Festival notebook: Scottish Opera’s promenade production of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at the National Museum

Kitty Whitely | Festival

“Silly concept production, not especially well sung, Scottish Chamber Orchestra the best thing about it,” he said.

Oh well. Maybe things had improved between opening night and the closing performance last Thursday at the Festival Theatre, but to my possibly tin ears the singing was powerful and passionate, and a sizzling Gaelle Arquez in the lead role everything you might expect from the gypsy femme fatale.

OK, Jean-Fernand Sitti needed a bit more snap and hauteur and less blind-side flanker to be a truly convincing toreador but his resonant bass more than made up for it, and Saimir Pirgu was suitably pained as the bewitched Don Jose. And yes, the SCO under Louis Langree was up to its brilliant best.

Kitty Whately as Jocasta in Oedipus Rex

I wasn’t overly troubled by the sparse set, with suspension of disbelief kicking in thanks to the stirring performances, notably Elbenita Kajtazi as poor shunned Micaela, but yes, they could have made a bit more of an effort than some swag curtains. Maybe tight Festival budgets are to blame.

The audience needn’t have much complaint about the setting for Scottish Opera’s promenade production of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at the National Museum because they were the setting, between which the Chorus weaved and danced in their natty knitwear.

The Grand Gallery’s acoustics do not lend themselves to speakers, but it was a splendid natural amplifier, particularly for the ominous double basses at the start. Only bad things are going to happen.

Except only good things happened. Wendy Seager was straight out of a black Balamory as the narrator disguised as a museum cleaner, Kitty Whately was a formidably fiery Jocasta and Shenzi Ren’s powerful Oedipus and Callum Thorpe’s doom-laden bass as Tiresias the stand-outs.

The main issue was the spread of the performance along the gallery, with it harder to hear what was being sung at the other end of the atrium, and the division of the chorus at either end to lessen the impact of what should have been a more powerful finale powered by the excellent community choir.

All overseen by the Gods in the balcony, if you want to be part of a ritual that is this year’s Festival theme, this is the show for you.

(Run continues on Sunday and Monday, August 18-19, 8pm)