There were raised eyebrows when Scottish Opera, the Cinderella of UK companies, announced its 2009-10 season. The first half was to be devoted to two Italian comedies; the second half would consist of little more than La bohème. Never mind the thinness – it all looked a bit populist. But with a meagre subsidy and no help from the Edinburgh Festival, Scotland’s national opera company has little choice. If it is to avoid a spiral of decline, it must be popular. What better way to bolster support than a pair of romantic soufflés advertising the beauty of song?

Cheeky chutzpah: ‘The Italian Girl in Algiers’

The two could hardly be better contrasted. The Italian Girl in Algiers – in a staging imported from New Zealand, where Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera’s general director, grew up – is a funky farce that translates Rossini to the world of television soap. The Elixir of Love, a picture-book show first staged in 1994, invests Donizetti with more traditional virtues. Both offer a useful platform for up-and-coming singers.