Today is the start of a very special week for me. Following on from the success of Novum Festival and ‘Do you thing' with Cirque Bijou is my 10th anniversary production with Aria Alba at Edinburgh Fringe.
"I have seen Carmen a number of times - Edinburgh Playhouse, Covent Garden, etc but what you guys did today surpassed them all. Without exaggeration. The Production was fantastic, and for a community opera group, the talent on display was incredible. I am still buzzing. It was a privilege to be there."
This year we’ve been exploring Carmen, and I’m very proud of the performers and the production which goes back to the early Aria Alba format of opera in the round. Or at least… in the rectangle since this is a traverse performance.
We’ve received some stunning reviews from our preview performances at Melrose Corn exchange with live borders last weekend, and so far the production has been a roaring success. One reviewer even compared us to Covent Garden, writing that we were ‘no exaggeration’ the best performance they’d ever seen!
My students Jolanda Grijpstra and Arron Feith equally got glowing reviews, with Jolanda singled out as the best Carmen that one audience member had ever seen. A huge congratulations to both of them, as well as Eilidh Riddell for her equally moving Carmen.
"Jolanda is without a doubt the best Carmen I have seen and heard and so much credit to everyone in every role, on the floor, making music, or in the background."
I have to admit that only a few weeks ago, Bizet’s crowd pleasing numbers were starting wear a little thin for me, but now I’ll be sad when it’s over.
Still, the end of Carmen merely marks the transition into the comic operetta Die Fledermaus for which the direction is already taking shape in my mind. The complex relationship of Rosalinda and Eisenstein is fizzing while Adele prepares to sparkle with a Mein Herr Marquis like no other.
In the meantime I’m continuing to prepare Prodana Nevesta with Harlekin Studio Opera, who due to slightly reduced numbers, are seamlessly pivoting from a full scale production to two extraordinary concert performances in November.
Tickets for Carmen are available from the Fringe Box office and performances are at 7pm Wednesday to Saturday (14-17 August ‘24) at Stockbridge Parish Church Edinburgh. The singers are accompanied by players of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and promises to be an unforgettable experience all round.
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