An opera singer will hold a concert in aid of a musicians’ charity celebrating its 90th anniversary.

Walton’s Cathryn Pope studied at the Royal College of Music and sung at the English National Opera, and been invited to major opera venues abroad as well as making a number of recordings.

She said: “We are going to sing some really beautiful arias. Some real peaches like the butterfly aria - some beautiful, beautiful ones.

“Opera can be quite funny so we are doing some funny ones. Some should be quite fun.

“I will try to talk a little bit and try to make it a little more accessible. Everything is translated in the programme. We are trying to make it as accessible as possible.

“I think it should be a very enjoyable evening and not too long. There are some lively and fun things in it.”

Members of the audience are invited to an after-concert party at Carluccio’s, where they will be able to mix with the singers, although they should pay for their own food.

The singer is holding the concert in aid of the Musicians Benevolent Fund, which is hoping to hold 90 concerts in its 90th year.

The charity supports musicians, and Miss Pope had seen at firsthand how it helped a friend of hers who died in 2000.

She said: “I sang with a bass - he had a beautiful voice. He had a stroke which paralysed him, and he could not work. He died a few years after, but they helped him through it, and he had some kind of dignity at the end.

“If you are a musician and there’s something they prevents you doing something, there’s not much to fall back on.”

Great Opera Arias will be held at the Riverhouse Barn, Manor Road, Walton, on Saturday, December 10, at 7.30pm. Call 01932 253354 or visit riverhousebarn.co.uk.