OPERA Della Luna present The Tales of Offenbach at the Lawrence Batley Theatre on Thursday, February 9.

The show is described as a hilarious double serving of the French master of comic opera’s works.

Croquefer and L’ Ile Delaware Tulipatan will be sung in English in a new version by Jeff Clarke.

Croquefer has abducted the daughter of his arch-rival: Rattlebone, with whom he has been at war for 23 years.

Despite having lost most of his body parts including his tongue at the Crusades, Rattlebone is determined to fight one last battle to save his daughter.

Their bloody final fight-to-the-death is only prevented by the deft interference of Croquefer’s aide Fireball, who cunningly poisons the wine, thereby inflicting on all the combatants a devastating and debilitating dose of the squits.

On the island of Tulipatan, King Cacatois XXll is unaware that his only son and heir, Alexis, is in fact biologically his daughter.

Knowing how desperate he was for a son, the doctors concealed the child’s true sex from the king, who has grown increasingly despairing of his son’s gentle disposition.

In order to avoid her child being conscripted into the army, the wife of the King’s Field Marshall has also lied to her husband about their daughter, who is in fact a boy.

How extraordinary it would be if these two bizarrely brought-up children were to meet and somehow fall in love...

Opera Della Luna was formed in 1994 and is the country’s only full-time comic opera company. It presents over 100 shows annually and tours extensively.

Visit thelbt.org or call 01484 430528 to book tickets.