Review: The Strauss Collection – Scottish Opera

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Richard Strauss in Concert – Glasgow and Edinburgh

At Glasgow’s Theatre Royal and Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, under Stuart Stratford’s baton, recently delivered a concert of Richard Strauss excerpts showcasing musical precision and vocal strength. Drawing from Ariadne auf Naxos, Arabella, and Der Rosenkavalier, the performance leaned on the ensemble’s orchestral clarity and a standout cast to explore Strauss’s operatic range.

It was a night of undeniable quality—lush and dynamic—yet one that left its ambitions partially unmet, perhaps stuck between concert hall purity and the pull of a fuller stage.

Orchestral Power

The orchestra anchored the evening with a commanding performance, bringing Strauss’s scores to life with power and finesse. The opening of Der Rosenkavalier surged with intensity, its bold horns giving way to delicate wind and harp motifs in “The Presentation of the Rose.”

Stratford’s conducting balanced the music’s heft and nuance, guiding a program that moved from Ariadne’s theatrical spark and Arabella’s romantic glow in the first half to a deep dive into Der Rosenkavalier after the interval. The sound was detailed and vibrant, a testament to the ensemble’s skill in a setting that let the music stand alone.

Vocal Excellence

Vocally, the cast matched this excellence. Helena Dix brought depth and richness to the Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier) and Arabella, her soprano carrying a blend of command and fleeting lightness. Rhian Lois infused Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) with playful energy, her coloratura a bright thread in the night’s weave.

Hanna Hipp’s mezzo-soprano lent emotional weight to the Composer (Ariadne) and Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), her intensity a highlight. Roland Wood added gravitas as Mandryka (Arabella) and Baron Ochs (Der Rosenkavalier), his Ochs a bold, if brief, presence. The duets—Dix and Wood in Arabella, Lois and Hipp in Der Rosenkavalier—impressed with their seamless interplay with the orchestra, amplifying the emotional stakes.

Ambitious but misdirected?

The program’s structure offered variety, with Arabella’s rarer selections a draw for those keen on Strauss’s broader catalogue. Yet its excerpt-based approach—neither a full opera nor a streamlined hits collection—left a sense of something incomplete. As a concert, it shed staging to spotlight the music, aided by English surtitles for the German text. This sharpened the focus on sound but dulled the dramatic pull, a trade-off that didn’t fully bridge the gap between recital and theatre.

Given the engaging portmanteau highlight shows which Scottish Opera regularly stages with minimal setting but a strong sense of underlying story, this does feel like a missed opportunity.

Attendance was a little thin as well, hinting at the challenge of drawing crowds to such a niche offering. Maybe the show fell between two stools, neither an accessible crowdpleaser nor a complete operative journey.

I also wonder at the title itself. “The Strauss Collection” does have rather elitist connotations, whereas ‘An Introduction to Strauss’ or – with a few tweaks to the production – ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Strauss’ might have presented a broader invitation.

A Partial Triumph

For those present, however, the night delivered ample rewards: a display of Scottish Opera’s musical depth, with Stratford’s curation and the cast’s chemistry shining throughout. The orchestra’s lush performance and the singers’ finesse made it a compelling case for Strauss’s mastery of the art form.

It’s just a pity there weren’t more people in the room to witness an excellent cast and orchestra pay such delightful homage to Strauss.

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