Dido and Aeneas, All Saints church, Leamington, November 26

Operas. They’re bum-numbingly long and usually in a foreign language, so the cliche goes. It’s no wonder they’re not popular.

But Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is in English, and is only one hour long, so why couldn’t I tell what was going on?

I made sure I knew the plot - Dido, Queen of Carthage falls in love with shipwrecked Trojan Aeneas, then an evil sorceress tricks him into returning to Troy. He prepares to set sail and the two quarrel. Heartbrok- en, she dies of sorrow.

But it was no good. The score lived up to everything I had read, but I couldn’t make out the words.

The problem was the trilling and vibrato. Suzi Power as Dido was scarcely comprehensible from half way back and Richard Whitehouse’s Aeneas was equally difficult to fully understand.

It wasn’t a problem with 17th century English.

Other singers, particularly Tom Robinson-Woledge as the spirit sent by the sorceress, sang the words very clearly.

Musical director Ben Hamilton created a sedate baroque setting that contrasted well with more emotive if sometimes slighlty ragged choral pieces. The production is touring several churches, and used All Saints’ layout to good effect, with action and voices behind and above the audience creating distance and menace. Simple lighting worked well and mannered dancing helped, although the church seating made it hard to see everything.

The programme notes say this is supposed to be a dramatic and accessible production. Musically it was, but they need to work on the words. Robert Collins

Verdict: Worth seeing, but needs subtitles.