In the frozen Arctic wastelands, an expeditionary team of scientists becomes trapped. Tensions rise and relationships crumble; and then something appears, out of the ice. Read more …
This fourth collaboration between composer Stuart MacRae and librettistLouise Welsh, a hugely successful partnership initially born of Five:15 – Operas Made in Scotland, promises a night of unrelenting dramatic tension and superb storytelling.
Despite the oddities of the modern opera we saw, this is clearly a spectacular group of performers and a worthy night out!
Scottish Opera has taken that gamble with Anthropocene, a three-act thriller by composer Stuart MacRae and novelist/librettist Louise Welsh, set in the icy wastes of Greenland. It is, going by Thursday’s fast-moving premiere, a bankable asset.
A work that is constantly shifting its ground both dramatically and musically; while it is absorbing it never entirely solidifies.
This production has yet to find its feet and grasp MacRae and Welsh’s creation and give it wings.
While I appreciate that companies are ever in search of new ways to generate advance publicity and bring in fabled new audiences, promising one thing and delivering another is as disingenuous as it is disappointing.
Murder, humanity's self-destructive nature and a mysterious being frozen in ice? How can such excitement be stretched out into a glacial drag?
A memorable and frighteningly timely opera.
Stuart MacRae on Anthropocene, his new show for Scottish Opera with Louise Welch
Louise Welsh on Scottish Opera's Anthropocene
Theatre Royal, Glasgow from Thursday January 24, 2019, until Saturday January 26, 2019. More info: www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyalglasgow/
King's Theatre, Edinburgh from Thursday January 31, 2019, until Saturday February 2, 2019. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/kings
RSS feed of Opera reviews