MEET THE CREATIVES

Lliam Paterson – Composer

Lliam Paterson was born in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. After studies at the Aberdeen City Music School and St. Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh he read music at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, where he graduated First Class. Lliam studied piano and as a repetiteur at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and composition with both Errolyn Wallen and Judith Weir. He was the Composer in Residence at Scottish Opera between 2014-17, writing The 8th Door, a companion opera to Bluebeard’s Castle, an opera for babies, BambinO, with sell-out performances at the Fringe, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and The Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman and Fox-Tot! for toddlers.

Lliam holds a PhD in Creative Music Practice at Edinburgh University and is a lecturer in composition at the University of Aberdeen and the RCS Junior Conservatoire. Recent commissions include Catriona and the Dragon for the Lammermuir Festival and Say it to the Still World for guitarist Sean Shibe and Choir of King’s College London.

Laura Attridge – Director & Writer

Laura Attridge is fast establishing herself as a dynamic new voice in opera.

Previous opera direction includes Silla, Northern Opera Group (2022); The Miserly Knight and Mavra, Scottish Opera (2022); Paper and Tin, English Touring Opera (2022); Cendrillon, Buxton International Festival (2021); Così fan tutte, English Touring Opera (2020); The Magic Flute (2019) and Don Giovanni (2018), Waterperry Opera Festival; The Rape of Lucretia, Trinity Laban Conservatoire (2018); and The Enchanted Pig, Hampstead Garden Opera (2017).

In demand as a librettist, Laura has collaborated with composers such as Kate Whitley, Yshani Perinpanayagam, Lillie Harris, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Griffin Candey. Her works for the stage with regular collaborator Lewis Murphy include ARC23 (2022, Leeds Youth Opera); Paper and Tin (2022, English Touring Opera); A Different Story (2019, Royal Opera House); Then to the elements (2018, ScottishOpera); Belongings (2017, Glyndebourne); Damsel/Wife/Witch (2015, And So Forth); and Now (2014, Royal College of Music and Tête-à-Tête Festival).

Sian Edwards – Conductor

Sian Edwards studied at the RNCM and at the Leningrad Conservatoire.  She is Head of Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras including Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland, Orchestre de Paris, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Berlin Symphony, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, MDR Leipzig, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Royal Flanders Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, the Hallé, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. She has a close relationship with Ensemble Modern in Germany and has worked at all the major UK opera houses and made her operatic debut in 1986 conducting Weill’s Mahagonny for Scottish Opera whilst from 1993 to 1995, she was Music Director of ENO. Operatic engagements include The Rape of Lucretia and La traviata for the Theater an der Wien, Aida for the Royal Swedish Opera, Orpheus in the Underworld for ENO, Katya Kabanova and Iolanta for Opera Holland Park, Katya Kabanova for Opera North,  The Rake’s Progress and Bluebeard’s Castle for Scottish Opera, David Bruce’s Nothing for Glyndebourne, Ades’ The Tempest for Oper Frankfurt, the world premieres of Turnage’s Coraline and Luke Bedford’s Through His Teeth for Royal Opera House Covent Garden and a concert performance of Tippett’s King Priam at the Brighton Festival.

www.grovesartists.com/artist/sian-edwards

Moira Morrison – Choral Animateur

Moira Morrison is a vocal animateur, conductor and composer who is fascinated by the Kodály method relationship between music and movement. Her ethos is one of total inclusivity, creating a place where every voice is heard, encouraged and celebrated. She is delighted to be chorus director for her third Lammermuir Festival Community Operas.

She loves working with all ages, is the director of Dunbar Voices, Associate Director of NYCoS Midlothian, plus adult choirs, the Gilmerton Singers and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's Craigmillar Voices.

Moira regularly writes for all her groups, including projects for East Lothian YMI, McOpera Outreach and Haddo Arts and regularly sings with the Bristol Branch, Scotland's only Brazilian Forró band.

Ian West – Choreographer

Ian West is a graduate of Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts London, where he was awarded a prestigious 3-year scholarship. Since graduating he has worked internationally for over 25 years in Film, TV and Theatre as a choreographer, movement director and an Intimacy Coordinator/ Director, studying under world-renowned intimacy Coordinator Ita O’Brian. His choreography credits include The Full Monty (UK Tour), The Greatest Days The Official Take That Musical and the BAFTA nominated BBC series Molly and Mack. He has performed as dancer/ aerialist for the Royal Opera House, Walt Disney Theatre and Sadler’s Wells, has appeared in The Bill and London’s Burning for ITV and was the choreographer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

Finlay McLay - Costume Designer

Finlay McLay is a set and costume designer based in Glasgow. He regularly works on opera productions for Scottish Opera (Orfeo e Euridice, Dido and Aeneas) and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Marilyn Forever, The Threepenny Opera), and has worked with Harrison Ford, Halle Berry, Renee Zellweger, Tom Hanks, and The Krankies amongst other on productions such as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Cloud Atlas, The Eagle, The Flash, Batgirl and Outlander. 

MEET THE CAST

Nora Trew-Rae - Queen Catriona

Nora Trew-Rae is a 17 yr old Edinburgh-based soprano studying with Margaret Izatt at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Junior Conservatoire) and she will take her place at the RCS as an undergraduate Vocal Performance student from September 2023.

