OPERA lovers are to get a modern slant on Puccini's masterpiece Madame Butterfly during the 2004 Longborough Festival Opera season.

The production, one of the highlights of the season, which runs from June 18 to July 31, has been created especially for LFO, the Cotswold country house opera venue near Moreton owned and run by Lizzie and Martin Graham. The new production, which will be sung in Italian, sets out to explore the progress of American globalisation and Western values, issues that form the backbone of the original story.

Like all great works, Madame Butterfly - with its story of a young geisha who marries and who is abandoned by an American naval officer - has endured because it retains the capacity to reach out and touch a modern audience. In the current political climate, the story of an American naval officer who ultimately destroys the object of his desire is also likely to resonate with opera-goers.

The part of Cio Cio San, or Butterfly, is sung by Melinda Hughes, who performed the role recently for London City Opera and Columbia Artists on tour in the USA. Mark Luther returns to Longborough as Lieutenant F B Pinkerton, while Sharpless is sung by Craig Smith.

Longborough Festival Opera follows the popular formula of 'country house' opera, and performances of Madame Butterfly include a 75-minute interval for dining and picnicking. The LFO boasts a fine restaurant, private dining rooms, dining towers and under-cover spaces for picnicking. Other productions during the season include the highly-acclaimed production of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle and an English translation of Mozart's Figaro's Wedding.

Performances of Madame Butterfly are on July 6, July 8, July 10, July 13, July 15 and July 17 at 6.30pm. Tickets cost from £30 and are available on 01451 830292. Further information is available on www.longboroughopera.com.