New Sussex Opera is probably the most cash-strapped opera company in Sussex, but one that is always deserving of attention.

In the early Eighties, the company was putting on lavish productions of giants of the operatic repertoire, and easily filled such venues as the Gardner Arts Centre, and could fill the Dome Concert Hall several times over for the most popular operas.

But then it seemed to lose its direction, exploring the lesser known areas of the repertoire such as a production of Von Einem's Danton's Death where the cast almost outnumbered the audience on opening night.

New Sussex Opera has always been a company of enthusiasts doing its best to offer first-class, mainly professional singers alongside an amateur chorus. Among the directors have been several national and international figures.

Artistically the latest show, Jonathan Dove's Tobias and the Angel, is pretty good. First seen in London in 1999, it's taken from the Book of Tobin, from The Apocrypha.

It is an Old Testament tale, a novel of Jewish life and death.

It is performed by a cast of eight really good singers, supported by a small choral ensemble, a small orchestra under the baton of Nicholas Jenkins, and a children's chorus from Lewes Priory School and Ringmer Community College, all under the direction of Michael Moxham.

The smallish audience paid £20 a head for the hour and a quarter opera.

While I found it difficult to identify with the story, the singing was powerful and even moving at times. The music was often beautifully lyrical and smooth and with much reference to music of the Middle East.

  • Tobias and the Angel can be seen again at Arundel Cathedral on March 29, at St Paul's Chichester on March 30, and at St Saviour's Eastbourne on March 31 (www.new sussexopera.com, 01273 471851)