An ex-Head Chorister from St Mary’s Music School, Nora currently divides her time between acting and singing, and most recently played Juliet in the Edinburgh Lyceum production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe. Nora is now working as part of The Lyceum Young Company and makes her operatic debut in Catriona and The Dragon. 

Andrea Baker - Carruthers, a Courtier

Described as possessing a “luscious and full-bodied tone” (Das Opernglas), British-American mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker is renowned for her distinctive voice, intense artistry, and passion. Her much heralded interpretations range from Amneris in Aida, Fricka in Die Walküre and the title role in Carmen to Mescalina in Le Grand Macabre and Nen -Nen in Dominique Legendre’s world premiere of The Bird of Night. The 2015 season saw her debut in the role of Die Amme in Die Frau Ohne Schatten. Her enthralling interpretation was hailed as an extraordinary success. Andrea Baker was described as “born to sing and act the music of Richard Strauss” (Opernetz). In addition to her celebrated work on the opera stage, the artist has begun to work as a presenter for the BBC, beginning with the exceptional documentary “A Man’s a Man for a’ That, Frederick Douglass in Scotland”.

Highlights of the 2016-2017 season include her reprisal of the role Die Amme in Die Frau Ohne Schatten, and her debut as Auntie in Britten’s Peter Grimes both productions being for the State Theater of Hessen. On the concert platform the artists makes her debut in Sweden with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra’s Wagner Gala as Ortrud in Lohengrinconducted by Stefan Solyom. Sing Sistah Sing! with Albert Horne on piano makes a much anticipated return to the State Theatre of Hessen and will be featured in the German American Institute’s concert series in the Hirsvogelsaal in Nünberg’s Tucherschloss Museum followed by United States tour with performances in Alabama and Massachusetts.

Highlights of her international appearances include the  title role Carmen for Opera Australia, Finnish National Opera, Opera Leipzig, Serena in Porgy and Bess for the Berlin Philharmonic (Rattle), Opera Lyon, Houston Grand Opera, and The Edinburgh International Festival, Amneris in Aida for State Theatre Hessen, State Theatre Nuremberg, State Theatre Dortmund, Ortrud in Lohengrin German National Theatre Weimar, State Theatre Hessen, Theatre Kassel, Venus in Tannhäuser for the Teatro G. Verdi in Trieste, 1st Norn in Götterdämmerung BBC Proms (Runnicles), National Theatre Munich (Mehta), Fricka, Waltraute, 2nd Norn Wagner’s Ring Cycle, The Peking Festival (Auguin), The International May Festival (Piollet), National Theatre Mannheim (Fischer), State Theatre Nuremberg (Auguin), Stolzius’ Mother in Die Soldaten for the State Theatre Hessen, The Pilgrim’s Progress with The London Philharmonia (Hickox), Herodias in Salome with the London Symphony Orchestra (Hickox) Die Walküre at the Salzburg Easter Festival and Aix en Provence Festival (Rattle), Mrs. Grose in Turn of the Screw for the Festival de Ópera de Tenerife, Ismene in the world premiere of Dominique LeGendre’s opera The Burial at Thebes at London’s Globe Theatre with a libretto by Nobel Prize Lauriat Seamus Heaney and directed by Nobel Prize Lauriat Derek Walcott (Peter Manning), Waltraute (cover) in Wagner’s Ring Cycle for The Metropolitan Opera, New York (Levine). Ms Baker’s collaborations with conductors include, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Donald Runnicles, Richard Hickox, Antonio Pappano, Philippe Auguin, Valery Gergiev, Marin Alsop, Ádám Fischer, and Sir Charles Mackerras. Concert engagements have led her to many of the world’s greatest concert halls they include: Cité de la Musique, Paris, Berlin Philharmonie, Royal Albert Hall, London, Orchestra Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, Konzerthaus, Berlin, The Barbican, London, and Tokyo Opera City.

Ms. Baker studied singing at the Aspen Music Festival and the Eastman School of Music with Jan Degaetani, and privately in San Francisco with Blanche Thebom. She was a Metropolitan Opera Competition National finalist and began her stage career with the San Francisco Opera in 1994 in the role of Schwertleite in Die Walküre conducted by Donald Runnicles.

Arthur Bruce - Colquhoun, a Courtier

Catriona Hewitson - Dragon, Teacher, Diva

Named as one of Opera Now’s 2022 Hot List Young Artists, Edinburgh-born soprano Catriona Hewitson won the 2018 Kathleen Ferrier Loveday Song Prize and was a Scottish Opera Emerging Artist for 2020 - 22. She is a Samling Artist and Making Music’s Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist 2018 - 2020. Catriona is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music and Royal College of Music Opera Studio She attended the City of Edinburgh Music School all through her schooling and was a member of ENO Opera Works.

