Football fans and opera stars hit the high notes
Football fans who have gone from singing on the terraces to performing in a choir have achieved their latest goal by taking to the stage alongside members of a major opera company.
BBC Radio Leeds' Bantam of the Opera choir, made up of 50 Bradford City fans, performed earlier this week with singers from Leeds-based Opera North.
The choir, which has sung in a number of events over the past six months, hit the high notes as part of the opera company's Summer Concert at the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds.
Bantam of the Opera choir leader James Sills said: "It's just an amazing experience for everybody and now we're getting our teeth stuck into some real opera."
At the concert on Tuesday, the choir performed three songs, one of which was the famous Anvil Chorus, composed by Giuseppe Verdi.
Howard Croft, chorus manager for Opera North, said: "They're great, but then again they're used to singing on the terraces.
"What we really enjoy is seeing the difference it makes on people's lives."
Amy Freston, a singer from Opera North, said the concert collaboration with the Bantam of the Opera choir was "one of those things that's a real reminder of why we do what we do".
Meanwhile, Steven Ding, a member of the Bantam of the Opera choir, said: "We're like little Bradford City in League One, and suddenly we're in the Premier League with all these Premier League singers. It's a different world."
You can follow the journey which has been taken so far by the Bantam of the Opera choir by subscribing to the BBC Radio Leeds podcast.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
