Welsh National Opera - Chorus! The Mayflower, Southampton

IT HAS to be said, the Welsh National Opera knows how to put on a good show.

I feared a compilation show - featuring highlights from several operas - would be drably presented, but Chorus! was as lavish as any of their operas, with impressive sets and striking costumes.

The show was less a 'greatest hits' compilation and more of a connoisseur's collection.

Most of the really well-known songs like Nessun Dorma and Un Bel di Vedromo were left out and some of the songs that were included, such as Good Mornin'/I'm on My Way probably should have been.

A few more recognisable songs would have gone down well, particularly as the show is intended to appeal to opera first-timers.

That said, the selection as a whole did work well and the show was enhanced by the way in which the songs from different operas were woven into one another.