I don’t know how many will remember Enid Blyton’s “Famous Five” but had she written Five Go To The Opera, she could have wrapped the tale around Scottish Opera’s A Little Bit of The Merry Widow and Don Giovanni. Two singers, two instrumentalists and a narrator proved that a little goes a long way as potted versions of both were enjoyed by large audiences in St Matthews Church on Saturday afternoon.

Derek Clark’s expert arrangements of the music, the performances of baritone Andy MacTaggart and soprano Jessica Leary – both carrying out a variety of roles – guitarist Ian Watt, Andrews Drummond-Huggan (cello) and the witty narration of Allan Dunn was ideal for both the seasoned opera-goer or those experiencing this genre of music for the first time. Both versions lasted a little over half an hour, but somehow the story-lines of each opera – and that of Don Giovanni is somewhat convoluted – and its favourite melodies were squeezed in with room to spare.

I must say I enjoyed the bite-sized version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni more than I did of Lehar’s Merry Widow but that’s not because that was better than the other. Both were extremely well presented – it’s just that I am over-familiar with the latter. The Mozart was sung in Italian so it was vital for Allan Dunn’s narration to keep the audience aware of the many machinations this opera presents.

I could sense that those on stage were enjoying themselves just as much as the audience. This more relaxed form of opera presentation gives them a break from the norm and a chance to bring the world of opera to smaller venues.

“It’s about making all the different colours of the orchestra with just two instruments,” says Andrew Drummond-Huggan, “and I love the intimacy of being so close to the audience.” All in all, Andy and Jessica adopted the guise of 10 different characters but they seemed to relish this multi-tasking, done with the minimum of fuss.

I’ve seen these pop-up operas several times before. It’s amazing want you can compress into 30 or so minutes without spoiling the original article.