Opera Up Close is an Arts Council wet dream - boutique opera company, small community based performance spaces, chamber orchestra, multi-media, performing exciting and challenging new repertoire. And they did this re-imaging of Wagner's tale of redemption through love very well. The political optics were topical and horrible - the story was recast as a tale of a group of English coastguards trying to deter illegal immigrants to the UK through the installation and operation of a "wave machine" designed to make ships capsize, drowning all aboard. "Captain Dee" is the commander of the cable laying vessel patrolling the waters around the UK. Into this happy world sails a mysterious vessel commanded by a Mariner, who by bribing "Captain Dee" lands in England. He is however a smuggler of immigrants, who are eventually discovered and drown. The sympathetic coastguard "Starlight" has been helping the Mariner and is arrested for her treason, eventually deciding to sacrifice herself with the smuggled immigrants. This is clearly nothing like the conception of Wagner's opera, and a limited amount of original music was used in the presentation of the new story, however it was very well sung and performed. The members of the Manchester Camerata also doubled up as the chorus, and were dressed in appropriate style. Grand Junction is a re-purposed large Victorian Gothic Church and we were arranged in the nave looking on a basic set with few props and the musicians incorporated into the staging. I sat next to the mother of the Artistic Director of the company, who was delighted I enjoyed the production, and behind a contributor to the Wagner Journal, who was possibly less impressed!