Southsiders were singing in the Theatre Royal during October’s school holidays.

Teenagers Karen Fishwick and Stephanie Stanway were among 19 school pupils selected by Scottish Opera (SO) to take part in the five-day ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ Workshop Week.

The girls were nominated to apply for auditions by their school music departments. They developed their skills in vocal technique, dramatic presentation and improvisation under the expert guidance of SO Staff Producer Robert Jones and Head of Music Derek Clark. Two singers from the company’s current production of Der Rosenkavalier taught them techniques to train their voices.  The students’ training ended in a performance at the theatre for family and friends.

Karen (16), from Clarkston, is a pupil at St Ninian’s in Giffnock. ‘I’d never done anything with opera before,’ she said. ‘It’s something completely different and refreshing. When I’m standing on the stage and looking at all the seats I know that this is what I want to do.’

Stephanie (16) lives in Shawlands and attends Shawlands Academy. She said, ‘I’d never seen an opera before. I always wanted to do musical theatre but now I’m considering opera. I think it would be really good to do – it’s more than a show, it’s an experience.’

Lissa Lorenzo, SO Outreach Manager, is native Southsider from Robslee Park. She said, ‘The enthusiasm of the students has been fantastic. Within ten minutes they had picked up quite difficult three-part harmonies. The passion in their voices was quite touching. It was great to give them an opportunity like this for free.’

Stephanie added, ‘What’s really good – we see the opera for free!’