Anyone who enjoys singing and would like to experience the thrill of doing so as part of a choir has an ideal opportunity this week. Monmouth Choral Society is holding a Come and Sing Opera Choruses event on Saturday (February 12) between 10am and 12.30pm at St Mary’s Priory Church, Monmouth. This will be a friendly, relaxed morning of music-making for singers of all levels of experience, and admission is free.

The morning will have a workshop format. Under Monmouth Choral Society’s conductor Steven Kings, the assembled choir members and guests will rehearse then sing a wide selection of choruses from some of the best-known and best-loved operas, by composers as varied as Purcell, Handel, Bizet and Verdi.

Month by month the choir is returning to something approaching normality, after two difficult years. A very successful Come and Sing was held in November, the choir’s first public event since the beginning of the pandemic, and a number of new recruits have joined the choir as a result. Current Covid regulations will apply at Saturday’s event and it will be possible to sing masked or un-masked. Those who wish to sing without masks will be placed at the front, with masked singers behind them.

To book to attend the Come and Sing go to the choir website at monmouthchoralsociety.co.uk to “buy” a free ticket, or phone 07557 687634 with name, contact details and number of places required. Bring a copy of the Oxford Opera Choruses book if you have one, copies will also be available to hire for £4. Although entry is free, donations are invited to help cover costs. Throughout the morning tea and coffee will be available, in aid of church funds. Registration will begin at 9.30am.