​Whilst working as an Emerging Artist for Scottish Opera, Catriona performed Tytaniain their five star production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Casilda in The Gondoliers which is on BBC iPlayer as well as Adina and Despina for Scottish Opera On Screen. She has also covered lead roles for Garsington Festival Opera as an Alvarez Young Artist, and for English Touring Opera including Sophie Werther. Other recent highlights onstage also include Mabel Pirates of Penzance at the Celebrate Voice Festival, title role of Patience in the award winning production with Charles Court Opera and multiple roles in the Lammermuir Festival Community Opera's world premier of Catriona and the Dragon. Other roles performed include Cis Albert Herring(Grange Festival); Donna Rinaldo (Glyndebourne Touring Opera); Elsbeth Fantasio (Garsington Festival Opera - Opera First Performance); Iphise Dardanus (ETO); Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, directed by Sir Thomas Allen, Tytania and Edwige in Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoe (RCMOS).

​In 2022 she sang in recital with Malcolm Martineau as part of the RCS: Fridays at One series for BBC Radio 3. Earlier this year she made her home concert hall debut to great acclaim at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh performing Messiah conducted by Sir James MacMillan. Other highlights on the concert platform include performing at the Royal Albert Hall, St John's Smith Square, St Martin-in-the-Fields and touring with the Ulster Orchestra. Catriona has also performed at the Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh International Festival and Lammermuir Festival. Earlier this year she won second prize in the inaugural Ashburnham English Song Awards. Catriona was a finalist in the Belvedere Singing Competition in 2022, the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards and the Royal Over-Seas League Vocal Category. She has won several other prizes including the Clare Croiza Prize for French Songand the Chris Petty English Song Competition.

Recent and upcoming performances include making her company and role debut at Waterperry Opera Festival as Micaela in Carmen and understudying Jack Lofte in Jonathan Dove’s new opera Itch for Opera Holland Park. Later this year she will be returning to Scottish Opera in their production of Daphne and Charles Court Opera for more Gilbert and Sullivan.

Seren Malone Martha
Ella Macleod Martha
Isla Kennedy Pupil 1
Lexi Carnegie Pupil 2
Naomi Trussler Pupil 3
Sadie Reid, Lily Proudfoot Pupils 4
Ava Black Pupil 5
Natasha Hilferty Protester
Joe Adie Protester
Jeanie Adie Protester

Adult Chorus 
Alison Shearman, Honey Wragg, Jeanie Adie, Lena Dorohanova, Lisa George, Natasha Hilferty, Rosalie Monod de Froideville, Vanessa Kennedy

Children’s Chorus 
Aimee Heal, Anoushka Biran, Arwen Sweeney*, Aurelia Bicocchi, Ava Richardson, Beatrice Goodbourn*, Bella Sky Seeley*, Beth Stalker*, Eidan Dorohanova, Ella Lowe, Emmy Smyth*, Éowyn Anderson, Euan Fletcher, Eva Bryant, Florence O'Hare*, Francesca McDonald, Giulietta Bicocchi, Grace Marjoribanks, Grace-May Lindsay, Harriet O'Hare*, Hester Monod de Froideville*, Leela Kateleza, Lita Dorohanova, Maria Newnham, Mélody Nelson*, Mhairi Scott*, Nicole Wilczek*, Poppy Davidson-Kelly, Rex Worthington, Rory Rait, Rosa Deborah Lavery*, Taylor Davidson-Bayles*

Youth Chorus* 
Amber Walker, Ava Black, Ayden Malone, Caitlin Stalker, Eilish Balharrie, Ella Macleod, Ella George, Esmé Hunter-Brooks, Freya George, Georgia Michell, Inez Sweeney, Isla Kennedy, Joe Adie, Kyle McPherson, Lexi Carnegie, Lily Proudfoot, Naomi Trussler, Nara Goodbourn, Rose Hilferty, Ross White, Ruby McDougall, Sadie Reid, Seren Malone

Members of Dunbar Voices*

Orchestra Katie Hull (Leader)
Violin 1 Katie Hull (Orchestra of Scottish Opera), Edith Kennedy, Lilia Villarreal-Forrest, Lois Thomson, Nancy Gallagher, Jay Binnie
Violin 2 George Smith (Maxwell Quartet), Anwen McInnes, Jessica Heal, Isabella Gold, Hannah McNeill, Erin Treacy
Violin 3 Katrina Bateman, Lizzie Bell, Hannah Coyle, Eddie Pender, Leah Durham, Lilli McCullagh, Summer McCullagh
Viola Mary Ward (Orchestra of Scottish Opera, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), Matthew Scott
Cello Duncan Strachan (Maxwell Quartet), David Campbell, Perry Angel, Jude Dunbar, Olivia Dale, Imogen Dale, Andrew Larkman
Bass Nikita Naumov (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), Sam McInnes, Peter Stuart, Matthew Waters
Flute Fiona Sweeney (National Youth Orchestra of Scotland), Jemma Grosse
Clarinet Jennifer Moss (Nevis Ensemble), Katie Horrell
Trumpet Calum Kerr (National Youth Orchestra of Scotland), Will Lucas-Evans
Trombone Patrick Kenny, Tess Devlin, Martha Bremner
Tuba Jonathan Gawn (ELCIMS, Scottish Ballet)
Harp Hannah Middleton (National Youth Orchestra of Scotland)
Percussion Jo McDowell, Arlo Treacy, Oliver Thomson, Daniel Schmitt, Finlay McCaul, Elyn McInnes

ELC Senior Piping Ensemble Ciaren Ross, James Blakeley, William Gold, Elspeth Thompson, Sam Palmer, Callum Russell, Callum Donohoe, Tom Ferguson, Layla Ferguson

