Scottish Opera’s partnership with the Lammermuir Festival continues to grow, and this year – even in our current unusual circumstances – is no exception.
As part of this year’s festival, the Company performs Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared, featuring former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist Nicky Spence. Conducted by Stuart Stratford, the concert performance is streamed live from Theatre Royal Glasgow on Sunday 20 September* at 7.30pm for audiences to watch online.
Part dramatic song cycle, part miniature opera, Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared is an unorthodox, unclassifiable work – but one that shows the composer at his most overtly sensual, in a timeless tale of illicit love and hot-headed seduction that shatter boundaries between cultures.
The story follows a naive young farmer’s son as he falls desperately in love with a wild gypsy girl. Will he abandon his family, his community and his whole way of life to satisfy his fiery passions?
Nicky Spence is joined by alto Lucy Schaufer as the gypsy Zefka, as well as Catriona Hewitson, Heather Ireson (Scottish Opera Associate Artist) and Sioned Gwen Davies (Flight 2018). Stuart Stratford conducts an ensemble of 12 musicians from The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, in a rarely heard orchestral version of Janáček’s intoxicating masterpiece by Miloš Štědroň Senior and Miloš Štědroň Junior.
The Diary of One Who Disappeared is streamed live from Scottish Opera's production studios in Glasgow, with all performers observing physical distancing guidelines while conveying the opera’s compelling drama.
The Lammermuir Festival has curated an exciting programme of online events from 8 to 20 September, many of which are streamed live from Haddington's Holy Trinity Church, East Lothian. The full programme is available from the Lammermuir Festival website. The Diary of One Who Disappeared is available to watch on the Scottish Opera website on Sunday 20 September at 7.30pm.
* We are delighted to be able to return to the Theatre Royal Glasgow for the streaming of Janacek's The Diary of One who Disappeared with the Lammermuir Festival. Performing again in our Glasgow home venue means a small change to the schedule, however: we will now be streaming this event on Sunday 20 September at 7.30pm (not Friday 18 September as previously advertised).