Access all arias: an English Touring Opera production of Puccini's Tosca.
If like me, you fancy yourself as a bit of a diva, ENO's virtual opera karaoke, is likely to become your new favourite obsession. By logging on to their flashy website, Inside Out, you can get involved in some opera 2.0.
After participating in a quick singing workshop with soprano Janis Kelly, aspiring singers can rehearse and record their own version of a short aria taken from Puccini's La Bohème, which is the company's current production at the Coliseum in London.
"Singing is good for you," informs Janis as she teaches breathing techniques in her video tutorial. In another vidcast, Casualty's Kwame Kwei-Armah, a former contestant of Fame Academy, is given some operatic training.
And then it's over to you. Tonight Matthew, I'm Cesira Ferrani. Definitely not recommended as a work dodging pastime though.
There is a competitive element to it, just to make things more fun. The top five recordings will be showcased on the site and the winner voted for by the general public. Highbrow extroverts across the land will battle it out in an Operatunity style. Sadly what's up for grabs isn't a part in an ENO production, but a pair of tickets to La Bohème, which is a darn good prize all the same.
To help get into the spirit of things, users are invited behind the scenes in this virtual recreation of the Coliseum, which provides a rare insight into what goes on in the wings.
Two participants in ENO's Young Singers program, who are being drafted in for several performances of La boheme, are blogging on the build-up to their big moment. Lee Bisset writes of being on stage: "Watching a show at the Coliseum, framed by the huge proscenium arch is like watching a huge, live movie. So, stepping onto the stage and suddenly finding yourself in the picture and in 3D is like stepping into the chalk pictures in Mary Poppins."
If you're particularly proud of your recording and think you'd like to tread the boards of a more distinguished venue than your bedroom yourself, ENO are holding an event at the Coliseum on March 19, promising stage makeovers, the chance to rummage through an ENO dressing book and, yes, more opera karaoke.
Are you of the inclination that the screeches of exhibitionists should be confined to the privacy of their own home or is virtual karaoke a threat to grotty pubs around the nation? Sing for your supper here.
