Opera Festival Scotland, which was due to take place in Dundee this September, has been put back to September 2022 in response to the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis, organisers have announced.
The decision was made at a board meeting in April this year. It is due to ongoing restrictions and uncertainty surrounding larger indoor events taking place in 2021, as well as limitations on travel and public confidence regarding attending events. At time of writing, Dundee was in Level 2 of Scotland’s system of 0-4 levels. This means that seated indoor events are permitted but with a maximum of 100 people.
“As organisers, we have an obligation to provide a safe environment for the community and all of our partners and participants,” the board said in a statement. “The good news is the festival will go ahead in September 2022.
“With the festival having been designed and created to bring people together to Dundee for various musical opportunities, we feel this cannot be fully achieved in a year where travel restrictions are still in place and limitations are placed on indoor events.
“We have also taken into consideration public confidence regarding attending indoor events this year.
“We would like to thank our partners, collaborations, sponsors and all those involved who continue to support us and have made the move to the new dates possible.”
The new dates for the event – which is billed as ‘Scotland’s first opera festival’ – are 22-25 September 2022. Tickets will go on sale in spring next year.
The festival will include performances from participants in two new singing competitions: a Young Artists Singing Competition and a Non-professionals 30+ Singing Competition. Applications for the competitions took place earlier this year and finalists will be chosen over summer. Further performances by local singers and musicians are also being planned.
Opera Festival Scotland will also have a significant educational aspect. Opera professionals and historians will be giving talks and lectures, while singing coaches are set to give public masterclasses. Free online resources are available for teachers to use in the classroom or via home learning.
A special tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum Dundee, showcasing unique operatic costume pieces from the museum’s collection, is set to be a highlight of the festival. The tour is followed by a workshop led by John Liddell, former head of costume for Scottish Opera.
Visit Opera Festival Scotland’s website for further details.
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Former head of costume at Scottish Opera, John Liddell will host a workshop on costume design as part of the rescheduled Opera Festival Scotland.