ENGLISH TOURING OPERA makes a triumphant return to Bath’s Theatre Royal for a singspiel double bill likely to take audiences to seventh heaven.

The ETO's annual visit featured a period production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s hugely popular opera The Seraglio on Monday followed by tonight's performance of Kurt Weill’s masterpiece The Silver Lake – A Winter’s Tale (Der Silbersee).

The Seraglio cast featured Lucy Hall as Konstanze, John-Colyn Gyeantey as Belmonte, Nazan Fikret as Blonde, Richard Pinkstone as Pedrillo, Matthew Stiff as Osmin and Alexander Andreou as Pasha.

When sung in English, opera always seems to lose a certain je ne sais quoi, or, considering The Seraglio was originally written in German, should that be ich weiß nicht was?

Whatever language you wish to use there is no denying that when, in Act 3 the voices of Konstanze, Blonde, Belmonte and Pedrillo are raised in full, glorious exquisiteness, there is absolutely nothing whatsoever missing.

Add in the smooth roundness of tenor Alex Andreou’s voice and the splendid glossy richness of Matthew Stiff’s bass-baritone and you have as fully rounded an opera as you can wish to see.

All of this, together with the storyline, costumes, scenery, lighting and beautifully played score, made The Seraglio truly not one to miss.

Tonight, ETO performs Kurt Weill’s poetic and uplifting The Silver Lake – A Winter’s Tale (Der Silbersee).

The opera features some of Weill’s finest arias, complemented by some of the most unusual and moving choruses written by any 20th century composer.

The cast features David Webb as Severin, Ronald Samm as Olim, Clarissa Meek as Frau Von Luber, Luci Briginshaw as Fennimore and James Kryshak as Lottery Agent/Baron Laur.

It is the first UK production of The Silver Lake in over 20 years as Weill specialist James Holmes conducts and a Wiltshire Music Centre community choir provides the chorus.

John Baker