The opera was premi�red in Denmark in 2000

The Handmaid's Tale opened at English National Opera on Thursday.

Poul Ruders' Danish production of Margaret Atwood's novel comes at time when the ENO desperately needs a boost.

"The Handmaid's Tale is far from perfect but for its hard-hitting vitality it deserves to be the success ENO is praying for," wrote BBC News Online's Matthew Slater.

But what do you think?

Will it be a hit for the beleaguered company?

Upon listening to the Handmaid's tale trailer CD I immediately wanted to see the show, feeling that the music was beautifully atmospheric and extremely provocative.

Upon seeing the production I was disappointed I am very sad to say. The beauty of the Danish recording was lost in translation. I can only place the blame on the laughable libretto. I have never heard such childish, ridiculous nonsense in my life and I consider it a great tragedy that such a beautifully sung, acted and staged production was let down by a poor libretto.

It simply seemed as if he had not taken the challenge seriously. I also found the sex scenes hard to swallow since some were fully clothed whilst others required the actors to strip naked. Uniformity of ideas may have helped here. The actors were asked to do something very brave and sadly it had already been undercut by the decision to have them make love fully clothed earlier on in the piece. It made the actors seem uncomfortable, when I am quite sure it was not their fault.

Overall a missed opportunity, let down by poor writing.
Russell Whitehead, United Kingdom

In response to Mr Slater's comment, and indeed most reviewers comments, that Ruders' score for The Handmaid's Tale "lacks variety". This seems to me to be a gross misunderstanding of the score.

I have spent the last year analysing the Ruders' opera and have begun to unravel an intracate musical web which acutely observes the ideas in Atwood's novel.

The operatic score is meant as a musical soundtrack, a filmic representation of the action, therefore at times, its function (however mundane one feels it is) is emotional and not compositional.

The musical thread which holds the opera together is the omnipresent dissonant chord we hear at the start of the prologue, a chord which forces a coexistance of the themes/motifs and is a constant reminder of the persistant unseen terror in Offred's world.

The production would not work at all if it were not for the music and the variety it gives as the story unfolds and retraces. This should be, by rights, one of the most important productions of ENO so far. If this work can't save it, then we must be forever plagued by eternal productions of Carmen and Turandot. Why not let the female protagonist live to tell her tale instead of being murdered or succombing to a man?
Alex Sutton, England

I saw The Handmaid's Tale last night, and found the experience both invigorating and exhausting.

It could not come at a more relevant time (indeed there is a damning indictment of the Bush regime in the programme notes), and yet through the stark warnings contained in the libretto and staging came an understanding (for me) of how the cast and all concerned had come to terms with the subject material.

Some of the music is screechy, but it worked in that it seemed relevant in every way. I was enjoying it by the end, even!

Best of all was the audience which comprised non 'opera-types' and a large American contingent.

Bravo to ENO: this was a brave move, and it's been carried off spectacularly. Two fingers to all who intimate that London has no room for two opera houses!
Imogen Edwards, UK

It was the first opera that I ever saw, and I thought that it was a powerful adaptation of a brilliant book. The music may have been loud according to some reviews, but it only served to reveal the growing tension and to act as a contrast to the Particicution scene. Its links with the American war on terror make it even more relevant and interesting to new audiences. Go and watch it!
Elena, UK

Russell Whitehead seems to have missed a rather large number of points.

First of all, the English libretto and the Danish are essentially the same work, adjusted for different numbers of syllables. The original by Paul Bentley was in English, and translated into Danish by Poul Ruders to fulfil the language requirements of the Royal Danish Opera.

The libretto itself was neither childish nor laughable. Rather it was a faithful adaptation of a compelling novel, and one that has in other places been criticised for being too close to the book.

Mr Whitehead further demonstrates his misunderstanding by his criticism of the mixture of fully clothed sex scenes with one involving nudity. If he had been paying attention he would have noticed this was deliberate and demonstrated the difference between the act of ritual impregnation and sex based on genuine emotion and attraction.

Perhaps Mr Whitehead was in a seat with a poor field of view?
Martin Barrett, UK