THE Carl Rosa Opera Company is obviously getting to be a favourite with audiences at Malvern Theatres.

Following their successful appearance in April this year with Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, they are returning this month with not one but two of the duo's best-loved Savoy operas: Iolanthe and Yeomen of the Guard.

And, switching composers, they are back yet again in December with Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus.

Playing major roles in both Iolanthe and Yeomen is Simon Butteriss, who was Koko in The Mikado, and he, for one, is glad to be coming back to Malvern.

"It is a delightful venue to be coming back to," he said. "We had such a good time there back at Easter. It's one of the most welcoming theatres we have been to.

"The management are lovely people, and the audiences are wonderful. The way that the complex has been marvellously reconstructed means that the performers almost have to mingle with the audience and have a chat to them. It's great."

The notion of playing major roles in two completely different productions in one week isn't one that worries Simon.

"It's hard work," he said, "but what makes it easier is that my two roles are so completely different.

"Jack Point in Yeomen is a lovelorn young jester, whereas the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe is a crusty old buffer - lovelorn as well, it's true, but in a completely different way."

If you missed Simon in The Mikado, you may well have seen him in Topsy Turvy, Mike Leigh's film about Gilbert and Sullivan, in which he had a major role.

The Mikado production, in fact, inherited sets and costumes from the film.

"There were these lovely costumes and sets which had been meticulously reconstructed for the film, and they would have been thrown away when filming was over, so Carl Rosa stepped in and got them," he said.

Iolanthe has one of the most beautiful scores of any Gilbert and Sullivan opera, with such famous tunes as The Sentry Song and Oh Foolish Fay.

By contrast, Yeomen is a rousing patriotic piece with what is widely regarded as Sullivan's most grand-operatic score.

"When Carl Rosa revived a couple of years ago, the director Peter Mulloy did a lot of research and what he found was that people liked their Gilbert and Sullivan very traditional," said Simon.

"There is no need for updating and gimmicks, because the satire in something like Iolanthe is so sharp it is timeless. Having said that, I'm not above a little judicious rewriting where the Lord Chancellor is lambasting politicians, to include a few modern names. We ask people who should be included, and oddly enough, William Hague's name comes up a lot."

Iolanthe is on Monday, November 6, to Wednesday, November 8, and Yeomen of the Guard is being performed on Thursday, November 9 to Saturday, November 11.

Performances are at 8pm, with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.

Tickets, from £14 to £20, are available from the box office on 01684 892277.