Opera singer Janet Mooney in patriotic form (16898/7)FIREWORKS rocketing above the trees at Westonbirt Arboretum dazzled a 7,000-strong crowd on Saturday to mark the climax of an evening of classical music and opera.

With the music of the can-can reaching its crescendo, the sell-out crowd were treated to a kaleidoscope of colour as the night sky lit up.

But thanks to the mercurial nature of the British weather it could have been very different.

Wet weather had threatened to turn the event into a soggy affair but fortunately the rain clouds melted away just before the musical evening began to leave everyone in good spirits.

A jazz band kicked off the evening to get the crowd in a lively mood as they sat in their picnic chairs amid the splendour of the arboretum's stunning tree collection.

Afterwards the English National Orchestra wooed the audience with proms favourites such as Verdi's La Traviata, Puccini's Nessun Dorma, Jerusalem and Rule Brittania.

The event also starred former builder Ted Jackson, who was the winner of Channel Four's award-winning talent show Operatnunity.

Mr Jackson, who used to run a building business in West Sussex, hit the screens in spring 2003 and was hailed as a stunning performer. Judging by the feedback he certainly dazzled the crowds at the arboretum.

Arboretum superintendent Phil Morton, who helped organise the concert, said Mr Jackson was great. He said: "Ted Jackson was very good and it was a fantastic evening. It was awful weather during the day but one hour before the event the rain stopped and it became clear.

"It was a magical evening and felt like a typical first night at the proms, with people from Scotland, Wales, England and Australia waving flags. Jools Holland had played at the arboretum the night before and we had a sell-out crowd of 7,000 people on both nights."

Mr Morton added that events such as the classical concert are held at the arboretum to increase people's awareness of the place.

He said: "Many people do not know what an arboretum is so having this event makes people more aware and people will be more inclined to come back.

"I think most people really enjoyed the concert and with the rain disappearing it made people go away happy. A couple who had got married at the Oak Hall at the arboretum also had their evening do at the concert that night.

"It was certainly very relaxing and the trees were illuminated before the fireworks started."

Westonbirt Arboretum was created in about 1829 by Robert Holford, whose passion for trees was matched by his eye for landscape design.