Indian youth for Scottish opera at 2014 C'wealth Games

"The Friendship Oratorio" to be staged by Scotland's national opera company will feature 100 young people and emerging artists from seven Commonwealth countries and is based on their stories about what friendship means to them.

Author Alexander McCall Smith, famous for his "No 1 Ladies Detective Agency" crime fiction series, has been roped in to pen the opera, according to Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Scotland.

Fiona announced this after recently visiting a school here and meeting youngsters who could be participating in the opera.

Aged between 14 years to 26 years, an 18 member cast had staged the play "Finding Me" that explored issues faced by young people in India for Hysold and delegates from Scotland .

"For the past two months we had been exploring issues like identity crises and the choices, be it about branded clothes, substance abuse, peer pressure, or merely selecting friends, that young people are confronted with every day."

'Finding Me' was outcome of that workshop," says Puneeta Roy, Founder Trustee and Executive Director, Tehelka Foundation.
The body has been working with the Scottish Opera for the "The Friendship Oratorio".

The Opera will also bring together young people and emerging artists from participating countries India, Botswana, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Australia and Scotland.

Scottish Opera's director of education, Jane Davidson, says, "The whole team is really looking forward to continuing this hugely exciting project in India. We will be asking people of all ages to share their thoughts and experiences of friendship to help spark ideas for the musical and dramatic structure of The Friendship Oratorio."

Meanwhile, Scottish Cabinet Secretary Fionna says she is delighted with the association of master storyteller Smith. "His libretto will provide the framework for a musical exploration of a unique aspect of human nature- the ability to bond with one another across social, economic, geographical, cultural, sexual, religious and generational divides," she says.

Also in 2014 a group of young people from Delhi will be invited to Scotland to join the youth chorus that will perform the final piece alongside professional artists representing all partner countries.

"I am particularly pleased to have met some of the young people in Delhi who are taking part in this project and I look forward to welcoming them to visit Scotland during the Commonwealth Games in 2014," says Fionna.

Members from the Scottish Opera are visiting Botswana and Canada as well as collaborating with partner organisations in New Zealand and Australia to conduct workshops with students and teachers to flesh out ideas for the brand new opera.

"The idea is to incorporate local tradition and stories about friendship from the partner Commonwealth countries and weave them into the opera. It is a great idea for youngsters to share their experiences with others from different countries," says Puneeta.

The initiative is also part of the Scottish Opera Outreach Programme of arts in education where Opera is used as a teaching aid. The British Council Scotland is supporting the project.