Opera star helps Burgess Hill Girls put on a show: Joanna Songi ran workshops for ages 10-16

The pupils were honoured to meet Joanna, who most recently performed at the Donmar Warehouse in Shakespeare’s Henry V.

The opera singer ran workshops with girls aged 10 to 16 and helped them understand the sentiment behind the music.

Jasmine, 10, said: “The opera workshop was really useful and a lot of fun. We learnt lots of warm-up exercises. My favourite was the one where we had to make motor bike sounds.”

The students then demonstrated what that had learned the following evening when they joined Joanna in a concert of arias and chorus numbers for more than 200 spectators at Burgess Hill Girls. The opera performances included solos, duets, quartets, and full chorus numbers.

They also took in a wide range of pieces from Humperdinck’s ‘Hansel and Gretel’, Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ and ‘The Magic Flute’ and Handel’s ‘Alcina’ and ‘Rinaldo’.

The grand finale saw the school’s Year 6 choir and a joint choir of all the students perform songs from Les Misérables.

The students said they were thrilled to perform in front of family and friends as well as learn from a professional.

Poppy, 10, said: “We all enjoyed being up on a professional stage. It was a sensational experience watching Joanna Songi perform. The solos, duets, trios, and quartets were fantastic, it was like we were in a real opera house. The night was very magical.”