WELSH National Opera return to Mayflower Theatre next week with two Russian-themed operas marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution.

The Company will bring its productions of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Janácek’s From the House of the Dead, based on the book by Dostoevsky to the city from Wednesday. Alongside these are two performances of Johan Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

Opening the week is Eugene Onegin. Evoking the elegance of early 19th century St Petersburg alongside simple countryside settings, Eugene Onegin follows the cynical protagonist as he rejects the romantic advances of the young country girl Tatyana, before later coming to regret his actions and feeling the sting of rejection himself. Considered one of the greatest Russian operas, Tchaikovsky’s music reflects the high society of the time with evocative arias, romantic choruses and luscious waltzes.

From the House of the Dead will be a revival of WNO’s original 1982 production, this time in a new critical edition by musicologist John Tyrrell. Unfinished at the time of Janá?ek’s death, this will be the first time that the opera will be performed in a version that is as close as possible to what Janácek intended.

Telling the story of the inmates of a Siberian prison, the opera reflects their feelings of pain, oppression and injustice as each recount why they ended up in jail. Their gloom is eased as they painstakingly nurse an eagle back to health, which comes to symbolize both Russia and the notion of freedom.

During the autumn season, there will also be two performances of WNO’s acclaimed production of Die Fledermaus, transporting audiences to early 1900s Vienna in a production that revels in the humour and frivolity of the story, and is full of opulence, fancy frocks and lavish detail. Featuring a rich and romantic score by Johan Strauss, we join the characters at a masquerade ball as a plot around mistaken identity unfolds.

Tickets: 023 8071 1811 or mayflower.org.uk