THE time when immobile and obese singers could dominate an opera stage has almost gone.

Today's young singers must not only be well-equipped vocally, they must also have a grasp of stagecraft.

In a fascinating evening, Romance in Opera, presented by Opera Omnibus in the Millennium Hall at Liphook last month, former international opera star Adèle Leigh showed to a full house how this can be done.

Three talented young singers who have recently completed the post-graduate opera course at the Royal Northern College of Music, where Adèle Leigh teaches stagecraft, were put through their paces in the first part of the programme.

From the outset, rapport was established between teacher, pupils and audience as Kateriana Fenech (soprano) and Sean Ruane (tenor) sang excerpts from Puccini's Madame Butterfly and Bernstein's West Side Story.

At appropriate moments the singers were stopped and shown how by timing entrances and exits, pauses, facial expression, positioning, body movement and gesture how they could make their performance more effective.

Between the Puccini and the Bernstein, the audience watched Julian Close (bass) as Don Basilio working on La Calumnia, the great slander song, from Act I of Rossini's Barber of Seville.

After the interval, the singers gave polished performances of the excerpts already rehearsed, with additional items by Julian Close, including Vodnik's dark and powerful lament from Dvorak's Rusalka and Handel's O Ruddier than the Cherry from Acis and Galatea, sung with genial gusto.

There were impressive performances too from Sean Ruane, a tenor with a superb ringing tone, and Kateriana Fenech, a lovely clear-voiced soprano, moving the audience with the passion and poignancy of Puccini's score.

As Tony and Maria they captivated us, Sean Ruane with "Maria", Kateriana Fenech with a coy "I Feel Pretty" and together in "Tonight".

This closed what many in the audience considered the best evening ever staged by Opera Omnibus.

A finale word of praise, however, to the accompanist, Courtney Kenny whose artistry has supported so many opera stars over the years.

Courtney began the second half of the programme with a paraphrase of the waltz from Die Fledermaus, arranged by Eduard Schütt.

Bertie Mawer