★★★★☆
For lengthy stretches of David McVicar’s new production of Debussy’s only completed opera, the audience is confronted with a plain black curtain while the orchestra plays between scenes. This element may be born of necessity: after all, these interludes were written to cover scenery changes. Still, it is a striking feature of McVicar’s production for Scottish Opera that the director repeatedly seeks to facilitate our intense engagement with the music, consistently drawing attention to the ways in which Debussy’s score fills out the ellipses in the enigmatic story.
Indeed, the live action is sombrely lit, at points taking place in near-darkness. The arresting designs, created by Rae Smith (set and costumes) and Paule Constable (lighting), who previously collaborated on War Horse, are based