IT HAS been a big season for Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra which is celebrating 150 years of music-making.

Tomorrow, the orchestra brings a memorable season to a close with an opera gala at Huddersfield Town Hall.

This is a chance to hear some of the best-loved pieces from the world of opera including work by Bizet, Puccini, Verdi, Mascagni, Rossini and Weber.

For this gala performance, the orchestra will be joined by a trio of soloists.

Barnsley-born tenor John Hudson will be joined by Australian soprano Catherine Bouchier and by mezzo-soprano Flora McIntosh.

The orchestra, whose leader is Mary Barber, will be conducted by Nicholas Smith.

Highlights from the soloists will include Nessun Dorma (Turandot), Mi Chiamano Mimi (La Boheme) and Una Voca Poco Far (The Barber of Seville) plus arias from Carmen and Tosca.

The orchestra’s talents will be showcased in overtures to Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie and Weber’s Der Freischütz as well as the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana and Ponchielli’s Dance Of The Hours.

The tenor John Hudson studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is a long-standing principal for the English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera. He is also a frequent guest for opera companies worldwide.

John is now developing his long-awaited recording career with two CDs to complement his international opera and concert performances.

His recent London bookings have been Cavaradossi (Tosca) at the Royal Albert Hall and the title role in Andrea Chenier at Opera Holland Park.

Future plans include a return to English National Opera to sing Radames in Verdi’s opera Aida and Don Jose at the Royal Albert Hall.

Catherine Bouchier is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium and made her professional debut in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd both with Opera Australia.

She relocated to the UK four years ago to pursue her career and now sings both in opera and in concert both here and in Europe.

Mezzo-soprano Flora McIntosh studied at the Royal Northern College of music where she won several awards.

She is a regular on the concert and oratorio platforms and has sung in venues from Birmingham Symphony Hall to Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall and with orchestras such as the Hallé, Orchestra do Algarve and Southbank Sinfonia.

Her operatic roles include the title role in Carmen and she played Fanny Nelson/Emma Hamilton in the world premiere of Bawden’s A Sailor’s Tale, which she later recorded for NMC.

Flora returned last year to the concert stage after having her two children and since then her engagements have included singing in both Venice and Monte Carlo with London Festival Opera.

Tomorrow’s performance begins at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 to £15 on 01484 223200.