It was a cold icy night, with snow all around. I wore my wool kilt to the opera, to keep with the Scottish theme. Ancient Fraser of Lovat tartan for me... Saskatchewan tartan for my companion. Dressing up for the opera... Macbeth is set in the Middle Ages10th Century - long before the invention of the modern kilt. The famous Shakespearean drama was written in 1606. In 1847, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi abandoned his planned opera of King Lear, and wrote Macbeth to celebrate his favorite poet. Fast forward to November 2006, the debut of this Scottish-English-Italian opera in multicultural Vancouver - long home to early waves of Scottish, English and Italian immigrants. This city has long loved its opera. This province and city was built by Scottish pioneers, becoming home to many Scottish cultural traditions including the BC Highland Games, world champion SFU Pipe Band and a great Shakespeare tradition of Bard on the Beach.   more »