Featuring instrumentalists and singers from the following schools:

Aberlady Primary School, Cockenzie Primary School, Dunbar Grammar School, Dunbar Primary School, East Linton Primary School, Gullane Primary School, Humbie Primary School, Innerwick Primary School, Knox Academy, Letham Mains Primary School, Musselburgh Grammar School, North Berwick High School, Preston Lodge High School, Ross High School,  Stenton Primary School, St Gabriel’s RC Primary School, St George’s School, St Mary’s RC Primary School, West Barns Primary School, Yester Primary School, home school

Let’s Make An Opera was delivered to P4-7 pupils in Haddington PS, Innerwick PS, Letham Mains PS, St Mary’s RC PS and West Barns PS by Moira Morrison, Laura Attridge, Jen Hill, Sarah Lake and Jenni Moss with funding from the East Lothian Youth Music Initiative.

MEET THE PARTNERS

The Lammermuir Festival was born of a conviction that historic architecture and beautiful landscape together can create an ideal environment in which to experience great music-making. The Festival was established to bring the finest musicians together with local people and visitors in celebration of music in towns and villages nestling between the Lammermuir Hills and the sea. The area’s wealth of beautiful buildings continues to inspire our choice of music and artists. Every year we celebrate the Festival with a programme of musical and geographical journeys which affirm the endless possibilities of music in this beautiful area. We continue our close relationships with several of Scotland’s leading ensembles and, as well as inviting internationally renowned musicians, we also seek out the most exciting talent from Scotland, the UK and abroad. Music has the power to enhance, to refresh and sometimes to change people’s lives. We offer the Lammermuir Festival to all those who come to discover the magic of this beautiful place. In 2017 the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) recognised Lammermuir Festival with the award for best Concert Series and Festivals – the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK. “A remarkable experience – The Lammermuir Festival, founded only in 2010, is going from strength to strength under artistic directors Hugh Macdonald and James Waters.” Opera Magazine www.lammermuirfestival.co.uk

 

McOpera was formed in the spring of 2012 by musicians from the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, developing a wide portfolio of activity ranging from operatic productions, recording projects, orchestral performances and community outreach projects across a wide social and cultural demographic. McOpera now works and collaborates with musicians and creatives from across Scotland devising bespoke side-by-side, professionally mentored instrumental and operatic projects for Haddo Arts, the Lammermuir Festival and Scotland’s music societies (Chamber Music Scotland), youth music organisations and schools www.mcopera.com

 

Dunbar Voices is a vibrant musical community that aims to inspire and support young voices from 5-18 years, making singing an inclusive activity for all. Our ethos is one of inclusive excellence where every voice is heard, encouraged and celebrated. We meet weekly to sing and develop music theory skills through singing games and a Kodàly musicianship programme. As well as being invited to take part in community events and festivals, all three of our choirs perform in our annual Christmas concert and summer showcase. We meet on Tuesdays and new members are always welcome www.dunbarvoices.co.uk

 

East Lothian Council’s Instrumental Music Service and ELC Senior Piping Ensemble aims to provide equitable access for all pupils to experience the expressive and creative qualities of music through learning to play an instrument. Our aim is to help as many pupils as possible realise their full musical potential through the playing of an instrument. We currently employ 20 highly qualified Instrumental Instructors and provide Instrumental tuition, to almost 1500 pupils a year, in every school across the local authority. Pupils are offered the opportunity to learn brass, woodwind, strings, percussion, piano, guitar and pipes with our experienced and inspiring Instructors. Each year pupils are encouraged to take part in our ELC IMS Concert Series, performing in events such as our Macmillan Concerts, Secondary School Ensembles Weekend, ELC Piano Festival, ELC Young Musician of Year, Senior Chamber Ensembles and our Primary School Ensembles Day.

The East Lothian Council Arts Service delivers inclusive, accessible and professional arts activities to all East Lothian residents in the form of school holiday programmes, weekly workshops and community arts projects. The East Lothian Council Youth Music Initiative (YMI) collaborates with professional artists / musicians and partnership organisations including ELC Instrumental Music Service  to provide a diverse programme of high quality and accessible musical experience as well as training for teachers and practitioners to ensure a legacy of music-making in schools and community. We promote equal opportunity of access for all pupils to participate as well special opportunities for target groups.

 

The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland (NYOS) offers outstanding opportunities for young people aged between 8 and 25 to connect with classical music through our two orchestras, creative training opportunities, and engagement programme. We are delighted to be part of Catriona and the Dragon with three of our recent members participating - Fiona Sweeney (flute), Calum Kerr (trumpet), and Hannah Middleton (harp). NYOS believes in the future of Scotland’s next generation of musicians. We are passionate about developing the potential and talent of our young people and would love to connect with you!  If you or your young people are interested in NYOS, applications for our summer Training Ensembles are currently open and full details can be found on our website. Applications for our orchestras will open in early September nyos.co.uk

 

Edinburgh College School of Media, Music and Sound Production - the Music and Sound Production facilities at Edinburgh College, situated at the Milton Road Campus, are second to none in FE in Scotland and provide a wealth or resources and technology for students wishing to study music, sound production and audio technologies. All aspects of the music business and professional performance are catered for, including music performance, composition, creative sound production, and music promotion. Students can study commercial, NC, NPA, HND and Degree courses https://ci.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/music.html

