THERE are not many primary school musical shows which feature an international opera star in the lead role.

But that was the case this week as St Mary’s in Haslingden welcomed tenor Sean Ruane as part of the Sound Of Music cast.

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Sean, who was born in Rossendale, swapped Covent Garden and Glyndebourne for the small stage at the Lime Road school.

He played the role of Colonel Von Trapp alongside 80 junior pupils, wowing audiences on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Sean, who has worked all over the world since making his professional debut in 2001, has been helping the school in the past few months.

He performed alongside the children and teacher Berni Booth, who played the other central role of Maria.

Head teacher Donna McNicoll, said staff and pupils had been ‘overwhelmed’ by Sean’s support and the impact he had made on pupils.

She said: “Sean has been brilliant with everyone and has certainly made an impression on the children.

“He worked with our choir earlier this year prior to an event at Blackburn Cathedral and said he would come back for our summer show.

“The feedback we’ve had has been amazing and I’ve been told the level of performance was that of a professional stage school.

“We now have 14 boys in our musical group who are all confident singing solo and I think seeing what Sean has achieved has given them confidence to perform.”

Miss McNicoll said she made no apologies for the choice of the show.

“I’m a little bit obsessed with The Sound Of Music”, she said.

“I’ve seen the film more than 40 times and I’ve even made a trip to Salzburg to see where the film was shot. But I also thought it was appropriate because this year is 50 years since the movie was made.”

While opera remains at the heart of his work, Sean has become the voice of many national sporting events.

He has sung at the Ashes series and England football internationals, the Irish Rugby Six Nations internationals and has appeared alongside Paul Weller and Jools Holland.