Diligent singers, intriguing concept in opera that blends the Bard and Berlioz

The Shakespeare Opera Theatre, a new local company that presents simultaneous productions of the Bard's work and an opera based on it, focused last weekend on "Much Ado About Nothing" and Hector Berlioz's "Béatrice et Bénédict," with two performances each at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. The company is a bare-bones operation, to be sure, but it has a concept that's clever and performers (most of whom appear in both productions) who give their all, such as it is.