Perth and the future

Classical music dwindled at the Perth Festival this year. The reduction of English Touring Opera’s repertoire to a single performance of a single opera was not a good omen. The explanation, of course, was that the charming  little Perth Theatre is being refurbished and is closed for three years. Meanwhile the opportunity is being taken to transfer operatic performances to the fine modern Perth Concert Hall which, with the touch of a button, is convertible into a beautifully-scaled opera house complete with orchestra pit.

 A colleague who attended English Touring Opera’s solitary performance of The Magic Flute the other night tells me it was a triumph, acoustically radiant and visually impressive, with adirable balances between voices and orchestra. The fact that it attracted an audience of 1100 people -  very high by the varying standards of the new hall - spoke well for the building’s possibilities as a part-time opera house. But will Perth seize its chance to develop these once Perth Theatre has reopened? Placed in the very heart of Scotland, the city would be perfectly equipped to present opera in large-scale and small-scale formats. 

In my little book on the Perth Festival, I have already proposed - two years ago -  the idea of performing Wagner in the new concert hall. Can you imagine what a country like Germany would do with an opportunity such as this?  Think of how Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic have recently turned the spa town of Baden-Baden (population 52,000) into a place for opera.  Perth (population 44,000). with a bit of initiative, could become one of the arts centres of the new Scotland.

 As my colleague asks, why does Scottish Opera seem not to have twigged?  So much looked possible half a century ago, before the promising  relationship between the young Glasgow company and Perth hit the buffers.  But a new start could still be made. Send me an email at wilson.conrad@ymail.com and say what you think. 

24 May 2014