1896 Debut Set The Scene
Later history from 1965

IN March, 1896, an audience drawn from all over Moray packed Elgin Town Hall to see the first performance by the Elgin Amateur Opera Company, as they were then called.
With seats costing between 6d and 2s - 2'/2p and lOp in present-day money - they enjoyed what a 'Northern Scot' critic of the time called a "musical and dramatic treat" - a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore". The operetta ran for three nights, to packed houses, and concluded with a party in the Assembly Rooms which the entire cast attended in full costume.

The following year their reputation was already so well established that special trains were laid on by the Highland Railway Company to bring patrons into Elgin from the outlying districts to see "The Mikado" - the first of five Elgin productions of the famous oriental musical comedy that were to delight local audiences over the following century. The operetta was staged again in 1905, 1923, 1967 and 1980 (and is our planned production for 2008) After the 1897 "Mikado", the Elgin Amateur Opera Company appears to have lapsed until 1904 when the town hall was the setting for "Patience".

There were annual productions up to and including 1908, among them a joint venture with the Elgin Institute Dramatic Company, but the operatic group lay dormant throughout the war years and only re-emerged in 1922 when they staged "The Gondoliers".A spate of Gilbert and Sullivan favourites followed, with Alwyn Laxton's name appearing for the first time as musical director in 1924. Mr Laxton's wife was also an enthusiastic member of the company.

It was during the 1920s that a rival appeared — the Lossiemouth Choral and Operatic Society was formed and performed in both Elgin and Lossiemouth. In 1927 they changed their name to the Moray Operatic Society and limited their appearances to Elgin.The two groups continued in tandem for some years, the Moray Operatic Society — which by 1930 had become the Moray Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society — performing in February, and the Elgin Amateur Opera Company in November. '

Elgin amateur operatics hit another low note in the mid-1930s when, yet again, there appear to have been no productions. Whether members were in short supply or the town found it difficult to maintain two shows a year is not known, but, as John Howden points out, the Playhouse Cinema opened in 1932, and perhaps this had the same disastrous effect on live performances as television was to have 20 or 30 years later.

Credit for a further revival in 1937 goes to Elgin Town Council who called a public meeting which resulted in the formation of the City of Elgin Amateur Operatic Society, and the production of "The Arcadians" in December that year. Alwyn Laxton was again musical director with D. A. Curd as producer, and the following year the same duo were at the helm for "No, No, Nanette", and "Full House" - both productions staged to raise money for the Dr Gray's Hospital £30,000 appeal fund.
By 1939 the society had so few male members that it was in danger of. collapse - a danger that became an actuality when in August that year the venue for their productions, Elgin Town Hull, was burnt to the ground and, the month after, war was declared.
Once more, Elgin was without an operatic society, and it was almost 30 years before sufficient enthusiasm was generated to start again.

	Elgin Musical Theatre
	1896 Debut Set The Scene Later history from 1965 IN March, 1896, an audience drawn from all over Moray packed Elgin Town Hall to see the first performance by the Elgin Amateur Opera Company, as they were then called. With seats costing between 6d and 2s - 2'/2p and lOp in present-day money - they enjoyed what a 'Northern Scot' critic of the time called a "musical and dramatic treat" - a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore". The operetta ran for three nights, to packed houses, and concluded with a party in the Assembly Rooms which the entire cast attended in full costume. The following year their reputation was already so well established that special trains were laid on by the Highland Railway Company to bring patrons into Elgin from the outlying districts to see "The Mikado" - the first of five Elgin productions of the famous oriental musical comedy that were to delight local audiences over the following century. The operetta was staged again in 1905, 1923, 1967 and 1980 (and is our planned production for 2008) After the 1897 "Mikado", the Elgin Amateur Opera Company appears to have lapsed until 1904 when the town hall was the setting for "Patience". There were annual productions up to and including 1908, among them a joint venture with the Elgin Institute Dramatic Company, but the operatic group lay dormant throughout the war years and only re-emerged in 1922 when they staged "The Gondoliers".A spate of Gilbert and Sullivan favourites followed, with Alwyn Laxton's name appearing for the first time as musical director in 1924. Mr Laxton's wife was also an enthusiastic member of the company. It was during the 1920s that a rival appeared — the Lossiemouth Choral and Operatic Society was formed and performed in both Elgin and Lossiemouth. In 1927 they changed their name to the Moray Operatic Society and limited their appearances to Elgin.The two groups continued in tandem for some years, the Moray Operatic Society — which by 1930 had become the Moray Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society — performing in February, and the Elgin Amateur Opera Company in November. ' Elgin amateur operatics hit another low note in the mid-1930s when, yet again, there appear to have been no productions. Whether members were in short supply or the town found it difficult to maintain two shows a year is not known, but, as John Howden points out, the Playhouse Cinema opened in 1932, and perhaps this had the same disastrous effect on live performances as television was to have 20 or 30 years later. Credit for a further revival in 1937 goes to Elgin Town Council who called a public meeting which resulted in the formation of the City of Elgin Amateur Operatic Society, and the production of "The Arcadians" in December that year. Alwyn Laxton was again musical director with D. A. Curd as producer, and the following year the same duo were at the helm for "No, No, Nanette", and "Full House" - both productions staged to raise money for the Dr Gray's Hospital £30,000 appeal fund. By 1939 the society had so few male members that it was in danger of. collapse - a danger that became an actuality when in August that year the venue for their productions, Elgin Town Hull, was burnt to the ground and, the month after, war was declared. Once more, Elgin was without an operatic society, and it was almost 30 years before sufficient enthusiasm was generated to start again.