search andriy perfilov). she believes it to be a marriage blessed by the gods whereas he sees it as something to do until a “real” wife comes along and so we set out on this tragic tale of love, betrayal and ultimate sacrifice. the title role is pivotal to the success of the performance as it is extremely demanding. it requires the female soprano not only to appear in every scene but also to take centre stage in most of them. lee thomas seems to take this challenge in her stride and throughout the piece displays the strength of her voice and her amazing range admirably. in the ensemble pieces, together with perfilov and [vladimir dragos