THERE is only one thing better than seeing a wonderful performance, and that is seeing a wonderful performance in a rambling century castle surrounded by French furniture, Chinese porcelain and sprawling oil-paintings.

Brodie Castle is a venue that truly becomes one of the stars of the show itself, even when vying for attention amongst the Moray String Quartet, Inverness Opera and Petit Trianon. Sponsored by Classic FM in order to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, the concert began with an introductory dance from Petit Trianon; a Russian ballet company from St Petersburg.

The company specialise in Baroque dance, and all of their costumes are handmade replicas of actual historical pieces. In the setting of the entrance hall, the performance felt like a time-capsule to the castle’s 16th century heyday. The audience were then escorted up the stairs into the drawing room in which Moray String Quartet and Inverness Opera performed.

As the quartet took their seats in traditional garb of dinner jackets and bow ties, it would have been easy to predict a set list of maybe Mozart, definitely some Haydn, possibly a little Steve Reich if we were feeling a bit jaunty. However, their conventional classical repertoire was interspersed with unexpected pieces, including Speak Softly My Love by Andy Williams. John Mustard, the cellist, noted that the song’s use in The Godfather was particularly appropriate for violinist Peter Zanre.

This sort of informal camaraderie was also present in their playing, in which each performer seemed completely at ease with the other. Other modern pieces included the themes from Upstairs, Downstairs and Fawlty Towers, as well as a beautiful rendition of my favourite song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

The performance by members of Inverness Opera Company had a similar style, and was mostly made up of a variety of contemporary songs. Accompanied by the pianist Lydia Jackson, the singers Alison Macleod, Helen Barron, James Twigg and Caroline Macpherson performed pieces from West Side Story, Showboat and My Fair Lady.

A real highlight was Macpherson’s hilarious performance of I Can’t Say No! from the musical Oklahoma, which had the audience in stitches. The group also gave a taste of their up and coming show Guys and Dolls, which will show in March next year at the Empire Theatre, Eden Court. If I’ve Never Been in Love Before and Bushell and a Peck are anything to go by, it’s sure to be an unmissable event.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the company’s performance, I sometimes felt that it leaned too heavily towards modern pieces that were sure to hold the audience’s attention. However, in such an atmospheric, historical setting, I think it would have been acceptable to include more than just two classical pieces. Alison Macleod, in particular, was really at her best during O Del Mio Dolce Ardour by Christoph Willibald Gluck, and it would be wonderful to hear her perform more songs in a similar style.

After a roof-raising finale of songs from Les Misérables, the audience were given the opportunity to praise the performers, before leaving through the castle’s impressive grounds.

© Rowan Macfie, 2011