Cabaret night - Needham Market style...

Three times a year, the Barrandov Opera holds a short series of gala evenings and Ros and I usually attend one of them. Now I’d be the first to admit that opera is not entirely my first musical choice, but the opportunity to hear emerging talent from around the world in little old Needham Market is not one that can be missed.

And so, last night, with friends, we were there for a night of culture, with a Serb soprano, Polish mezzo-soprano, Korean tenor and Polish baritone, singing a selection of arias, accompanied at the piano by Peter Bailey, the one constant over the years.

I’d also admit that the image of opera as consisting of robust, slightly immobile people singing about absurdly ludicrous plot twists is one that has stuck with me - opera can feel like it’s being done to you from a distance. But, at the Barrandov, set out dinner style, with the performers moving amongst you, gives a completely different feel to the thing. And, as was the case last night, when the performers actively engage with the audience, and give the impression that they are utterly relaxed and enjoying themselves, it brings home to you that music is as much about context as it is content.

Our guests had heard of the Barrandov Opera, but how one gets tickets is not entirely obvious - there is a website but numbers are very limited (about 150 per evening), and regulars like ourselves tend to book more than a year in advance. They were, quite reasonably, expecting a stage, so when, during the opening number, the soprano wandered down a flight of stairs into the audience, laid her hand on our friend’s shoulder and lingered for a few moments whilst she sang, it was clear that this wasn’t your normal concert experience.

The performance is broken into three parts, between each of which part of a buffet supper is served - nothing overtly complex, salads, quiche, salmon and local ham carved from the bone, plus lots of dessert and a cheese board should one be so inclined.

There’s a bar, so you can ensure that you’re suitably refreshed, with quite reasonable bar prices none of your Royal Opera House “how much!” sort of thing.

And there’s no sound system, what they sing is what you get, but as you’re never more than twenty yards away from the action, and opera singers can really project, it is opera in the raw.

So, if you happen to be free in mid-April, mid-September, or the weekend before Christmas next year, and you’re in the area, you might want to sort out your tickets now...

Far from the campaign trail - a night at the opera... in Needham Market?

I have, in the past, extolled the virtues of Needham Market, with its predominantly Georgian high street, a splendid non-league Tier 4 football team and a gratifying support for genuinely hard-working Liberal Democrats. I have not, and it is remiss of me to have thus failed, mentioned its opera house until now.

The Barrandov Opera, the vision of John and Carol Dearlove, is probably the smallest opera house in the country, with three brief 'seasons', one in April, another in September and the third in the run-up to Christmas. Up and coming talents perform a selection of arias and other operatic works for a small but devoted audience. Dinner is included in the (astonishingly reasonable) ticket price. After all, how much would it cost to get to, say, London, let alone the cost of tickets and dinner?

But I digress. Ros and I met up at Needham Market station, on a glorious spring evening for the short drive to our destination, with little idea as to what exactly we might expect. What transpired was a remarkably intimate night of music, song and pleasant conversation, all hosted with flair, charm and sparkle by John Dearlove himself.

Bass-baritone Darren Jeffery, mezzo-soprano Helen Sharman, soprano Dušica Bijelić and tenor Joshua Mills, accompanied by Peter Bailey on the piano, performed everything from Britten to Bizet, Verdi to Wagner to an increasingly appreciative audience, mingling with us in almost an 'opera in the round' manner. It was quite splendid.

So, if you weren't convinced as to the utter wonderfulness that is Needham Market previously, perhaps now that you know about this jewel in the cultural life that is the Barrandov Opera, you might pay us a visit...