• A new production of Verdi’s Macbeth to be created by a professional artistic team of Simon Hannigan (director) and Alistair Digges (conductor) for Paisley Opera. The performances will take place at the beginning of October 2023.
• Paisley Opera are inviting new chorus members to sing in this fully staged production with world class professional soloists including Scottish baritone David Stephenson (Scottish Opera, English National Opera, New Zealand Opera) in the title role.
• A rare opportunity to sing with one of Scotland’s finest amateur orchestras – Amicus Orchestra
• Taster session to take place on Sunday the 5th of March – all are welcome! • This will be a brand new modern Scottish/English translation of the opera, commissioned by Paisley Opera.
Paisley Opera has announced its fourth production, Verdi’s Macbeth. An opera rarely performed due to the demanding principal roles; Paisley Opera welcomes David Stephenson in the title role. Stephenson has performed the role for Scottish Opera, as well as singing for companies all over the world including New Zealand Opera, English National Opera and Festival de Perelada. Stephenson will lead a cast of international soloists in this new production by company artistic director, Simon Hannigan.
The charity is excited to be bringing world class soloists to Paisley, however at the heart of Paisley Opera is the wonderful chorus that brings together people from different walks of life, from all over Renfrewshire and beyond, to create something truly unique and special.
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Paisley Opera are inviting new members to come and give opera a try at its taster session on Sunday the 5th March. Paisley Opera is committed to demonstrating that opera is for everyone and that it is ‘Passion, not Posh’! Newcomers don’t require any previous experience to participate: there are no auditions and you don’t need to read music – indeed many of the Paisley Opera community had never sung in a choir before joining Paisley Opera. The taster session will include a workshop with Alistair Digges – the musical director – who will have flown in from the Netherlands having been conducting at the Nederlandse Reisopera.
“Macbeth is one of the greatest chorus operas ever written and we at Paisley Opera are opening our doors again, to welcome new people to join us” says artistic director and company founder, Simon Hanngian. “We are immensely proud of what we have achieved in previous years and of our wonderful community chorus. This is a rare chance to sing with a live orchestra and work with professional opera singers. I’d encourage anyone who thinks they might be interested to come along and give it a try. If you are worried about singing in a foreign language…don’t be! We always sing our operas in English. We can promise a warm welcome, a lot of fun…and of course…a lot of passion”
The new production of Macbeth is supported by Renfrewshire Council’s Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF). The Culture, Heritage and Events Fund is administered by One Ren on behalf of Renfrewshire Council. It is part of Future Paisley, the council-led programme of events, activity and targeted investment which is using Paisley’s unique and internationally-significant story to change its future.”
The Taster session will take place from 14:00-17:00 on Sunday the 5th of March at Holy Trinity and St Barnabas church hall, Back Sneddon St, Paisley PA3 2AF Scotland Paisley (2 minutes walk from Paisley Gilmour St Station).
CONTACT:
For further information, pictures, or to arrange an interview with any member of the team please email douglas.nairne@paisleyopera.org
or call Douglas Nairne on 07710926658