Music lovers in the island will have the chance to hear three international performers this month, with concerts featuring opera, classical favourites and works by composers from across the musical world.

The Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin will host ‘Beautiful Songs of Italy’ this Saturday, September 19, featuring Albanian-Italian soprano Lindita Hisku and Ukrainian-Isle of Man pianist Olga Eggert.

The one-off concert will celebrate Italian opera and classical music, while also including well-known film themes.

Hisku was born in Albania and trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, graduating with the highest honours in opera singing. She later continued her studies at the Conservatorio Alfredo Casella in L’Aquila, Italy, and has since built an international career performing across Europe.

Her operatic debut came as Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ with the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Tirana, followed by a performance as Rosina in Rossini’s ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’.

She has also received recognition in international competitions, including the Critics’ Award at the International Opera Singing Competition of Atri, Italy, in 1998.

Eggert was born in Ukraine and studied at the Conservatoire in Odessa before beginning a professional career as a pianist and soloist with the Crimean Philharmonic Society.

She moved to the island in 1998 and continued her studies at Trinity College London, gaining qualifications in piano and organ performance and music theory.

The programme will include Handel’s ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’, Bellini’s ‘Casta diva’, Verdi’s ‘Addio del passato’ and Puccini’s ‘O mio babbino caro’.

There will also be Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria from ‘The Magic Flute’, as well as Rota’s Love Theme from ‘The Godfather’ and Morricone’s ‘Nella fantasia’.

Eggert will perform two piano solos, including Verdi-Liszt’s paraphrase on ‘Rigoletto’, while the evening will also feature ‘Granada’ and ‘Funiculi, funicula’.

Only two days later, on Monday, September 21, pianist Hiroaki Takenouchi will perform at the West Building of Ramsey Grammar School as part of the Ramsey Music Society concert.

Hiroaki is Japanese and currently lives in England. He is known for his wide repertoire, with a particular love of classical masters such as Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin, alongside lesser-known composers including Medtner, Bennett and Parry, as well as contemporary works.

For his Ramsey concert, he will perform pieces by Haydn, Elgar, Rachmaninov and Gershwin.

Hiroaki has appeared as a soloist at venues including Wigmore Hall, the Southbank Centre in London and Tokyo Opera City. He has also performed at festivals in Bath, Cheltenham and Salzburg, as well as giving recitals across Europe, Japan, South Africa and Canada.

He has recorded several CDs, including piano duets with pianist Simon Callaghan and arrangements of orchestral works for solo piano.

A Blüthner Artist, Hiroaki owns a 1922 Blüthner piano. He is also a visiting tutor at Trinity Laban in London and works at the Royal College of Music as a Duo Coach with its string department.

His concert begins at 7.30pm on Monday, September 21. Tickets cost £15 and are payable in cash at the door, while school-age pupils can attend free of charge.