A talented teenager from Inverkip says he can't wait to play the 'big baddie' in Scottish Opera's double bill which hits the Barrfields Theatre in Largs this Saturday.
Ruaraidh McBain, aged 19, has been accepted by the Royal Conservative for vocal training and says it is a dream come true to play a villain.
Ruaraidh is appearing as Jack Garston in 'Maud', which he describes as having a burst of 'Lord of the Rings' with magical out of this world characters.
Maud, by composer, improviser and teacher Henry McPherson, is a modern retelling of a traditional folk tale.
It received its premiere in 2018 at Glasgow’s SWG3 as a winner of Scottish Opera’s Opera Sparks competition.
Set in midsummer, it tells the story of a child who stumbles upon a tiny creature in the undergrowth while picking blackberries in an ancient wood. Taking her new-found treasure home, however, not everyone shares her love.
Ruaraidh said: "A little girl discovers a dragon and wants to protect it from the town, but I play the baddie Jack Garston - who tries to use the dragon for power.
"I feel good about it - there is a sense of power and gravitas and it is a part that people always remember be it Voldemort in Harry Potter or Darth Vader in Star Wars.
"Big powerful villains are a lot of fun to play!"
Ruaraidh also features in the second show of the double bill, composer Kurt Weill’s and librettist Arnold Sundgaard’s magical 'Down in the Valley', a bittersweet coming-of-age tale showing the light and darkness of one claustrophobic community.
In another time, two young adults in an isolated religious village have fallen in love against their elder’s wishes – and the girl disobeys her mother to go dancing with the boy. When a horrible accident changes their lives forever, they have one night to reckon with their fates.
Ruaraidh described it as very much similar to 'Romeo and Juliett' in a tale which will pull the heartstrings, and is set on a Scottish island with exciting dance and ceilidh sequences.
The talented teen has been singing with NYCOS - Scotland's Youth Singing Organisation - since he was ten under the tutelage of Alison McNeill of 'Really Jiggered', and is to start at the Royal Conservatoire for vocal studies at the end of the summer.
Ruaraidh has a Grade 8 in singing and an HND in music on bass guitar at West College in Greenock with Hugh Cox a great help and mentor.
He is also performing with Millport's Logan Scott in the band 'Home for Joy' on August 6 in King Tut's.
He hopes family and friends will turn out to see him perform in Saturday's big show, adding: "It is wonderful to be performing at Barrfields Theatre which is part of the national tour.
"It is something special to bring opera to the heart of the community, and I can't wait."
Ruaraidh lives in Inverkip with mum Lynne and dad Derek, in Hill Farm.
For tickets, visit the Scottish Opera site HERE.
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