THE Bacon Theatre in Cheltenham will host the production of Music Oft Hath Such a Charm, to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, on Friday, November 18 at 7.30pm.

Olivier award-winning OperaUpClose present the premiere, which features a performance of arias, duets and ensembles from opera and classical music inspired by the Bard’s plays and poetry, performed in the company’s engaging, intimate and theatrical style.

Music Oft Hath Such a Charm offers bite-sized jewels of music theatre, performed by a quartet of singers accompanied by a virtuosic pianist, in staged scenes of romance, comedy and drama.

The evening’s repertoire will feature spectacular showstoppers including Verdi’s Macbeth and the quick-witted wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing and Falstaff, alongside well-loved songs like Schubert’s Who is Sylvia?, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet.

OperaUpClose’s Artistic Director, Robin Norton-Hale said: “Shakespeare's work has had a huge influence on so many composers, you see his work in lots of operas and we have loved exploring that in Music Oft Hath Such a Charm.

"By combining songs inspired by Shakespeare in a way which will be equally fun for Bard-lovers and newcomers alike, this new show will be an irreverent yet loving take on the originals, which we like to think is something of an OperaUpClose trademark.”

  • Tickets: £16.00 (Concessions: £14.00).
  • For more information and to book tickets visit www.bacontheatre.co.uk or call the Bacon Theatre on 01242 258002.