International feel to opera treats

Rising stars from several countries have gathered to put on two operas in South Creake this weekend.

Rising stars from several countries have gathered to put on two operas in South Creake this weekend.

The performers, who are from Egypt, Belgium and Ireland as well as Norfolk, will entertain opera-goers with the tragedy Dido and Aeneas, and also Pyramus and Thisbe, the comic play-within-a-play from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

They have been rehearsing for three weeks for the performances in St Mary's Church on Friday and Saturday.

It is part of a course run by the South Creake-based Yorke Trust which aims to nurture talented young entertainers and help them gain a footing on the professional ladder.

"To hear these vibrant young voices in such a beautiful setting is so wonderful," said Jennifer Hamilton, who is part of the Yorke Trust and the show's stage director.

Gae Stubbings, from near Docking, James Macnamara, from Smithdon High School in Hunstanton, and Gresham's School student Felicity McDermott are the three Norfolk performers who will appear alongside the other international entertainers who are mostly aged between their late teens and mid-30s.

Students from Smithdon High and their teacher Jo Robinson have been designing and making costumes alongside Norfolk-based Sarah Prince-White.

The shows start at 7pm on Friday and Saturday. Tickets cost £18.50.