Jane Davidson & Karen MacIver
REDA world premiere performed by Scottish Opera Young Company
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An orphaned girl defiantly alone in a wood. A young woman determined to survive in her tower. A Queen jealously protective of her empire. And an old woman using her wisdom to break the cycle. All are connected and defined by their striking red hair.
The fairy tales famously recorded by the Brothers Grimm and frequently re-told over centuries often cast their women in four archetypes corresponding with ages and stages of life: girl, maiden, mother, crone. RED is an interwoven story in four parts, examining the circular, metamorphic nature of these tales as well as experiences shared by generations of women across time through dark comedy and magical realism. RED questions, yet ultimately affirms, the impact a single person can have in the wider world.
Full of comedy and pathos and charting a path from the abstract to the absurd, this world premiere is written by award-winning composer Karen MacIver and Jane Davidson MBE, Scottish Opera’s Director of Outreach & Education. Together, they create a timeless, bold, expressionist world using musical and lyrical echoes from Stephen Sondheim and Bernard Herrmann, where women’s power is subject to scrutiny and alienation.
Flora Emily Thomson (Maud & Down in the Valley 2023) directs and Scottish Opera Young Company's Artistic Director Chris Gray conducts a cast of 14 young performers as they chart this journey through four snapshots of vibrant women’s lives.
★★★★★ ‘You have to hand it to the singers in Scottish Opera Young Company, they certainly enjoy, and indeed rise, to a challenge.’ - Gramophone on Maud & Down in the Valley
Kindly supported by Scottish Opera Education Angels, The Rose Fund and The Leverhulme Trust
Part of Scottish Opera's 2024/25 Season
Cast & Creatives
Scottish Opera Young Company
Freya Atkinson Gibson, Zack Barr, Martha Brown, Hannah Brown, Helena Engebretsen, Cara Ewing-Mackie, Luke Francis, Isla Hallewell, James Kennedy, Ruaraidh McBain, Ilona Sofia Nastase, Findlay Peters, El Rose, Maria Wotherspoon
Conductor
Chris Gray
Director
Flora Emily Thomson
Designer
Finlay McLay
Lighting Designer
Laura Hawkins
On stage
El Rose, Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
El Rose, Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon, Findlay Peters and Luke Francis in Scottish Opera Young Company's production of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
El Rose and Maria Wotherspoon in Scottish Opera Young Company's performance of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Luke Francis in Scottish Opera Young Company's production of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
James Kennedy in Scottish Opera Young Company's production of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Isla Hallewell and Maria Wotherspoon in Scottish Opera Young Company's production of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon in Scottish Opera Young Company's production of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Luke Francis in Scottish Opera Young Company's production of RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Maria Wotherspoon and Scottish Opera Young Company perform RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
Scottish Opera Young Company at the curtain call for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Kirsty Anderson.
In rehearsals
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Director Flora Emily Thomson with Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Director Flora Emily Thomson with Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Composer Karen MacIver with Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
Scottish Opera Young Company members during rehearsals for RED. Scottish Opera 2024. Credit Ruby Pluhar.
2024/25 Season
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Don Pasquale
Donizetti
Albert Herring
Britten
The Puccini Collection
Opera in Concert
The Makropulos Affair
Janáček
National Opera Studio Showcase
Showcase
The Merry Widow
Lehár
Trial by Jury / A Matter of Misconduct!
Gilbert & Sullivan