Coffee-Table Notes

Scottish Opera, Glasgow Four stars Universal Basic Income probably wasn’t on Puccini’s mind back in the 1890s when he penned his backstreet tragedy of love and death amongst the starving artist set. How to make a living in the latter-day creative industries is nevertheless one of the many of-the-moment concerns in Scottish Opera’s ingenious new production, the company’s first for six months.    Using Jonathan Dove’s arrangement and a scaled down orchestra, director Roxana Haines reimagines the story for the Covid-19 created socially distanced age. Performed outdoors in what is normally the company’s car park, Haines’ new take sets the story among freelancers trying to get a break as they’re starved of work.   Chances are that writer Rodolfo, painter Marcello, busker Schaunard and thinker in residence Colline can beg, steal or borrow their way through things. For Elizabeth Llewellyn’s costume designer, Mimi, alas, it looks fatal. If only she’d got herself a sugar daddy like Marcello’s g

The sky was ablaze  with light over  c entral  Edinbu rgh   last  Saturday  night . O n what would have been the opening weekend of the 2020 Edinburgh International Festival, the  heavens   were n’t   lit up  by fireworks, as is the norm at thi s time of year . Rather, the shafts of light that pierced the air were part of a  spectacular  installation design ed to illuminate the  city’s  empty theatres and ve nues  that would  ordinarily  be hosting EIF events this month.    Created by  lighting de signers Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes ,  aka Lightworks,  the sky-borne spectacle was the flagship event of My Lig ht Shines On. This is the name given to  E IF’s  d igital programme of films   taking place on line throughout August  in place of the physical events cancelled by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic .    The films showcase   performances of commissioned works from Scotland’s national arts companies , including  Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Ro yal Scottish National Orchestra and