 

Reuse Scotland SCIO has a remit to maximise the diversion of materials from landfill for community benefit. Pop-up shops have sprung up across Edinburgh and the Lothians, with The Dunbar Reuse Hub serving as a popular destination for local bargain hunters and regional visitors. Reusable goods can be donated in-person or at council recycling points. A free removals service can also be accessed by universities, film studios, and other organisations. Items from these clearances are often donated to schools and other community groups www.reusescotland.org

REVIEWS

SCOTSMAN

Lammermuir Festival review: Catriona and the Dragon, Dunbar Parish Church -  27/03/23

Long on spectacle and infernally catchy tunes, Catriona and the Dragon’s long-awaited premiere is an Easter treat.

Performers Arthur Bruce, Nora Trew-Rae and Andrea Baker

Catriona and the Dragon, Dunbar Parish Church ****
A little bit of the usually September-timed Lammermuir Festival came early – or maybe a few years late, as festival co-director James Waters explained in his brief intro. Community opera Catriona and the Dragon had originally been planned for – yes, you guessed it, 2020, and it was receiving its long-awaited premiere as an Easter treat three years later.
And what a treat it was, for the hordes of performers packed into every available space of Dunbar Parish Church, and for the friends, family and other audience members who’d flocked to see them. Librettist Laura Attridge and composer Lliam Paterson had fashioned a timely tale of self-determination, responsibility and eco-awareness about a teenage Queen and a dragon living across the ‘bridge to nowhere’ in nearby Belhaven Bay. Some of the subtleties of the storyline might have got a bit lost in delivery, but this was all about spectacle – from the septet of pipers from the ELC Senior Piping Ensemble who jolted the show into action, to the enormous orchestra of professionals and youngsters under Sian Edwards’s enthusiastic direction, and most of all the dozens of singers, young and old(er), playing unruly schoolkids, noisy protesters and terrified townspeople.

Nora Trew-Rae was impressively petulant (though a little under-used) as the reluctant Queen, though Andrea Baker and Arthur Bruce were both brilliantly clear, vivid and outspoken as courtiers-cum-narrators, propelling the plot along nicely. It was the multi-tasking Catriona Hewitson, though, who stole the show with soaring, liquid-silver vocal lines as (among other roles) a smouldering, diva-ish dragon and a put-upon teacher. Composer Paterson gave all the singers – professional and amateur – plenty to work with, in catchy (sometimes infernally catchy) music that doffed its cap to Janáček and Stravinsky while retaining a distinctive voice all its own. By its rousing, hymn-like ending and eco-friendly sign-off, Catriona and the Dragon had generated a warm glow of satisfaction.  David Kettle

scotsman.com

Vox Carnyx

LAMMERMUIR: CATRIONA AND THE DRAGON - 06/04/23

Picture of Catriona Hewitson in rehearsal with the cast by Rob McDougall

The fact that Lammermuir Festival kept faith with its latest community opera project for four years, through all the prohibitions of the pandemic, makes celebrating it something that overrides any conflict of interest I may have in doing that for VoxCarnyx.

My son, baritone Arthur Bruce, was one of three professional singers involved, alongside mezzo Andrea Baker and – in a demanding multiplicity of roles – soprano Catriona Hewitson. They would concede that the show was not about them, however, as they voiced the story-telling alongside a huge cast of local people, from adults to young primary schoolchildren, singing, acting and playing most of the orchestral instruments.

Conducted by Sian Edwards, who marshalled their varying skill-levels with impressive aplomb, the orchestra was led by Katie Hull. It was in itself a fascinating development of the McOpera ensemble established by Scottish Opera players when their staff contracts became part-time, with musicians from the SCO, Maxwell Quartet, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and elsewhere as principals.

Composer Lliam Paterson and librettist Laura Attridge had risen to the challenge of giving everyone in this diverse company an important part to play in a narrative that used local folklore and had a lucid, and unpatronising environmental message. Not only were all the young participants on board for the anthemic chorus at the end, but a child of no more than one in front of me was engrossed by it all.

Leading the community cast in the role of Queen Catriona, Nora Trew-Rae not only revealed a fine voice as the show evolved, but also put in a good number of laps of the auditorium in an energetic performance. That physicality ran through the project and the directors – Attridge, Moira Morrison (Chorus Director), and Ian West (Movement) – achieved wonders of co-ordination. It was Hewitson who often provided the icing on the cake, especially in her soaring singing of the Dragon, but also with some startlingly fast changes of costume.
The climactic confrontation between the Queen and the beast happens off-stage, reported and enacted by her courtiers, Carruthers and Colquhoun (Baker and Bruce). That is a device that can be traced back to ancient tales like Beowulf, but it perhaps lacked a little dramaturgical – rather than performative – style to be a complete success here, solely because it was the only time there were so few people onstage.

It hardly mattered, though, as the chorus quickly returned for that moving Anthem for East Lothian. The county, and Lammermuir Festival, can be justly proud of its talented people, making such a vibrant show in this terrific wee venue.  Keith Bruce

voxcarnyx.com

The Edinburgh Reporter

World premier of Catriona and the Dragon performed to sell out audiences - 08/04/23

The world premier performances of Catriona and the Dragon were held in Dunbar Parish Church this week and both dates were a sell-out.

