Performances

David Garrick - Shakespearean actor, impresario and showman – organised the Shakespeare Jubilee in 1769 that put Stratford on the tourist map. It also nearly bankrupted Garrick, but he transformed his fortunes by successfully retelling the story of the celebration in his Drury Lane theatre. Renowned Shakespearean actor and television star Clive Francis – who also chairs the Trustees of the Temple to Shakespeare at Garrick’s house near Hampton Court – will lead us through this boisterous and intriguing story. 

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This concert will feature Charles Dibdin’s music for Queen Mab as well as his songs and tunes composed for Garrick’s Jubilee, all in a new arrangement by John Macfarlane, who will also act as conductor. A wind trio Diane Clark (flute), Thomas Caldecote (clarinet) and Philip Brookes (bassoon), from the Orchestra of the Swan will accompany former VOCES8  member Eleonore Cockerham alongside members of the VOCES8 Scholars, Hannah Littleton, Monty Charles and Dominic Felts, in this rarely heard music from 1769.  

 

The concert will be introduced by Paul Higgins, Trustee of SIM.

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The organ of the Guild Chapel will feature in this concert by Bel Comeau, the centrepiece of which will be an improvised fantasia based on tunes from four centuries of Shakespeare's musical legacy. Starting with Greensleaves, it will wend its way through tuneful music-making to end with well-loved numbers from musical theatre including Kiss me Kate and West Side Story. The programme will also include a new work for organ composed by Susie Self, called Amor Dualis, inspired by Viola inTwelfth Night.

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To be introduced by Bruce O'Neil, Trustee of SIM. 

 

 

Shakespeare’s well-known legacy in French, German and Italian opera and song will feature soloists from the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Katherine Gregory, Tayla Alexander, Tobias Campos Santinaque and Hector Bloggs,

accompanied on piano Alfred Fardell, in this Gala Concert, with works by Thomas, Verdi, Nicolai, Bellini, Gounod and Berlioz. 

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The event will be compèred by Robert Lloyd, Patron of SIM, and Stratford Mayor Jason Fojtik will host a reception during the interval, which will allow the guest of honour, Manuela Perteghello MP, Chair of the House of Commons All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shakespeare, to meet performers and audience. ​