Royal Opera House helps Corby school put on Hansel & Gretel

Hansel & Gretel, which ran at the Royal Opera House in London over Christmas is popular with families

Stagestruck school children have had a helping hand from the Royal Opera House as part of an "outstanding music education", an academy trust said.

It was in Corby to put on a production of Hansel & Gretel with professionals and local youngsters.

The arts institution had worked with schools from the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) in the town ahead of a local performance.

DRET's director of music Simon Toyne said it was "really exciting".

Pupils performed an hour-long version of the 19th Century opera at the Core Theatre in the Corby Cube.

Director of music at DRET, Simon Toyne, said he wanted all their schools' children to have a good music education

Mr Toyne said the children had been prepared with daily music lessons with their classroom teachers.

"The thing about music education is it is an entitlement for everyone to have outstanding music education," he said.

"But it depends on who you've got in the school and ultimately depends on the vision of the school and the teachers there, and at DRET we believe in music."

Mr Toyne said the trust "connected with the Royal Opera House (ROH) on how to teach songs [and] how to bring pieces of music to life".

Stephen Morris from the Royal Opera House said it wanted to "inspire creativity in young people around the country".

"We start with training teachers, helping them to feel more confident with delivering opera in the classroom," he said.

The "Create and Sing" programme manager said the ROH also provides free training and resources for school teachers.

Composed by the German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921), Hansel and Gretel is sung in English (pictured is a performance in Covent Garden)

Eleanor Sanderson-Nash, an opera singer from the ROH, said it was "really interesting to see how the children respond to an art form that they otherwise might never have been exposed to".

"It's amazing how much the children seem to respond to hearing live opera and hearing the live instruments and demystifying that sometimes inaccessible art form that is opera," she added.