The Opera Boys are coming back to Tyneside this April, bringing their mix of opera, West End show tunes and pop classics to the Customs House, South Shields.

The Opera Boys – all four of whom are classically trained singers – have quite a varied CV between them. Members of the group have performed with the likes of Robbie Williams and Elton John, appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest, and starred in West End and Broadway musicals such as Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd.

The group say it is their mission to prove that opera is not boring. With their fun, informal shows, they want to demonstrate that anyone can enjoy opera music.

Rob from The Opera Boys said, “I think there’s a preconception that opera’s a bit stuffy, that you have to put on a bowtie, spend huge sums of money and go to a great big place to see an opera where you’ve got no idea what’s happening.”

“But that’s not the case – some of the music is incredible, and some of it’s very funny and very entertaining.”

“We try to make it a lot of fun. We make some of the songs almost comical though they’re still sung properly, of course.”

“In the show, there’s a lot of what we might call ‘pratting around’ and mickey taking between the guys. We get the audience involved too.”

As for the content of the show, Rob said, “We do a broad cross section. It includes well-known operatic arias (short pieces performed by just one singer) like Toreador and Nessun Dorma, which is probably the best-known aria in the world thanks to the incredible Pavarotti.”

“We do famous classical pieces like Time to Say Goodbye right through to West End stuff like Phantom and Jersey Boys.”

“We also do pop songs with our own twist on them. We do Angels by Robbie Williams, which is a fabulous song. We’ve done a classical arrangement of it in four-part harmony. It’s a beautiful song, which lends itself very well to the classical style.”

“So there’s a really broad section of music in there; it’s all very well-known and there’s something for everybody.”

The show will also feature some brand-new arrangements of classic pop hits.

The Opera Boys will be appearing at The Customs House, South Shields, on Sunday 8th April at 7.30 pm. Tickets are priced at £19.50 and can be booked by going to https://www.customshouse.co.uk/music/opera-boys/ or telephoning 0191 454 1234.

You can read an article based on a full interview with Rob from The Opera Boys here.


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