Hundreds of people packed into a famous opera house for a rare opportunity to perform alongside professional musicians.

Crowds poured into the Glyndebourne auditorium today to sing songs from popular musical Carmen.

The singing event was led by Glyndebourne's chorus master Thomas Blunt who was joined by soloists Sarah Lilley, Charne Rochford and John Mackenzie.

They will be performing Carmen at Glyndebourne in July but staff hoped the open day would get more people interested in opera.

Mr Blunt said: "The response from those that took part was excellent and we had some great singers in the house.

"Being in an auditorium like Glyndebourne, the scene of world class opera, gave everyone who took part a lift.

"And the great thing about Carmen is there are so many well known tunes which always go down really well with the audience.

"Glyndebourne has a reputation for being very elitist but the staff work extremely hard to make it accessible for everyone."

Opera enthusiast Alison Bowler, 40, of St James Road, Bexhill, said: "The singing was great fun and we were right down in the stalls which gave us a great view of the stage.

"It was nice to be able to sing in such an impressive venue which was built to make the acoustics sound right."

Her father, Keith Stockford, 63, of Bedford Avenue, Bexhill, said: "I sing in a choir but it was great to be a part of such a large community.

"I have performed as the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill but the Glyndebourne venue is something else."

Afterwards many of the 900 people who attended the open day at the opera house, near Lewes, joined in the other activities on offer.

Adults took backstage tours and attended talks from staff while children enjoyed mask making, face painting and dressing up in theatre costumes.

Glyndebourne head of marketing Gillian Brierley said: "The idea of the open day was to make people to realise what actually goes on at this venue.

"We decided to open up the whole place to show people what goes into a successful opera, such as costume making, lighting and make up.

"We wanted to get people involved in the singing to give everybody a taste of how exciting it can be to take part in a live performance.

"We tried to make the open day suitable for all age groups as well as families and those who do not have children."

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