MOZART'S Requiem will be vividly brought to life by the Durham Singers in a performance at Durham Cathedral at the weekend.

The much-loved and uncompleted masterpiece will be familiar to many from the 1984 Oscar-winning film Amadeus, which was inspired by some of the more fanciful legends surrounding the work’s mysterious origins.

The Requiem was left unfinished at Mozart's death and a number of completions of the score have been made. Durham Singers have chosen to perform the most well-known version - that of Mozart's pupil Franz Susmayr.

The singers will be joined by their period instrument orchestra, the Durham Singers Ensemble at 7.30pm on Saturday (November 3).

Durham Singers musical director Dr Julian Wright said: "The beautiful effect of the old instruments brings new shades of colour to this extraordinary musical work, and reveals vital features of the score sometimes lost in bigger modern performances."

This year's line-up of soloists includes mezzo-soprano Charlotte Heslop, 20, from Spennymoor, who is on a gap year studying at the Sage Gateshead Weekend School.

The other soloists are Durham University students Alys Roberts (soprano) and Hugo Hymas (tenor) and recent Durham graduate and former Durham Cathedral choral scholar Nicholas Morton (bass).

Alys Roberts, a Vice-Chancellor's music scholar at Durham University, will perform the Divertimento for Strings K138.

Financial support for the concert has been provided by The Arts Council and the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust.

The grants have helped the choir to keep ticket prices under £20, and to continue their policy of providing free tickets to parties of school children.

Schools wishing to take up this offer should contact the choir.

Tickets are £10 to £20 and available from the Durham Gala Theatre Box Office 0191-332-4041 or galadurham. co. uk. For details, contact the choir on info@durham-singers.org or call 07790-148062.