A pioneering project to perform a baroque opera in mixture of English and Gaelic will come to Irvine’s Townhouse this weekend.

The Scots Opera Project will perform Handel’s Acis and Galatea in a mixture of English and Scottish Gaelic at 3pm and 7pm on August 10 in the Burns Suite within Irvine’s Townhouse.

The group previously performed and toured Charpentier’s Actéon, La Descente D’Orphée Aux Enfers, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.

Gaelic may not be the most obvious choice of language for an opera performance, but tenor David Douglas the creative force behind the project feels it works very well.

He said: “Operas are performed in different languages all over the world.

“Therefore when performing an opera in Scotland, I felt that the use of Gaelic would work.

“It would bring it to life in an entirely different way for both performers and audience.”

This new translation has been created by award winning singer and BBC presenter Joy Dunlop. And the production has been workshopped in Irvine’s Townhouse throughout the week.

It will be performed on Saturday at 3pm and 7pm by some of Scotland’s finest opera singers and a specially put together community chorus.

Tickets are priced at £10 and can now be purchased via www.scotsoperaproject.com