Celebrating 10 years of taking opera across Scotland: Opera Bohemia's The Merry Widow

Franz Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow has now been performed professionally in Scotland for over 10 years so Opera Bohemia's forthcoming 18 venue tour across Scotland from 15 August to 14 September will be most welcome. In fact the tour is something of a celebration as Opera Bohemia is 10 years old this year and the company is celebrating with its biggest tour ever, presenting The Merry Widow in venues from Thurso to Galashiels including the islands of Arran and Skye.

The new production will be directed by John Wilkie who made his directorial debut with Opera Bohemia in 2010, and features some of Scotland's finest young singers with the leads played by Edinburgh-born soprano Catriona Clark and Fife-born baritone Douglas Nairne, alongside former Scottish Opera Young Artists, Marie Claire Breen and Andrew McTaggart. The musical director of Opera Bohemia will conducted a special arrangement for chamber orchestra for some performances, with others accompanied by piano (Andrew Brown) and solo violin (Dániel Mészöly).

One of Opera Bohemia's main aims is to introduce opera to first-time opera goers, and alongside opera performances the company offers opera workshops to schools and this year the sessions will include over 600 children in 18 schools.

Artistic Directors of Opera Bohemia Douglas Nairne and Alistair Digges founded the company to bring live opera around Scotland and to give opportunities to young professional singers and musicians.

Full details from the Opera Bohemia website.