THE Prince of Wales visited the Faithful City to enjoy a major Three Choirs Festival concert at Worcester Cathedral.

Afterwards, he complimented organisers on the "excellence of the performance" on Tuesday evening (July 25).

Prince Charles is President of the Three Choirs Festival Association, and no stranger to the festival; and he joined an audience of 1,000 music lovers from around the world to hear Lower Broadheath-born Sir Edward Elgar’s oratorio, Dream of Gerontius.

A festival spokesman said: "The concert, conducted by Music Director of the English National Opera Martyn Brabbins, was performed by the 150-strong Three Choirs Festival Chorus and Worcester Cathedral Girl Choristers, together with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The soloists were mezzo-soprano Susan Bickley, tenor David Butt Philip and baritone Roderick Williams.

"Before he departed, Prince Charles met members of the Worcester Three Choirs Festival Committee, Trustees and staff of the charity, supporters of the evening’s event and some of the performers."

Michael Clarke, Chairman of the Worcester Three Choirs Festival, said: “It was a huge privilege for all of us involved in the Three Choirs Festival to welcome the Prince of Wales, and perform Dream of Gerontius at the very location where Elgar himself conducted its first Festival performance in 1902. Afterwards His Royal Highness told me how much he had enjoyed the concert, and he complimented the excellence of the performance.”

The Three Choirs Festival, which this year marks its 302nd anniversary, has a programme this year of 74 concerts, workshops, talks and family-friendly events across Worcestershire.

The Festival, which ends this year on Saturday (July 29), involves more than 500 performers, and is expected to attract around 22,000 ticket-holders to the county by the time the baton goes down for 2017.

The full events programme can be browsed online at http://www.3choirs.org/events/2017-festival-programme. Tickets can be purchased (subject to availability) at http://www.3choirs.org/events/; by calling the Ticket Line on 01452 768928, or by visiting the Festival’s local Box Office at 4, College Green, Worcester (behind Worcester Cathedral). The ticket line and box office are open from 10am-7.30pm, Monday to Friday.