The opera inspired by ice cream vans premieres in Yorkshire

Ice Cream: The Opera, a joint production between Skipton Building Society Camerata and Freedom Studios, is a Yorkshire retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Written by the Yorkshire Post columnist, from start to finish it will last just 30 minutes, but the hope is it will be a gateway drug to Puccini and Bizet, just with added 99s.

Mr McMillan said: “Opera is the perfect medium for these angry times, but this one will obviously have a Yorkshire twist. Traditional opera can last for hours and while there is a place for that it can put people off.

“I guess this is our way of luring people in and by performing it in City Park we will hopefully catch people unawares as they are walking past. In opera the words only do so much, what you really want is to get lost in the music.”

In Ice Cream: The Opera, Romeo and Juliet have been replaced by star-crossed lovers Romano and Geetha and instead of being noble families, the Montagues and Capulets run warring ice cream van companies.

Mr McMillan said: “They have been engaged in a turf war for generations and over half an hour the audience will see a bitter battle played out.

“It’s been an interesting project to work on as the composer Russell Sarre lives in Australia, so the entire opera has been put together via email. I would send Russell various words and in that typical Aussie way he was never backward in coming forward if he didn’t think they worked. Fortunately, I like that straight-talking approach.

“There have been a few teething issues. Having a couple of ice cream vans was a nice idea, but we hadn’t realised quite how noisy they were until we did the first rehearsal. There was a danger the singers wouldn’t be heard above the generators, but hopefully we’ve sorted that particular problem.”

It’s not been the only challenge. As founder of the Skipton Building Society Camerata, Ben Crick is used to assembling different groups of musicians for performances, but Ice Cream: The Opera has represented a first.

He said: “I have had to find a sitar player. I have never had to find one of those before, it’s not an instrument Beethoven or Mozart had much use for. However, as a group we have always been pretty adaptable.

“I am a great believer that classical music should be open to everyone. These kind of performances are great, because they absolutely tick that box.

“A lot of modern operas tend to have quite discordant music which can be quite a difficult listen, but this score is incredible accessible. It’s the kind of music that I guarantee you will hear people humming as they leave.”

Ice Cream: The Opera, which is being produced in association with Spin Arts and has been funded by Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Performed by a cast of four, alongside a community chorus, it will get its world premiere on July 30.

And at yesterday’s launch event, Mr McMillan, known as the Bard of the Barnsley, couldn’t resist a few ice cream puns.

“This opera can’t be licked,” he said. “It will melt your heart.”