Stravinsky turned to neoclassicism because he found freedom to be bold within in its rules.
Scottish Opera's new production of The Rake's Progress – which opened last night – does the same. Director David McVicar and designer John Macfarlane use period setting (18th century London) and period theatre techniques to create a brash, bawdy and brilliantly lavish look, but behind the raunch and the outlandish hairdos it's a classic treatment – which few modern productions are willing to give this opera.
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