For an incredible 42 years, Kennington Overseas Aid has been raising funds to help people in deprived areas of the world, with an emphasis on sustainable development. Past projects have included improving health care and education in countries such as Zimbabwe, Ghana, Somaliland, Ethiopia and many more.

Saturday’s musical soiree by Charity Opera was the final event in the 2010 programme, which is helping people in the Peruvian Andes, where livelihoods have been affected by drought and flooding. This three-year project ends in December 2011, by which time KOA estimates that more than 1700 people will have had their lives improved through the introduction of new technology.

Despite the concert’s serious purpose, it was delivered in a fun, light-hearted and good-humoured style, and was a pot-pourri of musical styles, from opera to musical theatre. The evening opened with scenes from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, before moving on to songs from musicals such as Camelot, The King and I and The Phantom of the Opera. Highlights included Charity Opera co-founder Claire Barratt — coping bravely with a crutch owing to an injured foot — leading the audience in Vilia from The Merry Widow, husband and co-founder Stephen Barratt’s mischievous rendition of Leporello’s ‘catalogue’ song, mezzo Rebecca Martin’s beautifully-sung selection of songs by the likes of Barber and Butterworth, and soprano Rebecca Mitchell-Farmer’s sparkling delivery of songs such as Cole Porter’s Every time we say goodbye, all accompanied flawlessly by pianist Nia Williams. For the finale, all four singers joined together for a moving performance of We’ll gather lilacs.

By this time delicious smells were wafting through the room, which meant only one thing — supper time! A wonderful way to end a very entertaining evening — and all in a good cause. For more information about Kennington Overseas Aid, visit its website (www.koa.org.uk).