Funny how repertoire sometimes comes in batches all at once. After a week of Nessun Dorma performances as part of the Concertante's opera show, I'm called in to cover some rehearsals for CamPhil's production of the actual opera that features that gorgeous aria: Turandot by Puccini.

What music! What a score! And of course, in time-honoured operatic fashion, what a peculiarly distressing story!

The gist of Nessun Dorma is that no-one is allowed to go to sleep, as they have to discover the name of a mysterious prince before the morning, in order that Princess Turandot can legitimately have him killed, to avoid marrying him.

One way of fixing the problem, I suppose.

The thing is that the Mysterious Prince has already solved the three riddles that Turandot sets for every potential suitor (get one wrong = your head gets chopped off). So this is Turandot's last chance to find a new excuse and avoid the relationship.

What will happen in the morning ... will he have his head sliced off? Or will the all-powerful sovereign-to-be fall in love and enter into a highly emotionally unstable relationship?

I can't help thinking Princess Turandot needs some serious psychological support, but hey - anything for a good tune. And tunes don't get much better than this!

Here's one of our shows last week, with me waggling around in the background whilst the really quite sonically marvellous tenor, Dominick Felix, enchants the punters.