What is even better is that the audiences said they loved the Lammermuir Festival’s new community opera for East Lothian. There are as yet no plans for further performances but it was such a hit it is likely to happen. Watch this space. And have a look at the Lammermuir Festival website where the programme for 7 to 18 September is coming together.

Conductor Sian Edwards conducts a wonderful ensemble cast featuring former Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Catriona Hewiston (soprano) and Arthur Bruce (baritone) with internationally acclaimed British American dramatic mezzo and local East Lothian resident Andrea Baker (Sing Sistah Sing!) in her first Scottish operatic role. They are joined by young local singer Nora Trew-Rae, Kodaly-trained youth chorus Dunbar Voices, a community chorus of local adults, young people and children and an orchestra of young musicians from the East Lothian Instrumental Music Service supported by professional musicians of McOpera and alumni of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. Phyllis Stephen

theedinburghreporter.co.uk

SCOTSMAN

Andrea Baker on Catriona and the Dragon:  ‘I don’t often get the chance to play giggly, fun parts’ - 27/03/23

Ahead of the world premiere of Lliam Paterson and Laura Attridge’s new opera Catriona and the Dragon, mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker tells Ken Walton she’s looking forward to breaking the fourth wall

It’s only a couple of weeks since mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker was at the opening of the Glasgow Short Film Festival for a screening of OMOS, a film by production company Pollyanna celebrating historic black performance in Scotland, in which she plays a real-life black actor from the 16th century Scottish Court of James VI.

“There’s a potential link to Shakespeare in that story,” says the versatile Massachusetts-born singer, actor and broadcaster who, since 2005, has orchestrated her globetrotting career from East Lothian, where she lives with her Inverness-born husband.

“An event in Stirling Castle in 1594 was supposed to feature a live lion, but they decided it would scare the guests,” she expands. “One of the actors happened to be black, so they switched from the live lion to the actor pulling a cart on all-fours into the Grand Hall. There’s a lion in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, relating to Puck, with similarities to that incident, so some scholars reckon Shakespeare may have known of this incident and adapted it.”

Andrea Baker at rehearsals for Catriona and the Dragon by Rob McDougall

The OMOS film project, fascinating though it is, is just one strand of Baker’s rich creative tapestry. When we spoke, she was fresh from singing in Wagner’s Lohengrin at Germany’s Theater Chemintz. Meanwhile, she’d found time to take her critically-acclaimed solo celebration of the African-American female voice, Sing Sistah Sing!, to Boston. She’s also a frequent presenter on BBC Radio.

Next up is a challenge right on her doorstep. Rooted in the opera world she originally trained for, and taking her into the heart of her adopted East Lothian community, Baker’s latest project is Catriona and the Dragon by Scots composer Lliam Paterson and librettist Laura Attridge, an ambitious environmentally-themed community opera initiated by the Lammermuir Festival and McOpera. Baker is part of its integrated cast of amateurs and professionals.

Over two performances on 5 April in Dunbar Parish Church, Sian Edwards conducts the world premiere, which features talented young local singer Nora Trew-Rae alongside former Scottish Opera Young Generation Artists – the now well-seasoned Catriona Hewitson and Arthur Bruce – and a combined adult and children’s chorus that includes chorus director Moira Morrison’s Dunbar Voices. Local youngsters from the East Lothian Council Instrumental Music Service also rank among an instrumental ensemble supported by the professionals of McOpera and National Youth Orchestra of Scotland alumni.

Amazingly, this is Baker’s first fully-immersed involvement with an opera production specifically created in Scotland. “I’ve sung it here quite a bit, but it’s been either semi-staged or imported through an international company. My one fully-staged performance was in Porgy and Bess for the Edinburgh International Festival, but that was with Opéra Lyon. I’ve sung a semi-staged Walküre and West Side Story, but this is the first actual opera from start to finish I’ve been hired to do here, so I’m pretty excited.”

So is its writer and director Attridge. Conceived by her in collaboration with Paterson, the tale centres on Catriona, the reluctant ruler of a kingdom threatened by a fearsome dragon. The queen (played by Trew-Rae) overcomes her apprehension in tackling the dragon only to realise that the real blight affecting her kingdom lies elsewhere.
“It contains both environmental and political messages that will affect the future of young people and communities directly, the questions they’re asking,” Attridge believes. “Yet it’s not just important for them to simply express these. An opera like this allows them to engage in the actual process – a journey through rehearsal, collaborative performance and the interaction with the audience. I think both process and product are really powerful ways for communities to engage.”

Baker, who plays Carruthers, one of the two courtiers, would agree. “Mentorship is really important to me,” she says, which involves sharing that same joy and excitement of opera that obsessed her as a young girl. “My stage partner is sung by baritone Arthur Bruce. We break the fourth wall and interpret what’s happening in the story, so it’s very much like [comedic ice skating duo] Frick and Frack.”

