It’s Christmas Eve and high above the streets of Paris a knock at the door begins the timeless love story of poet Rodolfo and his neighbour Mimi. Their fairytale romance feels like a Christmas miracle, but even the warmth of their love can’t defeat the winter chill – Mimi is desperately ill, and Rodolfo and his fellow bohemians can’t afford the help she needs.

Mid Wales Opera presents Puccini’s passionate late masterpiece Il tabarro, or ‘The Cloak’. Set on the banks of the Seine, this one act opera tells the short story of the barge owner Michele who suspects his young wife Giorgetta of being unfaithful. Packed with side plots and characters bringing to life the sights and sounds of 1900s Paris, the opera reaches its dramatic conclusion when Michele unexpectedly catches his wife’s lover at the strike of a match. With alluring melodies and a fast-moving pace, Il tabarro sees the great opera composer at the very height of his powers.