MUSICALS & OPERA

A Comedy Of Operas

Pleasance at EICC (Venue 150) until 27 August

Fancy a bit of opera without having to cope with the confusing storylines, supertitles, terrifying ticket prices, long running times and bits that aren’t on adverts? A Comedy Of Operas is the show for you, offering a crowd-pleasing trot through the world’s most famous arias while making few demands of its audience.

Presumably inspired by the jukebox musicals that clog up regional theatres, it takes the sections of opera you already know and glues them together with a rudimentary plot (it’s about love). Contemporary pop songs (Whitney! Celine! Mika?) are included to hold the attention of the opera-phobic, while the comedy of the title is largely a case of the performers mugging at the audience. A welcome darker section prompts the wonderful content warning: “The show contains a scene where a character ‘operatically’ considers taking their own life”.

The cast are admittedly superb, delivering sublime vocal performances and making a genuine connection with the crowd, but calling it lightweight is more of an accurate description than a criticism.

Still, as it concludes with Nessun Dorma (of course it does) and a medley familiar to fans of Fringe stalwarts Axis of Awesome, it would be impossible not to leave with both a grin and a multitude of earworms.