Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Saturday May 15

Monteverdi's opera L'Orfero, written some 400 years ago, is considered to be the first ever opera, the work that began the whole genre.

It tells the story of the legend of Orpheus and his love for Euridice, her untimely death and Orpheus's journey to Hades to search for her.

It is a well-known tale of the triumph of love over adversity.

Heart-stopping moments include Orpheus having to win his admission to Hades by the power of song alone, and the shock when he turns to make sure his wife is following him in defiance of the condition he has been set that he risks everything if he does.

This production is Jonathan Miller's modern-dress reading, set on a bare stage, which allows the power of the music and song to shine through.

It received critical and public acclaim when premiered at London's South Bank last November.

Music is under the direction of Philip Pickett and the New London Consort, with a cast of experienced baroque singers.

Pickett is director of music at the Globe Theatre and an acknowledged expert in the recreation of the music of Shakespeare's and Monteverdi's time.

His 21-strong ensemble uses authentic period instruments, including sackbutts, regals, cornets and theorbos, and Miller includes them in the action to bring a historical flavour to this interpretation.

Critics raved over this integration of the music with the storytelling, agreeing that it made for greater revelations about the work.

There may be no scenery or costumes but this lack of distractions, said one critic, "made the work so much more understandable and exciting, even breathtaking".

Saturday May 15, 8pm. Tickets £6 to £25.