Scottish Opera takes its tour to canteens

Published on Friday 22 October 2010 22:20

AS A national company, Scottish Opera performs in some of the country's grandest venues. Tomorrow, however, the prestigious arts organisation will lower its sights by embarking on a tour of staff canteens.

The initiative is part of an ambitious outreach programme that aims to build new audiences. Over the next three weeks, a specially adapted version of Scottish Opera's first big winter production, The Marriage of Figaro, will visit more than 20 community venues, including care homes, parent and baby groups and staff canteens.

Workers at Lifescan Scotland, a medical supplies firm in Inverness, will be the first employees to see the 20-minute show, which is staged by a singer, two musicians, and a narrator.

It will also be performed for civil servants employed by the Scottish Government at Edinburgh's Victoria Quay.

The format of the show, A Little Bit of Figaro, is based on kamishibai - which translates as "paper drama" - a traditional form of Japanese storytelling in which practitioners use small, mobile wooden stages to display pictures while they read aloud.

Jane Davidson, head of education at Scottish Opera, developed the opera version of the format last year after realising its potential as a classical music tool. A successful trial run convinced the national company to roll out a large programme using the format this year.

"The idea is to get it out as much as possible," she said. "Because it is shorter, it can slot perfectly into a tea break or a lunch break.

"Generally speaking, people seem to respond to it really well. It is a sign of a culturally enlightened, arts literate society when people can listen to music on their break at work."

It is hoped the initiative will help develop new audiences and boost ticket sales. The national company, which has a budget of 8.63 million, could be facing cuts of up to 10 per cent.

It recently struck a controversial agreement with orchestra members to go part-time in an attempt to reduce its wages bill.

Sonia Cromarty, a Scottish Opera cellist participating in the tour, said: "The hope is that maybe some people will go and buy tickets."