Three ghosts, "in rags and tags'' will take a light-hearted look at Bermuda's past, and the glorious voice of one of Bermuda's leading singers will all combine their talents for a special evening of entertainment at Dockyard next weekend.

The concert forms part of the Bermuda National Trust's 25th anniversary celebrations and will take place "under the stars'' in the Keep Yard.

Entitled `Phantoms and the Opera', the first half will consist of what compiler Mr. John White calls `Dockyard history, legends and lies'.

"I took the historical information from an article by Edwin Mortimer and David O'Beirne, and adapted it into a theatrical format,'' he says.

Taking part will be Brian Webb (last seen as General Peron in `Evita') as Sir Alexander Cochrane, who organised the shipping of 8,000 troops from Dockyard who went on to attack Washington and burn down the White House. Gavin Wilson, star performer and director of innumerable shows, will play one of Bermuda's more colourful characters, the dashing privateer, Hezekiah Frith. Patricia Pogson, artistic director of Jabulani Repertory Company, which just completed a highly successful winter season at the Pembroke Princess Hotel, takes on the role of Bailey's Bay legend, Marlana Steed `Marm' Hill, who became one of the Island's first successful black businesswomen when she opened the very first lunch wagon for the blockade runners who were crowding in to St. George's at the time.

Bermudian soprano Marcelle Clamens, who has just completed the third of a four-year degree course at the Conservatory of Music at Cincinnati University, will be singing a selection of `art' songs, operatic arias and negro spirituals and will include such composers as Debussy, Schubert, George Gershwin, Richard Strauss, and Mozart.

"I've had a wonderful year,'' beams Mrs. Clamens, "I have a new voice teacher, Sylvia Plyver, who used to teach Kathleen Battle -- and who still comes back to her all the time -- who has been very encouraging. When I sang the role of the Countess in `The Marriage of Figaro' for the Opera Workshop, Ms Plyver travelled back miles and miles from her home, especially to see me perform. She said she was surprised to see that I could act, as well!'' Mrs.

Clamens, who will be singing the Countess's aria, Porgi Amor, in her recital, says she has relatively little opportunity to perform at the Conservatory.

"But I was thrilled that the director of the workshop, John Eaton, who is very famous in European opera circles, really liked my work.'' Revealing that she will be appearing at the Bermuda Festival, next February, Mrs. Clamens says she feels "honoured'' to be appearing with fellow Bermudian, tenor Gary Burgess.

It was in 1990 that the voice of Marcelle Clamens soared into local fame, with her performance of the Verdi Requiem for the Bermuda Philharmonic at the Cathedral. A group of individuals and companies subsequently formed a special fund, the M.G.C. Music Training Fund which has subsequently paid for her to study voice at Cincinnati, one of the most prestigious music schools in the US.

"There are some very talented singers here in Bermuda,'' she observes, "and I've heard that a couple of them have been inspired by my story to go away for training, so I'm very happy about that.'' The woman who left her job as a Bank of Bermuda secretary to pursue her dream, has been on the Dean's List since her first term, gaining averages of 3.8 out of a possible 4.0 point scoring.

"I left school before I even graduated, so I don't want people to think that they can't reach their goals. It's for this reason,'' she reveals, "that I would like the Fund to continue after I finish my training, to help other singers in the way that I have been helped by so many people.'' At the Dockyard concert, Marcelle Clamens will be accompanied by Karol Sue Reddington, teacher of piano, harpsichord and organ for the Dunbarton School of Music. A fine artist in her own right, she has performed at major venues in her native US, and a string of countries ranging from Iceland to Hong Kong.

Coincidentally, Miss Reddington is currently finishing her doctorate in Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Theory at Cincinnati.

"They think she's fantastic up there, so I'm very pleased to have such an experienced accompanist in Bermuda,'' says Mrs. Clamens.

Besides a full evening of entertainment, the Trust is also offering picnic suppers, along with a cash bar selling a selection of wine, soft drinks, beer -- and for dedicated bon vivants , fine wines and champagnes by the bottle.

`Phantoms and the Opera' will take place in the Keep Yard of the Bermuda Maritime Museum on Saturday, June 24 (rain date is Sunday, June 25). Picnic Suppers will be served at 6.30 p.m., the Phantoms appear at 8 p.m., followed by the Operatic Arias at 8.45 p.m. Admission is $15, and tickets may be obtained from Opus 1 on Reid Street, or from the Trust headquarters at Waterville. and Picnic Suppers `A' are $17.50 (chicken and sliced beef, pasta salad, tossed salad, rolls, cheese, biscuits, fresh fruit and cake), or the `B' Supper at $25 offers duck pate and French bread, cold poached salmon, cucumber and Caesar salads, fresh fruit salad, cheese and biscuits and lemon mousse. Picnics must be ordered in advance by telephoning the Trust at 236-6483, or Joan Skinner at 293-1942.