DAVID Stout admits he had a “very bizarre” route into the world of opera singing. “I was born in the UK, grew up in Africa, and I became a safari guide in Botswana,” he says, unexpectedly. “I was fascinated by natural history and read zoology at university before going into teaching biology.
While I was teaching I did some amateur opera, and at the age of 29, I asked my head of department if I could go part-time to pursue singing.” David adds: “He said no, you need to leave and follow this little dream of yours.” He grins.
“Sixteen years later, and I’ve made a pretty decent career of it.” (Image: Julie Howden/Scottish Opera) Pretty decent is an understatement – the Southside-based singer is one of the UK’s most in-demand baritones, with a string of high-profile and acclaimed roles under his belt, including his recent turn as Dr Bartolo in Scottish Opera’s The Barber of Seville. Now, David is back at the Glasgow company (where his wife Susannah Wapshot is Associate Chorus Master and assistant conductor) to play the title role of Don Pasquale in a revival of the much-loved Donizetti comic opera about love, marriage and clashing generations.
“It’s hard work doing comedy – it’s not just having fun on stage ,” he says, smiling. “The Barber of Seville was fantastic, and incredibly successful, but the kind of comedy in Don Pasquale is different. “It is borne out of the daft situation Don Pasquale finds himself in, as opposed to the farce of .