TWO prizewinning singers making big names for themselves in opera will be returning to the North-West for a special concert.

Their evening out will be spent with the members of the Nelson Arion Male Voice Choir, who are maintaining a tradition going back more than 30 years of inviting top national names to sing with them each autumn.

This year the two guests at the choir's celebrity concert at St Thomas's Church, Barrowford, are contralto Alison Hudson and soprano Maria Bovino.

Alison is an honours graduate of the Royal Northern School of Music who won the coveted Decca Kathleen Ferrier prize in 1990 among a number of other top prizes.

Her operatic career includes performances at Glyndbourne, Scottish Opera and Leipzig Opera.

Also on the stage at Barrowford on Saturday, October 19,, will be Maria Bovino who has won many awards, including the Principal's Prize while she was studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Choir chairman Neville Smith, whose choir has also won many national prizes over the years, said: "We are proud to be able to attract such top people to Lancashire, proving that the area is far from a musical backwater."

Tickets at £6 from Mr Mitchell on 01282 867421.