A Scottish Opera show that’s aimed at toddlers

Scottish Opera continues to take its productions around the country this month and next with a show especially for very young children.

In August and September, Lliam Paterson’s five star ‘opera for babies’ BambinO is touring to Glasgow and Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Motherwell and Lerwick.

Written by Scottish Opera’s former Composer in Residence Lliam Paterson and directed by Improbable’s critically-acclaimed Phelim McDermott, the pioneering and unique piece of music theatre for infants aged six to 18 months is a co-production with Manchester International Festival and Improbable.

BambinO recently had sell-out tours in Paris and at The Metropolitan Opera in New York, and is being performed at The Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman next year.

Scottish audiences can catch BambinO performances at Scottish Opera Production Studios in Glasgow at the beginning of August, Edinburgh Academy at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and then at The Lemon Tree Aberdeen, Eden Court in Inverness, Perth Theatre, Motherwell Concert Hall and Mareel in Lerwick during September.

BambinO celebrates the possibilities of music and the power of the infant imagination by reinventing operatic language and traditions for children at an age when their minds are wide open to new sounds, images and experiences. Babies are free to explore during the performance, and to interact with the singers and each other.

Hazel McBain as Uccellina in BambinO (Photo: James Glossop)

Director Phelim McDermott, said: ‘BambinO has gone down a treat with our tiny audiences and it has been fascinating to see their reactions. With some mimicking the sounds made by the singers and others dancing along to the beat, it certainly looks like they’re enjoying it. Adults get the chance to experience opera in a new way too, through the eyes and ears of the babies.’

Lliam continued: ‘BambinO is a little opera with a big heart, bringing all the operatic passions to the youngest of opera newcomers and their parents. Together with director Phelim McDermott and designers Giuseppe Belli and Emma Belli, we have created a work that is as freshly experimental as it is in love with the grand traditions of opera.

‘The smallest ears as well as the seasoned connoisseur will find something new and joyous in BambinO. And for adult opera newbies, it’s not every day you get to have a truly new theatrical experience at the same moment as your baby!’

Scottish Opera’s director of education and outreach, Jane Davidson, said: ‘This is a perfect opportunity to experience the highs and lows of opera, created in miniature, through the eyes and ears of your very own bambinos. Watch as babies and performers explore a beautifully crafted world full of golden eggs, soft blue cushions and soaring notes as a baby bird takes flight for the very first time.’

BambinO is commissioned and produced by Scottish Opera, Manchester International Festival and Improbable. It is supported by Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circle and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.