I arrived late on Sunday evening ready for rehearsals to start at Scottish Opera for my teams leg of the Pop Up Opera tour this summer. In June the company returned to live outdoor performance for the first time in nine months. We are due to pop up in Perth, Dundee, and Forfar throughout July and August as part of a Gilbert & Sullivan-inspired tour.
I am in 30-minute open-air shows with condensed versions of The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore in a specially adapted trailer for family audiences. Attracting expected audiences of over 12,000, assuming seating in bubbles, with plans to be on the road by 8 June subject to Scottish Government guidelines the audience will be safely socially distanced in their household bubbles. In total Scottish Opera are offering over 200 performances. Returning to live performance is such a relief. I’ll tell you more about this and the ‘Bubble McBea’ Primary school tour as the weeks develop.
In the meantime, I’ve put together a few slides to tell you more about O Luce di Quest’Anima which is track 17 on Songs from our Balcony. I learned this stunning aria for my BMus undergraduate final recital at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and I have worked on it every year since 2016 when I graduated. The aria is from the opera Linda di Chamounix by Gaetano Donizetti.
| Recitative: Ah! tardai troppo, e al nostro favorito convegno io non trovai il mio diletto Carlo; e chi sa mai quanto egli avrà sofferto! Ma non al par di me! Pegno d’amore questi fior mi lasciò! tenero core! E per quel core io l’amo, unico di lui bene. Poveri entrambi siamo, viviam d’amor, di speme; pittore ignoto ancora egli s’innalzerà coi suoi talenti!Sarà mio sposo allora. Oh noi contenti! Aria: O luce di quest’anima, delizia, amore e vita, la nostra sorte unita, in terra, in ciel sarà. Deh, vieni a me, riposati su questo cor che t’ama, che te sospira e brama, che per te sol vivrà. |
| Translation of O Luce di Quest’Anima (Word for Word) Ah I delayed too long, And at our favourite meeting place I do not find my beloved Carlo And who knows ever how much he will have suffered! But not on par with me! Token of love these flowers for me he left! Tender Heart! And for that heart I love him, only of him wealth Poor both we are, we live on love, on hope. Painter unknown as yet he will lift himself up with his talents! He will be my husband then. Oh we contented ones! Oh light of this soul, delight, love and life, Our fate united, on earth, in heave will be. Ah, come to me, rest yourself upon this heart that loves you. That for you longs and desires, That for you only will live. (Poetic – my version) Ah, I am too late I can not find my beloved Carlo at our favourite meeting spot. And who will ever know how much he suffered! But not as much as I. He left these flowers for me as a token of love! Tender Heart! And I love him for his heart, which is his only possession. We are both poor, we live on love and hope. As yet he is an unknown artist, but he will make himself known through his talent! He will be my husband. Oh, how happy we will be! Oh light of this soul, delight, love and life, Our fate united, on earth, in heaven we will be. Ah, come to me, rest yourself upon this heart that loves you. That for you longs and desires, that lives only for you. |
Fantastic news Charlotte, I only wish I could be there to watch you perform. Well done you👏👏👏🥰
I wish you could see the shows Gill you would love them both but especially the HMS Pinafore show. See you soon, by the way thanks for helping Mum with the flowers.
Best wishes
Charlotte
You look so lovely, Charlotte, best wishes for your tour! I would love to visit Scotland! 🇬🇧❤️
Thank you John, I appreciate your good wishes. It is a beautiful place to visit. I hope that I get some nice photographs of my travels to share.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I hope you have a wonderful tour and you get to enjoy some of Scotland’s amazing scenery.
Thank you Thomas, I’ll be seeing a lot of the Country it is quite a wide ranging tour. We start in Stirling this Friday have you been there?
Best wishes
Charlotte
So glad to hear you are performing live in Scotland. What a wonderful way to spend the summer. Thanks for letting us know.
Thank you John, it was very warm and sunny today lets keep our fingers crossed it stays that way on show days 🤞🏻😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Yes I will cross mine. 🤞🏻
So glad you’re back on the circuit again. Some parts of Scotland are beautiful.
It’s good to be back. Dress and sound rehearsal today and we set off on Friday to Stirling Castle I’m excited.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Opera, Gilbert & Sullivan AND Scotland all in one post!! Certainly, you aim to spoil us. Be enchanted by all you are doing, for you have such lovely ways of allowing that enchantment to spill over into our lives! Thank you.
