HERE is one to watch out for. Coming your way soon, four singers and a

pianist from Scottish Opera with a portable tour of operatic highlights.

Small venues, off the beaten operatic track, are the target.

If there is a single criticism that might be levelled at the Essential

Scottish Opera tour, which opened on Saturday to a packed house at

Hyndland's Cottier Theatre, it is that the operatic fare is of the

nouvelle cuisine variety. That is, it is a very short programme: 90

minutes, including an interval.

That said, look out for this show (touring throughout Scotland over

the next month). It is superbly cast, with two sopranos -- Susannah

Glanville and Lisa Milne -- tenor Ian Storey and baritone Andrew

Hammond, and is accompanied with exemplary pianism by Ian Shaw. It is

also finely structured, with the singers themselves introducing the

items (without a bump) and with a concentration on ensemble numbers.

Okay, those who ache for the big solo aria still get a quick hit from

the Prologue to Pagliacci, La Donna e mobile, and O mio babbino caro.

But the real strength of the show is in the ensemble numbers --

beautifully sung -- and especially in the second half, where the great

quartet from Fidelio flows into the final duet from Poppea (the two

women) then the Pearl Fishers' duet (the two men) culminating in the

Champagne Ensemble and finale from Fledermaus; an exquisite progression.

See Kaleidoscope in Weekender each Saturday for regular details of the

tour.

* Tour sponsored by Clydesdale Bank plc.