NINE-YEAR-OLD Isabel Hudson will be taking to the stage with one of the country’s biggest opera companies.

The youngster, a pupil at Stage 84 in Idle, is touring with Opera North in its production of The Bartered Bride. Isabel has already appeared in the show at theatres in Leeds, Salford and Newcastle and will be at Nottingham next week.

The opera is about a young couple, called Marenka and Jeník, who are in love but come up against Marenka’s father who wants her to marry the son of the town’s wealthiest man. In the end, youth and determination triumph over age and power, and there’s excitement for the rural community when a spectacular circus arrives in town.

Isabel attends classes in performing arts at the Old Bell Chapel in Idle, and earlier this year she appeared in Stage 84’s production of Alice In Wonderland.

The theatre school is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with a series of productions for youngsters of various ages, the latest one being Grease which ran at Beckfoot School in Bingley.