Tim Cornwell: Rory Bremner may opt for the ballroom rather than the underworld

Will a higher calling lure Rory Bremner away from the opening night of Orpheus in the Underworld, his hotly-anticipated translation of the Offenbach work for Scottish Opera? A crowded house is expected at the Citizens’ Theatre for tonight’s premiere, with necks craned for a glimpse of the famous Scottish satirist. But there may be disappointment – it was confirmed this week that Bremner is a competitor on Strictly Come Dancing, which starts to air on Saturday night.

Orpheus in the Underworld was created by Offenbach to satirise the government of Napoleon III’s France and is billed as including “some of the funniest scenes and daftest situations in French opera”.

Bremner’s updated version opens at the Citz with modest a piano accompaniment. One of Scottish Opera’s small-scale touring productions, it goes on the road in September and October from Stornoway to Dundee, finally ending up at London’s Young Vic Theatre from 30 November.

“He had hinted he would be quite busy over the next few weeks,” said a Scottish Opera spokeswoman of Bremner.

“Filming for Strictly has begun. He’s popped in and out and met the cast and been involved, but we don’t know if he’s coming.”

Tiny but marvellous

A CYCLADIC marble figure from the collection of Gabrielle Keiller, wife of Dundee marmalade heir Alexander Keiller, goes on sale at Christie’s South Kensington next month.

The 13 inch high piece, from the civilisation centred on the Cyclades Islands in the Aegean, dates from about 2,500BC and is estimated to reach £30,000-£40,000.

Keiller, from Rutland, was born in 1908, and was twice married before meeting Alexander, an archeologist, golfer and sole heir to Dundee’s famous marmalade dynasty.

“The first half of Gabrielle Keiller’s life was dedicated to golf, the second to art,” Christie’s catalogue notes. When Alexander Keiller died of cancer four years after their marriage in 1955, his wife never picked up a golf club again.

She gave some key parts of his archeology collection to the nation but went on to build up a substantial collection of modern art which she bequeathed to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 1988, in a huge boost to its collection.

Three Cycladic pieces which she bought in 1981 are being sold by the family. The others are a marble pair of legs, estimated at £5,000-£7,000, and a torso, at £1,000-£2,000.

Casts and the city

A THREE-DAY conference runs this weekend on the cast collection of Edinburgh College of Art. Dating back to the late 18th century the casts include, most famously, a full early copy of the Parthenon (Elgin) marbles, installed in the ECA’s Sculpture Court.

Chaired by Lord Bruce, scion of the Elgin dynasty, with a series of international speakers, the conference will explore Edinburgh’s neo-classical heritage, including a walking tour of Calton Hill.

Meanwhile, casts curator Margaret Stewart recently uncovered a cache of rare art books linked to the collection which ECA never knew it had. They include Sir William Hamilton’s 18th century catalogue of his collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, a copy of which fetched £55,000 at auction.