SCOTTISH Opera will next week unveil its latest work online – and it’s released a trailer to whet your appetite.
The Narcissistic Fish is set in the kitchen of a seafood restaurant in Leith.
The 12-minute film is a collaboration between Scottish Opera composer in residence Samuel Bordoli, The Panopticon author Jenni Fagan and the company’s in-house filmmaker, Antonia Bain.
The opera tells the story of the “stormy relationship” between chefs Angus, Kai and Belle, and “touches on the themes of narcissism, gender bias and class”.
It features three of the company’s 2019-20 emerging artists – baritones Arthur Bruce and Mark Nathan, and soprano Charlie Drummond – singing over a digitally-created score that incorporates real sounds from a kitchen as percussion.
Fagan, who wrote the opera in Scots, said: “My goal was to collaborate with Scottish Opera on a libretto written in working class Scottish.
“I felt the nuances and richness of the language deserved to create a musicality and story that would have its own edge and identity.
“I didn’t want the characters to necessarily be a more classical opera concept – it was interesting to go for something that felt vibrantly contemporary in subject matter and identity.
“It is a short story that comes alive due to the passion and conflict inherent in the three main characters’ lives.”
The trailer is available on Scottish Opera’s website.
Read more arts stories on Scottish Field’s culture pages.
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