Mention comic opera and the names Gilbert & Sullivan usually spring to mind. It is often forgotten that, approximately 100 years earlier, Mozart also produced comic opera.

One such work was the Marriage of Figaro presented by the Narropera Trio of Dorothee Jansen, Floriane Peycelon and Haydn Rawstron at Peel’s Centenary Centre on Saturday evening.

The trio, appearing in Peel for the third time, played a very polished performance to a full house.

With any live music concert perhaps the best gauge of its success can be measured in the final applause which said it all.

This was a consummate performance with the sublime music of Mozart as its foundation.

The narrative was written and delivered by Haydn Rawstron who was also the very polished accompanist on piano.

Floriane Peycelon added superb violin accompaniments with Dorothee Jansen (soprano) adding the vocal part with amazing flair.

Each individual member of the trio brought great musicality to the performance but the overall result was so much more than the sum of its parts.

Haydn’s own inimitable style and wit was much appreciated by the audience as it served to enhance the music by giving the plot clarity.

To quote another critic this is ’a tale for grown-ups in which speech and song are held in perfect balance’.

Anyone who dismisses opera as ’too highbrow’ or ’difficult to follow’ should give Narropera a try when it performs again in Peel in 2020.

With any live music concert perhaps the best gauge of its success can be measured in the final applause which said it all.

Next year, Narropera returns to the Centenary Centre on Saturday, June 13, for a performance of Beethoven’s only opera ’Fidelio’.

Make a note of the date. You won’t be disappointed.