Carmen and La Traviata, two of the most popular and accessible operas, have captured the imagination of many generations over the years and continue to attract and inspire all age groups worldwide.

These completely new performances of Carmen and La Traviata feature an impressive cast and a live Orchestra with over 30 musicians, who bring to life the famous compositions of Georges Bizet and Giuseppe Verdi in a way that you have never experienced before.

As part of its UK Tour the Russian State Ballet and Opera House will be coming to the Octagon Theatre, Yeovil on Sunday, February 9 with Carmen and Tuesday, February 25 with La Traviata.

The Russian State Ballet and Opera House are renowned across Europe for their faithful, intimate and powerful performances, and these new opera productions will be no exception. They have been featured regularly in local and national media, including an appearance on BBC Television’s The One Show.

Alexej Ignatow, producer of The Russian State Ballet and Opera House explains what make his company stand out from the rest: “The Russian State Ballet and Opera House was founded to represent quality and passion for Ballet and Opera at the highest level. Unlike many other companies that travel to Europe with ballet and opera productions, we only focus on working with established theatres in the Russian Federation.

“These theatres have many years of experience and, most importantly, they have an established spine of directors and leaders from Russia’s most respected artistic institutions.

Every year we aim to bring different Artists to the UK, which means that although you may have seen a Carmen opera one year, next time the set, costumes, artists and even choreography will be different, to create a unique, yet faithful experience each time.

This year we have selected to work with the Russian State Opera and Ballet Theatre of Komi. This is an established and long standing theatre that continues to grow on the international stage and win awards in the field of opera and ballet.”

Alexej Ignatow added: “We often get asked how you would encourage people who have never seen an opera before, to come along for the first time?

“My instant reply is that you don’t need to be an expert in opera or music as we ensure that the set and costumes make the production easy to follow.

“The music is beautiful and sometimes even if you’re lost in the plot, just close your eyes and enjoy the music.”