Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

ANDREW BATCHELOR: Dundonians, put your stuffy stereotypes aside and get down to Opera Festival Scotland

Opera Festival Scotland is kicking off in Dundee this week - and it's breaking down stuffy stereotypes about opera.
Opera Festival Scotland is kicking off in Dundee this week - and it's breaking down stuffy stereotypes about opera.

This week sees the launch of the brand new Opera Festival Scotland.

After a couple of years of delay, I’m pleased to see the festival finally going ahead, as it brings together something that is unique and exciting.

I was involved in the early promotion of Opera Festival Scotland through Dundee Culture when it was planning to go ahead in 2020 but of course, Covid changed everything.

I had a few meetings with one of the top organisers of the festival, Michael Jamieson, where we had some comprehensive conversations about it.

I think what will make the event particularly exciting is the fact it breaks down the stereotypes of opera.

I remember Michael telling me that there is a sense that people believe opera is for wealthier people, but he said that wasn’t the case – and he is right.

Opera is for everyone, not just the wealthy

Opera combines music and theatre together, and it fascinates me because it can be entertaining for everyone, regardless of age or background.

There are events happening during the festival aimed specifically for young people (Young Artist’s Singing Competition) and people from different backgrounds (Non-professional 30+ Singing Competition).

Events like these give festivalgoers the opportunity to taking part in something that brings all sorts of people together through a shared love of music and theatre.

The festival holds a lot of educational opportunities too, with talks and events being organised which looks at the history of opera in Scotland, helping to support young people to learn about it.

It promises to be a brilliant springboard for children who might want to get involved in opera.

And if the people of Dundee needed more of a sign that this is an event for them, they need only look at the festival’s main venue.

The Caird Hall has been the centre of entertainment in Dundee for decades – here’s a 1975 audience waiting for Billy Connolly to come out.

The Caird Hall is a great choice for what the festival’s hoping to achieve.

It’s a place that has brought music lovers together in Dundee for nearly a century, so launching a new music festival at such a historic site is very fitting as its 100th anniversary approaches next year.

Aida returns to Dundee

One of the highlights which shouldn’t be missed at the festival is the return of Verdi’s Aida, which hasn’t been performed in Dundee in 20 years – a must-see.

As I’ve said, I believe this is for everyone and it brings so many exciting things to Dundee – building on our reputation as a city of culture, music, and arts.

For those who might not believe opera is for them, why not head on down, take a friend and experience it for yourself? Who knows, you might leave with the urge to watch more or even better, take part in it.

Community spirit is something that all good festivals strive for, and I love that there are many organisations across the city supporting the event to make it the best it can be.

I hope it will ultimately become a permanent feature of our already long list of fantastic festivals.

So let’s all welcome Opera Festival Scotland with open arms when it kicks off in Dundee this week.

Conversation