The Broadway musical "One Touch of Venus" receives its first full-scale British staging presented by Opera North at the Lowry, Salford Quays.

The original production ran for 567 performances on Broadway in 1943 with Mary Martin in the title role. It was subsequently made into a film with Ava Gardner as Venus.

The music is reminiscent of Cole Porter but with an effective twist of Weill, set to smart, witty lyrics by poet Ogden Nash.

Opera North has been a champion of musical theatre since the 1980s with productions of Show Boat, Sweeney Todd and Paradise Moscow.

Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus follows the genre of these successes and is conducted tomorrow by Opera North's Head of Music, James Holmes.

Tim Albery, whose diverse career ranges from Opera North's 2004 Cosi fan tutte to an award-winning Ring Cycle for Scottish Opera and Macbeth for the RSC, directs.

American Karen Coker makes her Opera North and European debut as Venus, the goddess awakened from a 3,000-year sleep.

One Touch of Venus is at the Lowry on Tuesday and Thursday, and on April 9. For tickets, call 0113 222 6222.

Opera North are also staging Mozart's Don Giovanni on Wednesday and Saturday at The Lowry, and Rossini's The Thieving Magpie on Friday.