Alton Choral Society held its summer concert A Night At The Opera in aid of Naomi House Children’s Hospice at Alton Methodist Church on July 2.

The audience enjoyed a varied programme with an operatic theme including well-known chorus numbers and arias ranging from Purcell to Gilbert and Sullivan. The choir was directed by conductor Wendy Busby and accompanied by Jane Palmer and Patrick Busby.

The concert opened with a medley from HMS Pinafore with soloists Nancy Buck and Stuart Nash. Alison Crow then performed The Sun Whose Rays from The Mikado.

Bizet’s Habanera from Carmen followed with soloist Rosemary Lanning. A selection of Mozart arias and duets from The Marriage Of Figaro came after, featuring soloists Alison Crow, Wendy Busby and David Sheraton.

To close the first half of the concert the choir performed Purcell’s rather moving Dido’s Lament And Final Chorus from Dido and Aeneas featuring soloist Alison Crow.

During the interval Debby Bridger gave a very informative talk about Naomi House Children’s Hospice and the extraordinary work it does for its young patients and their families. Thanks to some generous donations the society was able to send more than £300 to the hospice, comprising a share of the ticket sales plus all the money received for refreshments.

The second half opened with The Villagers’ Chorus from Rossini’s William Tell. More Mozart was to come with soloist Wendy Busby singing Ach Ich Fuhls from The Magic Flute and Vedrai Carino from Don Giovanni.

Other solos included Ombra Mai Fu from Handel’s Xerxes sung by Alison Crow and the Gendarmes Duet by Offenbach sung by Stuart Nash and Bill Donelly.

To end the concert the choir sang some well-loved choruses including The Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s Nabucco and The Anvil Chorus, also by Verdi from Il Travatore.