“As a dramatic mezzo-soprano I don’t often get the chance to play giggly, fun parts,” she adds. Her infectious enthusiasm and charm will doubtless inspire everyone involved.
The world premiere of Catriona and the Dragon is at Dunbar Parish Church on 5 April. Ken Walton

scotsman.com

East Lothian Courier

SCHOOLCHILDREN and amateur singers united to create a new opera for the East Lothian community.

Performances of Catriona and the Dragon at Dunbar Parish Church saw Lammermuir Festival and McOpera once again working together, after the success of previous community operas Britten’s Noye’s Fludde in 2016 and An Cadal Trom by Matthew Rooke in 2018.

Joining a professional cast of opera soloists and musicians, and conductor Sian Edwards, Catriona and the Dragon aimed to deliver professional mentoring, community pride and new skills via a cross-disciplinary and inter-generational operatic project.

The project presented some complex political and environmental issues within a fairytale world, appropriate for the very young to the most senior members of the community, created by composer Lliam Paterson and librettist and director Laura Attridge.

The story followed Catriona as the reluctant ruler of the Kingdom of Beagland, her people threatened with destruction by a fearsome dragon beyond the Bridge to Nowhere.
After fleeing her responsibilities, she ultimately finds the courage to cross over to the beast’s lair, sword in hand.

When she returns, miraculously alive, she summons the citizens of the land to her court to tell them what she has discovered about the real blight in Beagland…
Conductor Sian Edwards was joined by a cast featuring former Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Catriona Hewiston (soprano) and Arthur Bruce (baritone), with internationally acclaimed British American dramatic mezzo and local East Lothian resident Andrea Baker (Sing Sistah Sing!) in her first Scottish operatic role.

eastlothiancourier.com

From Our Cast of Young Musicians

Dragontastic! 

I can’t stop thinking about it, it’s the first and last I think about every day.  

It has grown my confidence and experience and has given me a new appreciation both of the people around me and the environment. 

From Our Profesional Musicians

I was able to use all facets of my working life. It has nurtured my soul and I feel very lucky and proud to have been a part of it.

From Parents and Audience

Who would have thought that pipes could be incorporated into an orchestra. Brilliant! 

What you combined through music, storytelling, graffiti, culture and relationships struck me as being a meaningful, powerful mental health intervention!

It was astounding - the powerfulness of the community, the collaboration between children and adults, the confidence and passion of children, and the storyline itself was so memorable. 

It is going to be hard to go back to normal life after this! A sincere thank you for possibly a life changing opportunity for our young people.

OUTREACH PROGRAMME

Catriona and the Dragon’s operatic journey in East Lothian began with two outreach projects which creatively engaged with over 1200 children, young people and adults within the local community. Delivered in collaboration with the East Lothian Council Instrumental Music Service and the East Lothian Council Arts Service, the Anthem for East Lothian event and the primary school Let’s Make An Opera programme supported the regrowth of music-making in the wake of Covid-19. 

An Anthem for East Lothian – Haddstock Festival May 2022

On 29th May 2022, the East Lothian Council Instrumental Music Service hosted An Anthem for East Lothian in collaboration with Lammermuir Festival, under the baton of renowned conductor Sian Edwards. This huge ensemble came together to mark the start of an exciting new partnership between East Lothian Council Instrumental Music Service, East Lothian Arts Services Youth Music Initiative and Lammermuir Festival in preparation for Catriona and the Dragon in 2023.

The Anthem was commissioned for the East Lothian Council’s Instrumental Music Service by Lammermuir Festival, with music by Lliam Paterson (arranged by Peter Kemp) and words by Laura Attridge. It premiered in St Mary’s Church in Haddington as part of the Haddstock 2022 Festival. 

Photo by Andrew Moncrieff

This project brought together instrumentalists and singers from across the county to perform together in a celebration of ‘who we are and where we live’. East Lothian Council’s Instrumental Music Service Symphony Orchestra, Instrumental Music Service Pipers and Instrumental Music Service Instructors were joined by Preston Lodge High School Pipe Band, professional musicians from McOpera, Dunbar Voices and an Anthem Community Choir of local children, young people and adults.

Rehearsed and performed in a single day, this was one of the largest ensembles to take to the stage in Scotland since the start of the pandemic.  

 Sound production students from Edinburgh College attended the performance on 29th May to record the project and mix the final audio for the video, and An Anthem for East Lothian is available on the ELC Instrumental Music Service’s YouTube Channel ( click here to watch this digital performance )

Photo by Andrew Moncrieff

Let’s Make An Opera – a creative programme for primary schools 

Let’s Make An Opera is a creative, interactive schools’ workshop programme delivered in collaboration with the East Lothian Council Youth Music Initiative between May 2022 and March 2023 to over 200 children from two rural schools near Dunbar and four urban schools in Haddington. In a series of interactive and creative ‘mini-opera’ workshops using thematic material and musical resources from Catriona and the Dragon, our McOpera workshop team asked the children to imagine their future – what would it hold if we didn’t look after our planet, and what might we achieve together if we did! Using freeze frames to develop a narrative storyline, creating ‘travelling music’ to lead from one scene to another with both the pupils’ own instruments and body percussion, each school devised their own ‘future’ song. 

