Rescued dog given role in opera

Wag-ner next? Rescuers say Barney is "up for anything"

Barney the homeless mongrel has landed a walk-on stage role in a tragic opera just two weeks after he was rescued.

The Yorkshire terrier cross found wandering the streets of Gorsedd in Flintshire is to appear in Puccini's La Boheme in Llandudno later this month.

He was picked up by the animal rescue centre the same day an opera company appealed for a canine star.

Barney will play a part close to his heart - an orphaned dog walking the streets of Paris before being rescued.

In real life too, Barney enjoys a happy ending, as he has been found a new home.

The dog, who is thought to be about two years old, is to appear in a street scene in an production with the Ukraine National Opera on 29 May.

Anne Owen, the founder of the North Clwyd animal rescue centre at Trelogan, near Prestatyn, said Barney was a "up for anything" and really looking forward to his operatic debut.

Perform properly

"It all came about after we spotted an advert in the local paper.

"By coincidence it turned out the opera company taking part in the performance was from Odessa, and our manager Alex and his wife Mila, are also both from the Russian city.

"Now it looks like Mila will be Barney's handler when he performs next week".

Ellen Kent from Opera International said she had adapted the performance of La Boheme to suit Barney's recent history - he will play an orphaned dog in the streets of Paris rescued by the heroine.

Asked whether she thought he would be able to perform properly, she said she had no doubts.

"Dogs are dogs," she said.

"We've had lots of doggies do it. They walk on, they trot around talking to the chorus who walk them through."

The rescue centre collects strays from across Denbighshire and Flintshire, and only a third of them are ever claimed, according to Ms Owen.

But she said it looked like Barney the mongrel's acting days will be limited.

"He's going to a new home near Chester but I'm not sure whether they'll be going to see him in the opera.