Classical review: Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh

Published on 25/04/2011 12:18

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA QUEEN'S HALL, EDINBURGH ****

APPROPRIATELY, weddings were an underlying theme in this programme of mainly operatic repertoire, and this theatricality was ramped up by the dynamism of conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi with mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupic joining him in some witty podium antics that mirrored the lightness of the music.

An elegant rendering of Mozart's overture to Cosi fan tutte set the scene for Smanie Implacabili, the recitative and aria from the opera, , entrancingly sung by Pokupic whose strong and richly coloured voice also made for a convincing Cherubino in the aria Voi che sapete from The Marriage of Figaro.

However, the mezzo-soprano really excelled in her brilliant interpretation of the Rossini repertoire. First as the forward Rosina who sets out her plans to marry her lover in the aria Una voce poco fa from the The Barber of Seville, and then as the feisty Isabella from L'Italiana in Algeri. The overture from The Barber which preceded these was the only time a few cracks emerged in the otherwise sparkling delivery of the music under Spinosi's energised baton.

There was a sparkling account of Mozart's Symphony No 35 in D major, "Haffner", with some nice brass contributions and crackling timpani pushing the last movement, with it's busy bassoons, to its playful conclusion. The charm of Haydn's Symphony No 82 in C major, "The Bear", waned slightly with all the repeats, and in the finale the stop-starting of the bagpipe drone effect teased us right to the closing chord.