YORK Opera is presenting a series of concerts in and around York, Ryedale and Scarborough between April and June.

Starting off with last Sunday’s visit to the Riley-Smith Hall in Tadcaster, the series will take in Scarborough College tomorrow (box office, 01723 360620); Helmsley Arts Centre, May 10 (01439 771700); the National Centre for Early Music, York, May 18 (01904 658338); and the Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 (01751 472847).

More than 20 of the company’s soloists from Yorkshire and Humberside will be taking part in some or all of the concerts.

Among them will be sopranos Sharon Nicholson Skeggs, Heather Watts and Hilary Dyson; mezzo-sopranos Becky Smith, Cathy Atkin and Rosy Jamieson; tenors Karl Reiff and Hamish Brown; and basses/baritones Ian Thompson-Smith, Clive Goodhead and Steve Griffiths.

The musical director throughout the series will be Alasdair Jamieson and piano accompaniment will be by Tim Tozer and Kenneth Briggs.

“The programme will vary from venue to venue and will include items from Gilbert and Sullivan operas that we’ve performed, plus arias and ensembles from Mozart operas and solos, ensembles and choruses from operas by Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Bizet,” says Alasdair.

All concerts will start at 7.30pm and tickets cost either £10 or £12, depending on the venue. They are available from Richard Shouksmith on 01904 490303, as well as from the above phone numbers.