Open air opera at the racecourse

Picnic with Puccini tonight as La Bohème comes to town at a fraction of Covent Garden prices

THE popular annual outdoor opera at Newbury Racecourse, organised by the Greenham Common Trust, takes place this evening (Saturday).

Professional touring company Opera Brava brings together a cast of national and international singers for a family-friendly performance of Puccini's finest score, La Bohème.

For a fraction of Covent Garden prices, you can take a picnic, and enjoy this enchanting production with friends and family.

Set in Bohemian Paris in the 1830s, this operatic masterpiece centres around the tragic love affair between seamstress Mimi and the poet Rodolfo. The music is beautiful and passionate and the final scene is guaranteed to move audiences to tears.

Performed by experienced national and international singers, drawn from all over the country, the cast includes Gillian Webster who has performed Mimi at Covent Garden with Roberto Alagna, Daniel Meades who has performed all over the world, John Lofthouse Marcello fresh from singing at Glyndebourne, Mark Beesley and Geofferey Moses Soloists at Covent Garden and Amanda Buckland singing the enchanting role of Musetta.

Tickets cost £10 (£8 for students and OAPs) and under-16s go free. To book, telephone the Corn Exchange box office on 01635 522733 or visit www.cornexchangenew.com

For more information about the performance,visit www.greenham-common-trust.co.uk

Gates open at 5.30pm and the performance starts at 7pm. Please park in the coach car park at the side of the racecourse.