Princess Ida (Concert Version)

Billed as a concert version, this was really much more. No scenery, orchestra and minimal costume, but otherwise this was a fully choreographed production. Full credit must go to Rae for her ingenuity in creating extra dialogue to tell the story in sufficient detail without having to use the full libretti. The transition over the overture from choir to actual performance was cleverly done and drew the audience in to the magic
As one would expect, all the principals were of the highest order. In particular, Marti Tarr was impressive as King Hildebrand as was Michael McFarlane as Hilarion. Claire Porterfield played Princess Ida with great style. Robin Ozog was wonderfully disagreeable as King Gama.
Great credit must go to the chorus who not only had a lot to sing but also a lot of movement to cope with as they were thoroughly involved throughout. Clearly a tremendous amount of work had gone into mounting this production, which was very much appreciated by the audience.
A special mention must go to pianist Kate Doig for her impeccable accompaniment throughout
The production tours to Pitlochry in September and I would highly recommend this opportunity to see one of the lesser performed G&S works.

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