Maud & Down in the Valley
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Photography: Sally Jubb // Julie Broadfoot
"Yet again Scottish Opera’s Young Company has given us an excellent evening’s entertainment, and already I’m looking forward to what they will present next." **** ScotsGayArts "For all the skill and cleverness evident in every aspect of this challenging double-bill from the youth wing of Scottish Opera, the way in which director Flora Emily Thomson...and this excellent ensemble achieved the transition [each piece] was quite masterly... the ensemble movement, using all of the auditorium, was as accomplished as the choral singing" VoxCarnyx "another fantastic ensemble and an equally hard-hitting double bill…Director Flora Emily Thomson drew everyone into this tense drama" **** - Opera Now "an ensemble in the truest sense of the word...the highest quality with no corners cut....the care and attention to detail, and invention, which is a hallmark of Scottish Opera runs from the big tentpole productions for which they are famed, to the youth productions and smaller venues." Scots Way Hae! |
Scottish Opera, July 2023.
Scottish Opera Production Studios, Glasgow Barrfields Theatre, Largs Albert Halls, Stirling Scottish Opera Young Company moves between centuries to tell stories of young people finding connection and survival within – and sometimes despite – their respective insular worlds. In midsummer, while picking blackberries in an ancient wood, Maud stumbles upon a tiny creature in the undergrowth. Taking her new-found treasure home, however, not everyone shares her love. Down in the Valley, in another time, two young adults in an isolated religious village have fallen in love against their elder’s wishes. When a horrible accident changes their lives forever, they have one night to reckon with their fates. By connecting the two operas on a single Hebridean-inspired set, this immersive double bill shows the grit it takes to survive within and against a harsh landscape and even harsher mob mentalities. CAST (Maud) Wise Woman - Imogen Bews Maud - Elinor Gent, Maria Wotherspoon, Anna Sophia Montgomery 1st Parent - Anne De Putter 2nd Parent - Luke Francis Jack Garston - Ruaraidh McBain (Down in the Valley) Brack Weaver - Luke Francis Jenny Parsons - Helena Engebretsen Leader/Preacher - Joshua Campbell Thomas Bouche - Imogen Bews Mother (Father) - Anna Sophia Montgomery Sheriff Jackson - Andrew Watt Peters - Maria Wotherspoon 1st Woman - Elinor Gent 2nd Woman - Martha Brown CREATIVE Conductor - Chris Gray Director - Flora Emily Thomson Set & Costume Design - Finlay McLay Lighting Design - Rebecca Coull Fight Direction - Claire Llewellyn // Rc-Annie Company Repetituer - Karen McIver Company Stage Manager - Anne Page Production Manager - Suzie Normand |