Joy unconfined: a scene from Opera Australia's spectacular "Bliss" Pic: Jeff Busby
The 2010 Edinburgh Festival finally drew to a close last night with the now traditional last night fireworks. Most organisers reported excellent business and some very decent art in the face of predictions that the festivals all faced a tough future from budget cuts and sponsorship withdrawals.
Last week, the Fringe ended with positive noises from the main venues, including Assembly, celebrating its 30th year which claimed record sales. The Fringe as a whole reported good, if not record, receipts and there was no shortage of top quality shows, including the multi-award winning Roadkill and Simon Callow's Shakespeare show, The Man from Stratford.
The International Festival drew to a close with the new Australian opera Bliss, based on a novel by Peter Carey. Brett Dean's complex score was not immediately pleasing and there was some doubt over the subject matter - an advertising man having a last minute realisation that his life was worthless - having the necessary operatic qualities.
But a spectacular set and a fine central performance from Peter Coleman-Wright as Harry Joy, the ironically named central character, meant there was plenty to watch.
Opera from Australia was part of the New Worlds theme of this year's festival which also featured theatre from Chile - widely admired - and a rare revival of a baroque opera called Montezuma which was widely criticised. The National Theatre of Scotland's Caledonia, about Scotland's only and ill-fated atempt to go into the colony business in the Darien scheme proved controversial but also popular. A national theatre which is at the centre of a national debate is doing something right.
Edinburgh residents showed tremendous support for the Festival with almost 50% of ticket buyers coming from EH postcodes. Nearly 1 in 3 events were total sell outs including Caledonia, but also Opera Lyon's Porgy and Bess, the Simón Bolívar String Quartet, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Mahler Symphony No 8.
The Festival earned its highest ever ticket sales income with over £2.67m taken at the box office, a 3% rise on last year.
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