SHOPPERS got a taste of culture with a surprise opera performance.

Professional singers from Mid Wales Opera mingled with pedestrians at the Piazza Centre before suddenly bursting into song.

The so-called ‘flash mob’ treated passers-by to a glimpse of Albert Herring, a comic chamber opera by British classical musician Benjamin Britten.

The full production is being hosted by the Lawrence Batley Theatre at 7.30pm tonight .

LBT spokeswoman Laura Rodwell, said the flash mob had been great fun.

“It took a few people by surprise,” she said.

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“They performed a scene from the show and they were jumping around on the benches.

“There were quite a few people who stopped and watched.

“It’s a great way to give people a taste of opera, especially for those who might not know anything about it.”

Albert Herring is based on a short story by the French writer Guy de Maupassant.

It was turned into an opera by Eric Crozier and with Britten’s masterly music became a comic depiction of village life.

It is seen as one of Britten’s most irreverent gems and has a cast full of recognisable characters, including the village bobby, the local vicar and the landed gentry.