NICOLA LISLE enjoys the launch of Opera Anywhere's latest venture - opera cruises on the Thames

They have done it on a pond, they have done it on ice, now they're doing it on the river. Once again Opera Anywhere is living up to its name by taking opera to the places that other operas don't reach.

Their latest exploit is to launch a series of summer cruises on the Thames, where guests will be entertained by professional singers performing popular operatic arias. It's an idea that director Mike Woodward has been mulling over for some time.

"We've always liked punting, and my first date with Vanessa his wife and co-director of the company was on a punt on the River Cherwell - a long time ago! And I've always viewed it as a romantic thing to do.

"We've been to Venice, where you get serenaded on the gondolas, and then, about ten years ago, I was involved in a production at St Hilda's College on the lawns that run along by the river, and I wanted to somehow use the river in the production.

"Although we didn't sing much from the punts, we did the Gondoliers' duet from the punt, and then landed on dry ground. I thought, there's loads of potential in this. And then with the Proms on the Pond that we do, it's really a kind of development of all those different things.

"To be on the water the whole time in a performance situation is, I suppose, trying to create special experiences. That's what's behind it."

Certainly the official launch last week lived up to expectations. On a hot, sunny evening, a small group of us set off from Bossoms Boatyard at Binsey on one of the 12-seater cruisers, and for the next two hours enjoyed a selection of arias from favourite operas such as Don Giovanni, La bohème, Madame Butterfly and Gianni Schicchi, as well as a selection of songs.

"Later in the season there will be some water-themed arias too, including Offenbach's Barcarolle, Delibes' famous Lakmé duet and items from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

"We can't be too structured about the programme, because we're using different singers each day as they've all got different engagements," explained Mike. "If we're too specific, that narrows our ability to find the right singers. It's all about picking singers who have a repertoire of popular things that they can perform. We've got a whole pool of talented singers that we can draw on."

Singers for the launch cruise included soprano Ilana Jacobs, baritone Aidan Smith and Opera Anywhere regular Amy Webber, who between them created an informal, relaxed atmosphere that set the tone for the rest of the season. And while they sang, we munched our way through the complimentary strawberries and cream, and listened to the gentle lapping of the water against the sides of the boat as it glided up the river towards Godstow, accompanied by flotillas of swans and geese, and attracting some very curious glances from onlookers on the riverbanks.

The cruises are available every day throughout the summer, up to the end of August, and Mike is hoping to attract both individual and corporate bookings.

"If we have the bookings, we can run it every day. We only need four people on a punt to make sense of it. On the cruise boat we only need six people. So there is the potential to do it every day. Vanessa and I are not booking any holidays this summer - we're just going to make ourselves available."

What happens if it rains?

"With the cruise boats it's great because you've got a canopy and zip-down sides, so you're really under cover. But it's all very flexible, so if we've only got one person, we'll just book them for another day."

The route is flexible, too. "We can go from Binsey, but we can also come right into Oxford and launch from Folly Bridge. We've also got access to the Cherwell Boathouse, which is nice for punting."

Mike sees the opera cruises as a project for the next few years and is ambitious about the way he wants them to develop.

"I've also got some ideas about what we can do in locks," he told me. "There's a lot of potential for bringing a grand piano into the lock, and having a performance as we travel through.

"I want to use punts quite a bit as well, and have singers on various punts all coming together at certain points and doing duets and ensembles and things like that. I've got a vision of half a dozen punts in a party, with a singer on each punt, and a wonderful cacophony of sound. Like Italy."

The Opera Anywhere La Dolce Vita Opera Cruise is presented in partnership with Oxford River Cruises, and runs until August 31. Prices start at £35 per person for a cruise on a six-seater punt, rising to £65 per person for the 12-seater cruiser. For more information and to book a cruise, visit www.operaanywhere.com or call 01865 735910.