A performance of classic works by Cole Porter will be given as part of the Swindon Recital Series at the Arts Centre on Sunday 15 December at 3pm.
Tbe recital will be given by vocalists Clare McCaldin and Paul Sheehan, and pianist Stephen Dickinson.
A series spokesperson said: "Cole Porter’s witty lyrics and elegant melodies continue to enchant audiences today, well beyond the life of the shows for which they were first written.
"The range and number of great performers who have recorded their own versions of Porter’s songs demonstrates the significance of his contribution to popular music.
"That music’s light touch, however, conceals Porter’s personal story, including a serious horse-riding accident and his complicated life as a gay man in a less accepting era.
"The songs in this programme reflect on the key themes in Porter’s life and introduce lesser-known gems alongside some of his best-loved tunes."
Clare McCaldin is a lyric mezzo-soprano whose presence in performance marks her out as a communicator of outstanding quality on the dramatic stage and concert platform. She is a powerful creative influence, as an interpreter of existing repertoire or commissioning and premiering new music.
Paul Sheehan appears by kind permission of English National Opera where he is a member of the chorus and where he also created the role of Shepherd in the world premiere of Julian Anderson’s Thebans. He has performed opera roles for Grange Park Opera, Glyndebourne, and New Devon Opera amongst others.
His oratorio engagements range from Bach's B Minor Mass and Handel's Messiah through Haydn's The Creation, Mendelssohn's St Paul, Verdi's Requiem, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast to Tippett’s A Child of Our Time.
?Following his formative training in Exeter, Paul went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and is currently taught by Robert Dean.
Stephen Dickinson trained at the Royal College of Music and has subsequently pursued a varied career as soloist, accompanist, chamber musician and as Musical Director for 25 years at the School of Acting, Arts Educational Schools, in which capacity he directed the music on many musicals (including several by Stephen Sondheim and others such as Cabaret, Kiss Me Kate and Carousel), composed music for drama productions and coached acting students in singing and vocal skills.
Since retiring from that post, he has returned to chamber music playing and accompanying, as well as continuing his musical-theatre interests together with much composition, which has included a setting of the Stabat Mater to be given its first performance later this year and a recently completed Requiem.
Swindon Recital Series was founded 31 years ago by Paul Turner, and is committed to providing world-class chamber music in the Swindon area by presenting regular concerts of chamber music given by professional musicians.
The Series takes place between September and April each year at various venues in and around Swindon, including the Wyvern Theatre and the Arts Centre.
Tickets for the Cole Porter recital are £19.50 for adults and £16.50 for Seniors and unwaged people, including a theatre administration fee of £1.50. Student tickets are £3.50; accompanied children aged 14 and under are admitted without charge.
There is an additional service charge of £3.95 for each financial transaction undertaken (not for each ticket if buying more than one).
Information about the recital series can be found at www.swindonrecitalseries.org
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