01 Identity
Scottish charity record
- OSCR charity number
- SC019787
- Status
- Active
- Regulatory type
- Standard
- Designated religious body
- No
- Geographical spread
- Scotland and other parts of the UK
- Volunteers
- 1-50 volunteers
- Staff
- 164
- Postcode
- G2 4PT
02 Purpose and work
What the charity exists to do
Scottish Opera is Scotland’s national opera company and largest performing arts organisation, founded in 1962 by Sir Alexander Gibson ‘to lay the treasures of opera at the feet of the people of Scotland’. Our repertoire ranges from the earliest operas to newly-commissioned world premieres. We collaborate with the world’s finest singers and creatives, our orchestra and choruses to produce world-class work at every scale and tour across Scotland to ensure performances are within reach of as many of the country’s dispersed population as possible. Our smaller tours visit over 50 venues across the mainland and islands. Our Education & Outreach programme, which celebrates 55 years in 2026, includes a Primary Schools Tour, bringing children the opportunity to perform alongside professional singers. Around 120 schools and 120,000 pupils take part each year. We aim to be inclusive and affordable through subsidised and free tickets, audio description and shorter access performances.
Charitable purposes
- the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
Beneficiaries
- No specific group, or for the benefit of the community
Activities
- It carries out activities or services itself
Constitutional objectives
The advancement of education of the public in Scotland by the creation of opportunities for the people of Scotland to see and hear productions and performances of opera and ballet, music, dance, plaus and drama and of operatic, dramatic and other music.
03 Annual returns
Income and expenditure history
| Year end | Income | Expenditure | Staff | Return received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2025 | £13,946,830 | £13,174,364 | 164 | 6 February 2026 |
| 31 March 2024 | £13,356,773 | £12,685,759 | 164 | 5 December 2024 |
| 31 March 2023 | £13,663,468 | £14,364,509 | 164 | 2 October 2023 |
| 31 March 2022 | £11,992,557 | £12,074,422 | 164 | 24 September 2022 |
| 31 March 2021 | £12,790,687 | £10,349,775 | 164 | 22 December 2021 |
Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.
04 Contact record
Principal office or trustees address
- Address supplied to OSCR
- 39 Elmbank Crescent, Glasgow
- Website supplied to OSCR
- www.scottishopera.org.uk
- Parent charity
- Not supplied
No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.
05 Provenance
Source for this profile
© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.