Scottish Opera: The Secret Marriage

Through a series of special offers – and the achingly hip mini-operas of their Five: 15 programme, Scottish Opera are making a resolute effort to reach new, and younger audiences. In this context, The Secret Marriage ends up as an anomaly. Composer Domenico Cimarosa was a near-contemporary of Mozart, and his vigorous classicism appeals to a traditional – and older – audience. However, the stylish costumes and impressive set contribute to a marvellous spectacle, with strong performances from the five main characters and a snappy interpretation of the score from conductor Garry Walker and the Scottish Opera Orchestra.

The wise decision to set the events on the cusp of the 1960s not only offers elegant costumes but suits the story. Perhaps the last period in history when aristocracy was still respected and the importance of a father’s blessing had to be weighed against romantic love, the late 1950s make sense of the almost farcical events – rivals in love, sexual innuendo and a status-obsessed patriarch – without placing the events too far beyond social memory. However, the plot is merely an excuse for the arias and ensembles, which are meditations on passion, social identity and inter-generational identity.

Cimarosa’s lightness of musical touch – and Giovanni Bertati’s libretto – allows some serious issues to be gently raised. Director Harry Fehr avoids emphasising the comic or farcical, allowing even the pompous Count Robinson grace and sympathy for the beleaguered father Geronimo. As expected from Scottish Opera, the technique of the singers is marvellous, voices clear and vibrant with restrained emotion.

However, this particular production remains a sop to traditional audiences: it is professional and energetic, but does not diverge from the stereotypes of high art. It does challenge other forms of theatre to consider whether craft and skill could be more important than emotionalism or self-indulgence and demonstrates how comedy and intelligence can be combined in entertainment.