8-year-old Luton theatre student will perform with world-class Ukrainian Opera stars

A young star who attends a Luton theatre group will be performing alongside Ukrainian singers in an upcoming Opera performance.

Eight-year-old Jude-Evan from the Next Generation Youth Theatre (NGYT) group will be performing in Madama Butterfly – a UK wide opera tour. He will be on stage at the Gordon Craig theatre in Stevenage, as well as Dunstable’s Grove Theatre.

Jude’s mother, and NGYT Co-Founder Laura, said: “Jude is so excited to be part of Madama Butterfly. He loves being on stage but says he does feel a little bit nervous because of the big audience, nervous, but excited at the same time. Jude has been in several performances with NGYT but this will be his first time as part of a professional company.

“He has been involved in theatre his whole life. The first ever thing he did was when he was just three months old. David (Jude’s father) and I were approached by the Salvation Army in Dunstable, who do a big Christmas concert at The Grove Theatre in Dunstable. David was asked if he would write a drama piece that could be performed alongside the carols. He agreed and wrote a modernised version of the Nativity – with newborn Jude and his "carry on" part as the baby at the end.”

Laura also added: “with the opera work we don't hold auditions, we never have. We look at who is in our current cohort of students and mainly consider age and height. The max height for this role was 120cm and max age was 8. Jude is 117cm and 8 years old. We then think about who will cope with a short rehearsal (so needs a good memory).

“Jude is so passionate about drama and singing we felt that this would be a great opportunity for him. He sings all the time; Kimberly Black his NGYT singing teacher said she uses Jude as an example to her female choir get them to sing loudly. She said you need to be more Jude and did an impression of him. He has a very dramatic singing style, which includes a lot of gesticulation.”