Perth Concert Hall

Rachmaninov The Miserly Knight

Baron – Roland Wood
Albert – Alexey Dolgov
Moneylender – Alasdair Elliot
Duke/Gertzog – Alexey Gusev


Stravinsky Mavra

Parasha – Anush Hovhannisyan
The Hussar – Alexey Dolgov
Her Mother – Sarah Pring
Neighbour – Lea Shaw (Emerging Artist)

Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Stuart Stratford, conductor

A semi-staged double bill of two short remarkable lesser-known works, Stravinsky’s Mavra and Rachmaninov’s The Miserly Knight are both products of the early 20th century – a time of immense creativity and creation in art, music, and theatre, but also a time marked by worldwide unrest, revolution, censorship, and oppression. The careers of both composers were affected as they sought new homes in western Europe and the United States. Performing their work feels particularly fitting in the current political climate.

Sergei Rachmaninov’s The Miserly Knight sees a father and son destroyed by a hoarded treasure, with disguises, duels, and a near-poisoning featuring in the action. It showcases the composer’s extraordinary talent for orchestration, with over 60 musicians of The Orchestra of Scottish Opera conducted by Stuart Stratford underpinning the drama.

Meanwhile, Igor Stravinsky’s Mavra sees two lovers go to ingenious, outrageous lengths to be together, but they may have not thought through the practicalities! Both works are adapted from stories by the Russian poet, playwright, and novelist Alexander Pushkin, uniting the operas through his extraordinary gift for characterisation.

In a slight change to the advertised cast, we are delighted that Roland Wood will now sing the role of the Baron in The Miserly Knight. Other soloists include Alasdair Elliott, Alexey Dolgov, Alexey Gusev, Anush Hovhannisyan, Sarah Pring and 2021/22 Emerging Artist Lea Shaw, accompanied by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera and conducted by Stuart Stratford.

Director Laura Attridge
Running time approx 2 hours
Sung in Russian with English supertitles

£36, £32.50, £28.50, £21, £16; concessions £34, £30.50, £26.50, £19, £14 (inc £1.50 booking fee per ticket); students/Young Scot/Under 26 £6