Take a couple of star-crossed lovers, political shenanigans, jealousy and murder and what have you got? A good storyline for an opera, of course.

Now put a piano, soft lighting, a table and chairs on a stage and enter the cast of characters. There's only five in all but with the addition of a cape, a couple of feather boas and some clever lighting design, they become transformed from this small troupe into drinking revellers, passionate lovers, manipulative relatives to two children lost in the forest.

It's the Drawing Room Opera Company enthralling the audience at the Ramor Theatre last Friday.

Whatever happened to the overblown, overly dramatic opera singers of old? The very word 'opera' can often dredge up images of doom and gloom, but this evening was quite the opposite. From their initial entrance onto the beautifully lit stage to their final encore, they captured the auditorium.

With a lightness of phrase and plenty of humour, each introduced a potted storyline for the works from which the pieces were taken. La Traviata,

Don Giovanni, Faust, Don Pasquale, to name just a few. The combined voices of Elizabeth Ryan (High Mezzo Soprano), Sinead Campbell (Soprano), baritones Gerry Noonan and Simon Morgan and Eunan McDonald (Bass Baritone), Nabucco's evocative Va Penseiro (aka the March of the Hebrew Slaves) brought the first act to a close.Andrew Synnott, the Musical Director and pianist for the opera company, must get a mention, and his expertise kept up the momentum and pace for the evening.

On Friday night we were pleased to be in the company of "The Drawing Room Opera" once again and although some of the faces had changed this year, the quality of singing, the well thought out choreography and sense of fun were all very evident.

After the first rousing ensemble number when all five singers raised their glasses and sang us a toast, we were treated to a selection of arias, duets and ensembles from many 18th and 19th centuries' most loved operas such

as Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutti and Donizetti's Don Pasquale. The latter provided the males with a chance to show off their acting skills as well as their superb singing voices as they worked out a plan to get rid of Don Pasquale's wife. They pulled the little cameo off beautifully with singing that was lusty and full throated yet sensitive and secure.

We also enjoyed a small snatch of St. Saen's opera, Samson et Delila sung by the able Elizabeth Ryan. The aria, preceded by a powerful recitative, was lyrical and rose to a huge climax towards the end. I felt the piece, though not

well known, really showed Elizabeth's strong and vibrant voice at it's best. The on to something well known..... we all loved Humperdink's lullaby from his opera "Hansel and Gretel". You could have heard the infamous pin drop during the duet between Elizabeth and Sinead Campbell. They achieved perfect balance in their ensemble singing as the piece modulates to the beautiful climatic cadence at the end.