A cold glare hangs over this year's collaboration between Scottish Opera and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in which a (mostly) student cast, a student production crew and a mixed student-professional orchestra take on Britten's enchanted Shakespeare opera. The production is a revival of Olivia Fuchs's from 2005, first seen at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio, where some critics found its storytelling too ambiguous and Niki Turner's neon-strip set too austere.
True enough, this is no midsummer reverie, but a chilly, abstract labyrinth of troubled dreams and murky intents. It works for winter and it challenges the performers, whose job it is to bring magic to the drama. The dazzle factor comes from aerial artist Jami Quarrell, whose flighty Puck dangles from ropes and darts spryly hither and thither. It's not just his acrobatics that steal the show: Quarrell portrays Puck as a volatile, pent-up teenager, hotly enamoured with Oberon, gloriously stroppy with Tytania. The rest of the singing cast match his charisma with only varying success. Best of the mortal lovers are Demetrius (Daniel O'Connor) and Helena (Anush Hovhannisyan); the Rustics are led in endearing performances by Rónan Busfield (Flute) and Andrew McTaggart (Bottom), both former RCS students and currently on the Scottish Opera's emerging artists programme. Elinor Rolfe Johnson handles Tytania's stratospheric lines with sturdy nerves; discovery of the night is countertenor Tom Verney as Oberon, a magnetic stage presence and a captivating voice.
There are logistical teething problems, with shuffling latecomers and squeaking seats ruining the crucial spell of Britten's opening bars. It takes a while to feel much enchantment from the rough-edged orchestra, but conductor Timothy Dean does draw some lovely textures – particularly from the wind and brass.