International opera star John Rawnsley performed at the finale of the 90th Skipton Music Festival at the weekend.
Mr Rawnsley, who was brought up in Earby, went on to become a professional singer with Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He then became a solo star and sang at some of the world's great opera houses and later joined the London cast of Cats as Old Deuteronomy.
He was just one of the special guests at Saturday’s concert in Skipton Town Hall, which brought the six-day festival to a close.
“It was an excellent week,” said festival secretary Ann Ware. “We heard some lovely performances and had some splendid adjudicators.
“Each year, we wonder whether the festival will happen – and each year it does and each year it is good.”
Youngsters from Beamsley’s Boyle and Petyt School won the Soroptimists Trophy for the most outstanding performance while Max Verity, of Cross Hills, was awarded the Grassington Festival prize for the best stage presence.
Other trophy winners included Cross Hills teenager Nicole Johnson, who was presented with the Skipton Town Council Trophy for the most promising performer under 19, and 13-year-old singer Elizabeth Burgess, of Clitheroe, who took the president’s prize, awarded at the president’s personal discretion.
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