<<<  <<  -- 9 --  Roderic Dunnett    A GODSEND

All in all, then, Heritage Opera's La Bohème proved a highly satisfying experience. What gave most pleasure was watching such talented young craftsmen at work: capable workmen at their shoemaker's last, as it were. The production worked as a well-unified whole, and the lack of one or two refinements -- such as lighting deck, for instance, which might have lent variety where all but minor set changes were unviable, or some slick costume changes that might have lent the show the variety of shifting colours -- did not prevent this Bohème making a convincing and strong impact. The audience loved it.

One salutes the versatility of Heritage Opera's hardy, committed and discerning young team. Travelling Opera is just what this area of Northern England needs, and Heritage Opera has the necessary ingredients. Good things can be expected from them in the future. Indeed this summer, their new production of The Marriage of Figaro will take to the road from 10-26 August, touring to Preston, Wigan, Lancaster and Burnley (in Lancashire), Neston (in Cheshire), and Skipton (in Yorkshire), and there is every likelihood it will be a match for their recent Così. For anyone living in the North, Heritage Opera is surely a godsend: definitely one to pencil in your diary.