Scottish Opera’s much-loved Pop-up Opera tour is heading to Ayrshire this summer, with performances in Ayr, West Kilbride, and Arran's Whiting Bay.

Audiences can catch A Little Bit of Don Giovanni and A Little Bit of The Merry Widow, cleverly re-scored by Scottish Opera’s former Head of Music, Derek Clark. 

These 30-minute shows take opera out of the theatre into unexpected places, and are ideal for anyone new to the artform who would like to try a taster of these classics by Mozart and Lehár.

Ayrshire audiences can catch the event at The Cutty Sark Centre, Ayr, on Friday June 7 at 2pm and 4pm, at West Kilbride Village Hall on Saturday, June 8 at 1pm and 3pm, and at Whiting Bay Village Hall, Isle of Arran on Sunday, June 8 at 2pm and 4pm

Pop-up Opera was originally inspired by the ancient Japanese art of Kamishibai (which roughly translates as ‘paper story’), a form of entertainment where itinerant storytellers travelled between small communities, telling traditional folk tales using a set of small paintings to accompany the narrative.

Scottish Opera’s productions use 10 specially created illustrations to help the performers - storyteller Allan Dunn, along with singers Jessica Leary and Andrew McTaggart, cellist Andrew Drummond Huggan and guitarists Sasha Savaloni and Ian Watt - present the story.

Schoolchildren can also look forward to the tour popping up in primaries across the various locations for free performances of Sophie and Bear, a newly commissioned piece for Primary 1 to 4.

The music is by Graham McCusker, who has composed for television series including His Dark Materials and The Essex Serpent, as well as scoring and conducting music for the Netflix feature film, The Strays. The story is written and directed by Jessica Leary and Andrew McTaggart.

Tickets for Pop-up Opera are available from here​