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A title role performance full of depth from Terfel and a barnstorming comic interlude from Tomlinson provide some great moments, but much of this Boris fails to rise above the ordinary.

This Yeomen of the Guard was one of the best sung G&S performances I have heard. The traditional but inventive production will appeal to novices and enthusiasts alike.

Richard Jones new production of Mussorgsky's episodic epic has plenty of strengths, but is marred by unappealing designs and rushed tempi.

This traditional production of Patience was strongly sung and acted and was a joyful evening.

Just as we would often rather come out of a barber's with a haircut reasonably similar to the one with which we walked in, but just a bit smarter and tidier, sometimes it’s nice to see a well-known and much-loved opera done straight, and done well. 

Some panache is required to put a credible orgy on the stage of venerable old Skipton Town Hall. Heritage Opera, which has plenty, does just that with a minimal number of participants: the opening scene has an engagingly rumbustious quality, with plenty of screams, snogging and groping but not much of the courtly elegance which might signify that this is more than your run-of-the-mill bordello.

It's extremely rare to see a small opera company commission a brand new work, but that's exactly what Heritage Opera, who regularly present chamber operas in the north-west of England, have done.