The Duchy Opera are touring a comic opera adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor across Cornwall.

Performed by local soloists, the opera will feature John Hobbs singing the role of Falstaff, with Caroline Childe from St Agnes and Sue Lancaster from Falmouth as the titular merry wives.

The adaptation, written by Otto Nicolai and first performed in 1849, centres around the absurd figure of Falstaff and his romantic misadventures.

The opera features scenes of spoken dialogue in between musical numbers and is performed entirely in English so the plot should be easy to follow even for people who are newcomers to the world of opera.

After the success of their production of La Traviata at the Minack Theatre and in Falmouth last year, the company are performing The Merry Wives of Windsor at six different venues.

The first two dates of the tour were at Perranporth and St Austell on May 23 and 24, but anyone who missed out can catch the remaining shows at Truro's Burrell Theatre on Wednesday May 30, Penzance's Zennor Theatre on Thursday May 31, Bude's Parkhouse Centre on June 2 or Falmouth's Princess Pavilion on June 7.

The opera is being directed by Angela Agutter Thomas who is the stepmother of actress Jenny Agutter, with Paul Drayton directing the music. Paul is an accomplished pianist and composer, having had major works commissioned by the Norwich Triennial Festival, the Three Choirs Festival and the Kings Singers.

A pre-tour illustrated talk on "Shakespeare in Opera" will be given by Paul Drayton on May 12. See the website for more information: duchyopera.co.uk.

Tickets are £15 for adults and £7.50 for under 18s, and can be purchased online at crbo.co.uk or by phoning 01726 879500. Falmouth tickets are also available from princesspavilion.co.uk or by phoning 01326 211222.