A THEATRE hailed by visitors and regulars alike is getting ready for an extra special anniversary in July.

Clonter Opera first made its debut at Clonter Farm, near Swettenham, in 1974 – 40 years ago this July.

Friends and neighbours were invited to come to an ‘Operatic Picnic’ in aid of Cancer Relief at the home of Jeffery and Anita Lockett and family.

The programme was made up of operatic excerpts performed by The Abbey Opera Group and Jeffery Lockett sang as baritone – whilst running his dairy farm in Cheshire.

A bar, full of straw bales, was concerted for the night into a theatre.

The whole evening was such a success that the following year people began to ring up in January to find out when the next operatic picnic would be held.

They sold out for the next eight years. Due to the ever-increasing popularity of the evenings, in 1983 Jeffrey enlarged the theatre and six months later he had a raked auditorium with 400 seats and indoor dining areas.

In 1999, an orchestra pit was added and the roof raised to create better sight lines and additional balcony seating.

Forty years have passed since its inception and Clonter is now registered charity (Clonter Farm Music Trust) providing training and performance opportunities for emerging professional singers.

More than 150 singers audition each year for the main summer opera production, masterclasses, showcase concerts and oratorio opportunities and an autumn tour to London provides singers with an opportunity to be heard by a wider audience.

Michael Kennedy, of the Sunday Telegraph, said: “For those who like to keep an ear on rising British operatic talent, periodic visits to Clonter Opera... are essential. The list of those who have sung there since 1974 reads like a who’s who of the current casts in our (and Europe’s) leading companies.”