A BOLSHOI Theatre star is visiting the region to make a special guest appearance in Verdi’s opera masterpiece La Traviata.

The opera is being performed by The Russian State Ballet and Opera House as part of the company’s UK wide tour and will visit Billingham Forum Theatre on October 1 and Darlington Civic Theatre on October 6.

Bolshoi star Irina Bozhenko, who has starred in operas across the globe, will make a guest appearance for the performance in Darlington, in the leading role of Violetta.

Featuring an impressive cast and accompanied by a large live orchestra with more than 30 musicians, La Traviata is being performed in its original language but with English surtitles to make it easy for the audience to follow the story.

The Verdi opera is based on a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas which tells the tale of a high society courtesan, Violetta, who sacrifices all for the man she loves.