Gala Night with Isobel Buchanan

Isobel Buchanan

Saturday night is Gala Night at the opera. That’s when guests with gala tickets can enjoy Bellini cocktails and canapés together with a talk from Bath Opera’s Honorary Patron, Isobel Buchanan…

We are delighted that Isobel Buchanan will share her memories of performing in La Sonnambula in 1980. In the role of Lisa, she played alongside Luciano Pavarotti as Elvino, Joan Sutherland as Amina and Nicolai Ghiaurov as Rodolfo. With the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, this was subsequently recorded by Decca.

Born in 1954 in Glasgow, Isobel made her professional opera debut in 1975 with Australian Opera as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute when she was the youngest Principal Artist in the company’s history. She made her British debut in 1978 at Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

She sang Micaela in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1978 production of Bizet’s Carmen at the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Carlos Kleiber with Plácido Domingo as Don José. You can watch a clip of their duet here:

Isobel has appeared at major opera houses and with companies around the world from New York Metropolitan Opera to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and from the Opéra de Monte-Carlo to the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She has also collaborated with many renowned conductors, including Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink and Yehudi Menuhin. In 1990 she sang at HM The Queen Mother’s 90th Birthday celebration at the London Palladium in a section dedicated to Isobel’s home country of Scotland.

Isobel is both amusing and hugely knowledgeable about Bellini’s brilliant opera and will provide a fascinating insight of her life and work in the world of opera. Click on the image to hear her in discussion with Jane Clarke about her international career in opera and her new role as Honorary Patron of Bath Opera.

TICKETS FOR GALA NIGHT
You can buy your tickets for the final performance of La Sonnambula on Saturday 23 February with the Gala Package for just £42. This special Gala evening starts at 6.30pm with Bellini cocktails, canapés and prosecco. Guests are asked to arrive by 6.20pm so as to not to miss a moment of this very special event.

If you have already bought your £27 ticket for the Saturday performance you can ‘upgrade’ to the Gala Package for just £15 at any time by calling the Bath Opera Hotline: 01935 475 219.

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