A YOUNG opera company whose debut production saw off the likes of the Royal Opera and English National Opera at the 2011 Olivier Awards will take to the stage on the opening night of the Northern Aldborough Festival.

Tomorrow, at 7pm, OperaUpClose will present Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville at Aldborough Church to signal the start of the festival’s 16th year in the Roman village, near Boroughbridge.

OperaUpClose began life in a London pub, since when their progress has been rapid, and now comes the invitation from artistic director Robert Ogden to open the festival.

The Elias Quartet will perform Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos 12 and 14 in their string quintet versions in the company of Russian pianist Ilona Timchenko at Aldborough Church on Friday, at 7pm. The next morning, again in the church, they will share their expertise in a Masterclass for Talented String Quartets at 11am.

BAFTA-nominated actor Christian McKay, best known for his splendid portrayal of Orson Welles in the film Me And Orson Welles, will show his range of talents next Tuesday at Aldborough Church.

At 7.30pm, the former University of York student, will present From Concert Hall To Hollywood Via Orson Welles, in which he will talk about his experiences not only as an actor, performing alongside Zac Efron and Claire Danes when playing Welles in 2008, but also as a Royal College of Music-trained concert pianist, his first career before treading the boards and gracing the silver screen.

His show will include his performance of the complete Goya-inspired Goyescas by the Spanish Romantic composer Enrique Granados, the subject of a future film documentary featuring McKay.

The prize-winning brass quintet Onyx Brass will perform a 7.30pm programme of the Golden Age of English music on Thursday, June 23, at Aldborough Church to demonstrate their virtuosic technique, while the next night, same time, same place, the Northern Sinfonia will present an evening of classical symphonies and overtures under the baton of Justin Doyle. Highlights will include Haydn’s Paris Symphony, No 87, and a cameo performance of a Mozart aria by soprano Bibi Heal.

The eight cellists of Cellophony will play a sold-out 11am concert at Swinton Park, near Masham, on Friday, June 24, at 11am.

Further festival events include the Glendower Duo’s clarinet and piano concert at Aldborough Church on Sunday, at 7.30pm, at Aldborough Church; saxophonist Sarah Field and guitarist Charlie Morland on Monday at Stockeld Park Chapel; and the vocal consort Cantores Missae, marking the 400th anniversary of composer Tomas Luis de Victoria’s death, on Monday, at 8pm, at Rudding Park, Harrogate.

Martin Cropper, violin, and Anne Bolt, piano, will play at Bramham Park, near Wetherby, on Tuesday, at 7.30pm.

For those less classically inclined, the festival will conclude with Greased Up, a 6pm concert in the grounds of Aldborough Manor featuring music from the film Grease, played by St Aidan’s Swing Band, from Harrogate. The event will climax with an orchestrated firework display.

• Tickets can be booked on 01423 324899 or at aldboroughfestival.com