Richard Bratby

Spot-on in almost every way: Scottish Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream reviewed

Plus: a winning Haydn recital at the Wigmore Hall

Oberon and Tytania (Lawrence Zazzo and Catriona Hewitson) resemble members of the Addams Family in Scottish Opera's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Image: James Glossop

Scottish Opera’s new production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream seems to open in midwinter. Snow falls, fairies hurl snowballs and the aurora borealis flickers and arcs across the darkened sky. Meanwhile Britten’s score swoons and sighs, its drowsy clouds of string tone wafting above gently snoring basses to create an atmosphere whose every glimmer evokes perfumed warmth.

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