The Welsh National Opera is in town, and as well as their production of Turandot, they are also offering this little operatic party-bag. As its name suggests, Chorus! is a series of choral pieces, sung by the forty-strong chorus of the WNO. It spans some four hundred years of Operatic tradition, from Stravinsky to Sondheim, from Bizet to Bernstein.

I know nothing about opera. I would go out on a limb and say that the same is true of most people. To most of the world, opera is the purview of some imagined elite - men in evening wear who drink brandy in the intermission. When you actually give it a try, however, it becomes surprisingly accessible, and reassuringly familiar. Everybody knows that bit from Carmen, after all.

The range of music is broad, some of it is in English, most of it isn't. Fortunately subtitles (or, since they are actually displayed above the stage, surtitles) provide a degree of translation. The tone varies from the dark and downcast (Armies from Twelve European Lands; O Terror and Astonishment) to the cheery and upbeat (Bruderlein und Schwesterlein; Andiam! Din, don!). The first act ends with an excerpt from Porgy and Bess, which may have been ill advised; the WNO chorus just don't quite work in the role of an all black gospel choir.

Since this is a choral work, it is difficult to pick out individual performances for special mention. All of the soloists acquitted themselves admirably. Fiona Harrison's Rusalka stands out particularly. The show is well produced and artfully directed, one scene flowing into another with barely a seam showing. The chorus, dressed - by and large - in neutral, modern attire, go from being downtrodden Russian peasants to Sevillean street vendors in the blink of an eye. The songs follow neatly on, the one from the other, like a well produced radio program. Indeed the entire show feels rather like Classic FM on stage.

Chorus! is opera as entertainment, it's a set of good tunes, well sung, presented in a pleasant atmosphere. If, like me, you're entirely new to opera, then it's a comfortable introduction to the medium (and indeed, you could develop a taste for it). If you're an opera fan, then it's a set of good bits from operas you're probably already familiar with, sung by people who clearly know what they're doing.