The Royal Opera House has just announced its new Live Cinema Season and I was lucky enough to see Puccini’s famous 'Turandot' when it was screened. Let’s cut to the chase – I loved it.

The opera tells the story of a ruthless Chinese princess who will only marry the man who can answer three riddles. The penalty for failing her challenge is death, but Prince Calaf decides the risk is worth it, and the opera follows his bid for the princess’ heart. With incredibly honest and moving performances by Marco Berti as Prince Calaf and Lise Lindstrom as Princess Turandot, as well as hilarious comedy interludes by the Chinese ministers Ping, Pang and Pong (pictured here), 'Turandot' is a surprising love story that honestly brought a tear to my eye.

Not only is the music incredible (Nessun Dorma being the best-known song), but the live cinema experience makes it easy to understand and accessible for everyone. With the best seat in the house, thanks to the amazing close-up shots, opera on screen is also subtitled and easy to follow. In between acts, you are shown fascinating behind-the-scenes footage of how the costumes and set are designed, the history of the opera, and exclusive interviews with the cast.

Live opera screenings have become so popular that the Royal Opera House is now broadcasting live operas in 1000 cinemas in 40 countries across the world, announcing more live productions this year than ever before, and with 350 cinemas in the UK hosting the entire Royal Opera House Cinema Season. The best performing broadcast to date was The Royal Ballet’s 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland' which was broadcast live in March with almost 40,000 people watching the screening in the UK alone. Live opera screenings are perfect for families, and ideal for anyone who would think twice about forking out for tickets at the Royal Opera House itself - but be warned: live screenings will make you want to go to see a live opera! Keep an eye on the season ahead - coming up are Mozart’s 'Don Giovanni', Tchaikovsky’s Christmas ballet 'The Nutcracker', and Wagner’s 'Parsifal'.

Get the dates of live opera cinema screenings here.