Whisper it softly lest you be called a philistine but opera can be…well…a bit boring. It’s not the moments of grand passion or emotion, those arias where the soprano cries out for her lost love, or the tenor pleads undying passion for the tragic heroine or when the bass call for a vendetta against whoever stole his magic ring, hammer, codpiece etc, rather its the bits I like to call the cup of tea moments where whatever the banality of the action on stage it has to be sung – “tra la la I’m going to have a cup of tea and perhaps a biscuit” etc.

This is the operatic equivalent of a box of particularly fine chocolates

Fortunately Scottish Opera’s short tour contains none of these non-dramatic interludes and gives the audience, as the title suggests, just the best bits.

Containing arias, duets and ensemble music from Mozart, Puccini, Tchaikovsky and many more and featuring some of the best emerging talents in the company this is the operatic equivalent of a box of particularly fine chocolates with the coffee creams removed.

One of the best things about this tour is that it takes opera away from its well beaten metropolitan track and into small town venues throughout the country. It’s already been to Brechin, Rutherlen, and the isles of Skye and Benbecula giving folks who might otherwise rarely get a chance the experience of seeing live performance.

Now on the home stretch of its long run those Edinburghers willing to take a jaunt further afield to get their culture fix can catch the show on its final evening at Livingston’s attractive Howden Park Centre on Saturday 20th of March at 19:30.

So if you like opera but are less interested in hearing someone sing about the joys of a nice cuppa than listening to beautiful voices singing exquisite music then catch this fine selection before it passes by.

Click here for full listings of Scottish Opera’s Highlight tour