Photos by Julie Broadfoot

And in the letters the children wrote and in the songs they composed, they asked 

I hope in a hundred years, that the animals are still here,
I hope you see the world as it should be…
As it could be…
As it should be…

Innerwick Primary School (Let’s Make An Opera 2023) 

Photos by Julie Broadfoot

Creative Team 
Moira Morrison - Vocal Animateur/Composer
Laura Attridge – Director/ Librettist
Jenny Hill – Musician, Workshop Leader
Jennifer Ross (Clarinet) - Supporting musician 
Sarah Lake (Piano) - Supporting musician 

Participating Primary Schools
Haddington Primary School
Innerwick Primary School
Letham Mains Primary School
St Mary’s RC Primary School
West Barnes Primary School
Yester Primary School

The pupils said:

I learned that it's not scary playing in front of a crowd.
I liked like the music thing, you got to chat with music.
I liked how it was about where we live and how it's about us.  

The teachers told us:

The children in my class thoroughly enjoyed participating with the entire project!  (Teacher)
The P5 musicians were delighted to get the opportunity to play together as part of an orchestra - this was something they had never done before (Teacher)
Please come back again – we don’t have anyone on our staff with musical expertise and this is an opportunity we have really benefitted from and would love to have back again to help us grow (Teacher) 

Our musicians said:

This is vital work for a creative response to climate change - powerful ‘beyond music’, and the timing for these messages is vital.
One of the most positive outcomes was the opportunity for instrumentalists early in their journey to make music as part of a group, for performance with their peers.  

The Hope for the Future Songs

Letham Mains Primary School (June 2022), words by Laura Attridge and Letham Mains Primary School  Audio: I Wish, I Hope by Letham Mains Primary School 

I WISH, I HOPE

I wish for clearer skies,
I hope we can see the stars
I wish, I hope
I wish for flowing water,
I hope there are lots of fish
I wish, I hope
I wish for growing forests,
I hope we care for nature
I wish, I hope
I wish for no more wars,
I hope [that] the Earth is peaceful, I wish, I hope 

 

 St Mary’s RC Primary School, words by Laura Attridge and St Mary’s RC Primary School  Audio: Rainbows by St Mary's RC Primary School 

RAINBOWS

I hope the earth will still have trees
I hope the breeze is calm and clear
I hope the clouds still float above
And I hope it still rains in Scotland 

I hope the air we breathe is clean
I hope the sea is still full of fish
I hope the plants grow strong and green
And I hope it still rains in Scotland 

I hope that people protect the earth
I hope we all can do our part
I hope for rainbows up in the sky
So I hope it still rains in Scotland 

 

 Yester Primary School, words by Laura Attridge and Yester Primary School (2022) Audio: Dear Future by Yester Primary School 

DEAR FUTURE

I hope the sky is bright and blue;
I hope the air smells sweet.
I hope the trees are tall and green;
I hope the grass grows under your feet. 

I hope your water is clean and fresh;
I hope that fish swim in the sea.
I hope that people are still kind;
I hope you love the world as much as me. 

 

Letham Mains Primary School (March 2023), words by Moira Morrison and Letham Mains Primary School Video: Dear Leaders by Letham Mains Primary School

LISTEN TO CHILDREN

Dear Leaders,
Please listen to children,
We want you all to know:
With wildfires, earthquakes, and human mistakes,
There are so many problems in this world of woe!

We need to stop pollution, there are many solutions:
Work together, ban plastics for ever,
Build more electric cars, solar and wind farms.
When we open the door, we want to see…
A world that’s not all about… money.

Dear Leaders,
Please listen to children,
We’re struggling, can’t you see?
The way things are is such a disgrace.
The world could be such a happy place!

Please take action - save the bees,
Care for people, clean our seas.
Please be more fair, plant more trees;
We need the trees… to breathe.
We know the world… could be… better!

Better, Better, Better, Better.

 

 West Barns Primary School, words by Moira Morrison and West Barns Primary School 

TELL ME THE WORLD HAS CHANGED 

Tell me that the plants and the trees are all thriving,
Tell me people cycle instead of all driving,
Tell me the world has changed,
Tell me the world has changed.

Tell me there’s still plenty of green open space,
Tell me that the world has become a safe place,
Tell me the world has changed,
Tell me the world has changed.

Tell me elephants, tigers and chimps are still there,
Tell me, there is less CO2 in the air,
Tell me the world has changed,
Tell me the world has changed.

Tell me you’ve seen snow, it’s a wonderful thing
That red squirrels in Scotland have not gone extinct.
Tell me you can still see the stars at night,
That the air is still clear, and the sun is still bright___

Tell me the world has changed,
Tell me the world has changed.
Tell me the world has changed,
Tell me the world has changed.

 

Innerwick Primary School, words by Moira Morrison and Innerwick Primary School Video: The World As It Should Be by Innerwick Primary School

THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE 

Please promise to keep our seas clean,
Please promise to try.
Please promise to keep our earth green,
Please promise to be kind.

I hope in a hundred years, that the air here is still clear,
I hope you see the world as it should be.

Please promise to protect all creatures,
Please promise to find a way.
Please promise to protect all people,
Please promise to be brave.

I hope in a hundred years, that the animals are still here,
I hope you see the world as it should be…
As it could be…
As it should be…

PRODUCTION PHOTOS

REHEARSAL PHOTOS

PRE-PRODUCTION PHOTOS

VIDEOS