Three opera singing brothers have stepped into each others footsteps on the West End stage after appearing in the same role one after each other.

None of the Manton brothers had formal training before landing parts one after another in Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute), one of Mozart’s most well-known operas.

When Harry, 13, stepped on stage in the 2,000 seat auditorium at the Royal Opera House on Tuesday night he was again following in the footsteps of his two older brothers Jamie, 19, who played one of the opera's boys in 2005 and Charlie, 16, in 2008.

At some performances at other theatres, Harry's costume has still had the name tag inside from when his oldest brother wore it years before.

Their father Howard Manton, 56, an insurance broker and former chorister who lives in Coombe Lane West, Kingston, said: “We think it must be a record. I’m fantastically proud. We saw him last night for the first time and it was unbelievable.

“Having seen my first son I was proud, and the second even prouder and the third prouder still. It is difficult to describe the emotion.”

The boys got involved in singing through Dr Stuart Ward who runs Chapel Royal at Hampton Court where the Queen recorded this year’s Christmas Day speech, although they are not part of the choir there.

Jamie, who attended Rokeby School in Kingston before going on to Charterhouse, sang the role of Third Boy in a production of Die Zauberflote at the Royal Opera House in 2005. He went on to sing the role at Glyndebourne and appeared in Kenneth Branagh’s 2006 film The Magic Flute.

He was once forced to rush over the River Thames mid-show when he played Cosimo de Medici in the first act of Life of Galileo at the National Theatre before rushing off to appear in the third act of Tosca with the Royal Opera.

Charlie was also part of the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies playing Gustave, the Phantom’s son.

Their mother Sally Manton said: "We're not a musical family but they have just got a love of the theatre and singing.

"Once the eldest had done it we were sort of on people's mailing lists so we were always asked."

She said at one performance of the opera at Glyndebourne, she took her eldest son to watch his youngest brother reprise his role. "He was even wearing the same costume at Glyndebourne when the eldest brother sang the role. It still had the eldest brother's name tag in the costume."

Ann Richards, head of opera press at the Royal Opera House, said: "They wouldn't be here if they weren't good. They go through the system here and we are very pleased. These are quite major roles for youngsters.

"The thing that is unusual is there's three of them all gone through the same production."