mmg.com.au

District primary schools will be well represented in the audience at the matinee performance of Mia Mia’s Opera Recital on February 8.

Students from Redesdale-Mia Mia and Heathcote Primary Schools will be attending the popular event and for many of these children it will be their first live opera performance.

Sponsors Lynne and David McDonald from Derrinal said they were delighted local children would have the chance to be introduced to the drama and comedy of opera in such a setting.

‘‘My mother and uncle loved opera and musical theatre, and they also loved children,’’ Mr McDonald said.

‘‘They sang at family parties and gatherings, much to the delight of all ages.

‘‘We sponsor the Mia Mia opera recitals through a trust in my mother’s name, The Alice Amy McDonald Scholarship Trust.

‘‘One of its aims is to provide opportunities for local communities to enjoy such performances at a reasonable cost, and we hope that the parents of the children attending also take the opportunity to share the experience with their children.’’Acting school principal of Redesdale Mia Mia School, Ben Fiegert, is a musician as well as a teacher and sees the opera recital attendance as providing a connection with the wider Mia Mia community, with the event being a great cultural opportunity for the children and their teachers.

Tickets for the recital are available at the Heathcote Visitor Centre and also online at www.trybooking.com/CCEL.