THE trouble with opera is that people take it too seriously. The image, rightly or wrongly, is of stuffed shirts dining on caviar and champagne before snoozing in a private box as two overweight ageing juveniles make mad, passionate musical love to each other.

If that's your view, catch Hatstand Opera some time. Three superb singers and an accomplished keyboard player take the stuffiness out of opera but not the stuffing.

Interspersed with popular numbers from Puccini, Verdi and even G&S are the witty and informative introductions by the company's founder and director Kirsty Young.

Friday's audience revelled in the fun and appreciated the beauty of the music in the magnificent new arts centre which Pershore people have clearly taken to their hearts.

Hatstand are at Kingsley College Theatre, Redditch on Friday, March 4, and The Norbury Theatre, Droitwich on Saturday, March 5.

REVIEW BY STEVE EVANS