Imagine dancing dolls in a magical toy shop, and a pair of fabulous can-can dancers plotting to stay together at any cost and you have the charming story of La boutique fantasque. With its vibrant and whimsical music this ballet is a sequence of exquisite dances, each more lively than the last, which is nothing less than sheer joy to listen to.

In contrast Rossini鈥檚 Stabat Mater is a work which teeters on the edge of sacred sentimentality and overt operatics. The bravura and rollickingly memorable tunes of the 鈥楥ujus animam鈥� and the fire and brimstone of 鈥榠nflammatus et accensus鈥� seamlessly interweave with the unequivocally sacred qualities of the 鈥楨ja Mater鈥� and 鈥楺uando corpus morietur鈥�, reflective of the shapely and plaintive qualities of pre-classical church music 鈥� a true masterpiece that is heartfelt, expressive and vocally shapely yet rhythmic and outspokenly operatic.