They’re great little shows encapsulating the favourite bits of the shows.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Great news that you are back performing publicly again (not from a balcony!) and in Scotland. I am so envious. Our trip there last year was cancelled and we decided not to go this year because travel is still so up in the air with all the restrictions. NEXT year for sure. Wish I could be there to hear you sing! Stay warm and avoid the midges!
Thank you Noelle, I wish you were here too, they are great little shows, we open at Stirling Castle on Friday and are doing quite the mileage around. I can understand you holding off the travel until next year. It was a beautiful day today.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Oh, Charlotte, the joy of performing in front of live people. Break a leg!
You’d love these little shows Don they’re great fun and very amusing I’m having a blast.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Yaay! A live performance AND an opera with a happy ending. Life is perfect. Enjoy!
Yay. It has been great to be back rehearsing every day, we open on Friday at Stirling Castle I can’t wait.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Wonderful news, my dear Charlotte! All the best and ENJOY [which I’m sure you will and so will everyone who’ll be there!]!!!!!! Many hugs! Oh, and …’break a leg!’ 😉
Thank you Marina, I’m thoroughly enjoying rehearsals and getting back into the swing of things. Hugs back at you.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Oh, of course you are!!! You’re ‘at home’! 😉😘🤗❤
Congratulations. I trust all will go well for you.
Thank you Derrick, fingers crossed, yippee.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Exciting times! Wishing you the best of luck!
Thank you. I’m excited now for the tour to begin on Friday.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
You are most welcome!! 🙂
Happiness abounds when music can be shared and enjoyed by many. Thanks for also sharing the lyrics of this glorious song. Wish I could wing it to Scotland to hear you.
I agree I love a live audience. It is one of my favourite songs. I wish you could wing it to Scotland too.
Best wishes
Charlotte
These are real sharp and beautiful photos, Charlotte! Expected audiences of over 12,000 is amazing. All the best in your summer performances!
Well that is the entire tour 12,000 in total Arti not just my little bit 😀, but it will be wonderful if everything goes as though we are in normal times with some safe precautions.
Best wishes
Charlotte
What a wonderful life you have, Charlotte. I am so pleased for you. You have earned every minute of it. Very best wishes for the open-air tour.
I really do enjoy everything I do, I’m a lucky girl. Fingers crossed the weather gods are on our side.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Charlotte, You are one busy Lady. Glad you’re back in front of live audiences. Must really help to sharpen your performances with the response you receive.
Have a great tour.
-Alan
Thank you Alan, I am glad to be back in live performance. I love feedback and watching the audience watch the show.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Dear Charlotte, I hope you have lots of fun on your Scottish tour. G and S operettas are such a joy!
Clare xx
We’ve had great fun putting the show together, its an excellent team and a joy to work with. You would love these ‘Little Bit of’ shows they jam packed with all the key songs.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Yes, I’m sure I would!
Charlotte ,Lovely news I am so pleased you are performing again.
It all sounds so exciting I love your version too.
Excited to hear how it all goes.xxx
I’m enjoying rehearsals, we did a dress run today. The show opens on Friday in Stirling wish you could come up to see you would love them 30 minutes long and full of fun.
Best wishes
Charlotte
What a lovely poetic translation of O Luce di Quest’Anima, Charlotte! Congratulations on being back on tour again!
What parts are you singing in Pirates and Pinafore? I miss singing G&S with my local operetta society so much I could scream! At least the Staff Band at my school is able to perform together now, so I’m getting some music back in my life. 😉
Wishing you great sucess and loads of fun!
Best regards,
Cate
Hi Cate, in Pirates I’m singing Mabel and Ruth; in Pinafore Josephine, Buttercup and Crew. I’m really happy you are able to participate in your staff band what instrument do you play or are you singing with the band?
Thanks for your lovely message,
Best wishes
Charlotte
Nice blog!!
Do visit to my blog and follow it if you like.
Have a nice day 🤗
Enjoy your tour and Scotland. I’m hoping (if all goes well) to be in Scotland myself bank holiday August. Fingers crossed 🙂 x
We’ll pass each other on the motorway, I’m heading down to London that’s our wedding weekend then will be back up in Scotland the bank holiday Monday. Hope you get your holiday.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
Hello!!! I’m Queen from Italy and I’m happy that you know Donizetti 😉🤗🤗🤗
One of my favourite tracks!
So glad you’re back on “stage”. (How’s the situation in the UK? here in Paris – Finally made it here – it is a bit delirious. With a Frog-EU Health pass which I can’t get).
Keep singing.