We might not expect hip-hop fans to kick back to the sounds of Mozart.

But a new production fusing hip-hop and opera is pushing the boundaries between these two very different styles of music closer together.

Taking 21st-Century youth culture as a point of departure, Cosi Fan Tutte has been given a facelift for this new production, which celebrates the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.

Orchestras deliver raw beats, MCs and sopranos share centre stage and graffiti art is used in operatic backdrops.

Librettist Stephen Plaice has transformed the Mozart/da Ponte opera into what he believes to be a relevant inner-city tale.

"Were Mozart and Salieri the 18th Century equivalents of gangster rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls?" he asks.

"Why not now attempt to remix the most popular music of our day into the theatrical cocktail that Mozart and da Ponte created in Cosi Fan Tutte?"

Hip-hop producers and arrangers have morphed Mozart's music with modern technology, mixing rap beats with the composer's arias. The new sounds will be delivered by Southbank Sinfonia, a group of 24 young musicians.

Young professional artists from the UK, Germany and Finland are also involved, along with more than 25 young people from Brighton and Hove, who will create the UK youth crew of dancers, MCs, beatboxers and singers.

Kentake Chinyelu-Hope, from the Arts Council England and director of Momi Inc, a production agency for hip-hop in the UK, is also involved.

"School4Lovers is a big and significant development in many respects," he says.

"In line with the themes of love, fidelity and trust central to Cosi Fan Tutte, equal respect has been paid to Mozart's opera and to hip-hop culture."

Times vary, tickets cost £10/£20, discount for schools. Call 01273 815025.