrated that our audiences are not put off by unpredictable Scottish weather, and are more than happy to come to outdoor performances! We know that many people are still not quite comfortable with returning to an indoor venue, so we hope this provides an opportunity to get the music fix they’ve been so missing. Candide promises to be a spectacular show, and it’s great to be sharing the billing once again with Citizens Theatre, as well as with Maryhill Integration Network, and raise awareness of the work they do in Glasgow.’
Tickets are on sale now for all performances.