A WORLD-renowned star soloist set to sing at Malvern Festival Chorus' Evening of Elgar show tomorrow (Satur-day) has pulled out at the last minute.

Mezzo-soprano Della Jones was due to perform with the Chorus at the Malvern Theatres, but let organisers know she would no longer take part barely a week before the show.

Organisers had to move swiftly to draft in another mezzo-soprano, Vanessa Williamson, to take the lead in the programme.

Chorus chairman Brian Davies said that they had received a phone call from Ms Jones over the bank holiday weekend.

"We are doing all we can to let the public know. She called up because she felt the work was not set in the right key for her, altho-ugh it appears in her CV," he said.

"When you book 18 months beforehand you ought to be able to know if you can sing it or you can't. But that's showbiz!

"In her place is appearing Van-essa Williamson, who has sung with us before, and she's very good too."

Conductor Iain Sloan said that he had been in discussions with Ms Jones over Elgar's Sea Pictures for about two weeks.

She had previously been working on pieces in a higher register and he said they had been unable to find a version of the piece transposed into a more palatable key.

Ms Jones' manager John McHugh said that she had decided to withdraw for "personal reasons", but declined to comment further.

Malvern Theatres would not disclose how many tickets had already been sold for the show.

Vanessa Williamson has been a soloist with many major orchestras, including the City of Birmingham Symphony. She previously sang with the chorus in Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah last year.

The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets, at £8, are available from the box office on 01684 892277.