Despite being traditionally associated with major concert halls around the world, Scotland’s largest music festival is breaking the mould and hosting a mini opera.Organisers of the T in the Park event have requested that the Scottish Opera bring a “pocket-sized” version of Verdi’s Rigoletto to the event, which takes place at Balado, near Kinross.
It means that the opera company will be sharing the bill with the likes of Coldplay, the Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters.
The 20-minute performances form part of a campaign by the group to reach out to new audiences, with the show at T in the Park, called A Little Bit of Rigoletto, featuring a storyteller, singer, harpist and cellist.
In the past, the company has taken the mini opera on tour and performed at various locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle, the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, in car parks and even in an Ikea store.
Scottish Opera recently revealed its new programme for the coming 12 months. Fans will be able to catch eight new shows, two classic revivals, six collaborations and 105 performances over the course of the year.
Director Alex Reedijk, said: “What’s exciting about this season is the adventurous range of dramatic, passionate and humorous stories on offer, which I hope will give audiences the opportunity to revel in some old favourites, but also to try some new opera experiences.
“We remain committed to producing top quality performances that appeal to those who know and love their opera, but we’re also fascinated by the opportunities for us as a company in testing the traditional opera boundaries to seek out new audiences.”
Also performing at the event are The Strokes, Pulp, Beyonce Knowles, My Chemical Romance, Plan B, Slash and Beady Eye among others.