Manchester's homeless: From the streets to the opera stage

Dozens of homeless people and those who used to live on the streets are learning opera at the Booth Centre in Manchester.

The project aims to improve their confidence and self-esteem.

The choir is in rehearsal for a performance of The Passion, which will take to the stage next Easter.

Composer and conductor James MacMillan said the programme, run in collaboration with Streetwise Opera and ensemble The Sixteen, was "such a wonderful way to use the gift of music to transform people's lives and make people happy".