Scottish Opera’s Bambino returns to Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Scottish Opera’s Bambino returns To Edinburgh Festival Fringe and tours to Paris and around Scotland
Following sell-out runs in Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2017, the five star ‘opera for babies’ BambinO is touring to Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, as well as Paris and five venues around Scotland.
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 6 to 18 months is a co-production with Manchester International Festival and Improbable.
BambinO returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August with performances taking place once again at Edinburgh Academy. Tickets for the Edinburgh dates are available to buy from today (March 22). The show is then presented by Théâtre du Châtelet in various Paris venues from 6 to 20 April. This busy year for BambinO will finish with a tour in the Autumn to Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Motherwell and Lerwick.
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.
Charlotte Hoather as Uccellina in BambinO. Scottish Opera, MIF and Improbable 2017. Photo Credit: 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.’
Former Scottish Opera Composer in Residence, Lliam Paterson, 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.
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Performance Diary
Various venues in Paris presented by Théâtre du Châtelet
More information and tickets available from www.chatelet-theatre.com
Robertson Room, Edinburgh Academy (Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
7 to 19 Aug (excl. Mon 13 Aug)
10am & 11.30am
Tickets available from March 22
Fringe Box Office, 180 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QS
0131 226 0000 or www.edfringe.com
Autumn 2018
6 – 22 Sep
Touring to Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Motherwell and Lerwick
Tickets on sale Summer 2018, more details from www.scottishopera.org.uk
