Concerts show children 'opera is for everyone'

A total of five concerts took place across Teesside

More than 1,500 schoolchildren have performed alongside one of the world’s leading opera companies in a series of concerts.

Professional singers and musicians from the Royal Opera House joined pupils from seventy schools across Teesside.

Tees Valley Music Service (TVMS) said the concerts were about removing barriers and showing young people "opera is for everyone".

Manager Susan Robertson said her big hope was to "inspire children, to make them realise opera is not a scary thing".

"Anybody can sing opera and to have all the children involved and doing the drama as well and everything that goes along with it, I think it's really, really key that they see this as achievable for them in the future," she said.

Ms Robertson hopes the concerts will inspire children

The concerts have taken place throughout the week in Thornaby, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Darlington, with each performance watched by hundreds of parents.

The project was launched last year and started in October, when 100 teachers received training from the Royal Opera House.

Professional musicians visited a number of schools delivering workshops and dance classes.

They were designed to build up confidence and inspire creativity in the classroom, introducing opera in a fun and accessible way.

The Royal Opera House said it was "delighted" how many school wanted to get involved

The Royal Opera House (ROH) said it had been "shocked and delighted" by the number of schools that had wanted to get involved.

It has now become the biggest outreach programme the company has ever carried out.

Tayfun Bombaz, a violinist with the ROH, said he hoped the concerts would give the children "their first spark" to become interested in music.

"These youngsters could one day become the opera stars of the future."