Elin Manahan Thomas will sing at Fairlight Hall on Sunday 10 February to support Barefoot Opera’s new community project

Madness and Monarchy at Fairlight Hall

If you were one of the many who watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on TV, you would have heard a crystal-clear, pure voice accompanying the bride’s fairytale procession up the aisle. Elin Manahan Thomas, one of the most exceptional sopranos of her generation, was honoured to perform Handel’s Eternal Source of Light Divine at the wedding of the soon-to-be Duke and Duchess of Sussex. HOT’s Erica Smith finds out more about the singer and why she is championing Barefoot Opera.

The high profile singer has agreed to sing at Fairlight Hall in order to raise funds for the next stage of Barefoot Opera’s community opera project. Last spring, a series of singing and writing workshops were held in Hastings under the theme of ‘A Town’. This year, the project is shaping up under the guidance of Orlando Gough and Stephen Plaice to become Bloom Britannia – a community opera which will be performed at De La Warr Pavilion on Sunday 28 April.

In order for Gough and Plaice to compose the music and libretto, Barefoot Opera are appealing to the local community to raise £5,500. Proceeds from Thomas’ concert at Fairlight Hall will go towards Bloom Britannia.

Since releasing her début album ‘Eternal Light’ in 2007 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Elin Manahan Thomas has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals, and with leading orchestras and conductors. Perhaps most famously known for her performances of baroque masterpieces, she also performed at the London 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony.

Elin’s programme at Fairlight Hall – on the theme of Madness and Monarchy – will range from Handel and Purcell and the romantic composers. She will be accompanied on the piano by Nicholas Bosworth, who is much in demand in the UK as an accompanist, as well as a long time associate of both Barefoot Opera and Glyndebourne.

In another first for Barefoot Opera, the event is also generously supported by the award-winning wine brand Barefoot Wine and Bubbly. A limited number of tickets are available in advance. The ticket price includes a glass of Barefoot Bubbly and canapés, as well as a chance to bid in a special ‘auction of promises’.

The event is at Fairlight Hall, Martineau Road, Fairlight, East Sussex, TN35 5DR on Sunday 10 February, from 6–8pm
Tickets are £50 in advance from www.barefootopera.com

If you cannot attend the event at Fairlight Hall, or would like to make a more modest donation to support Bloom Britannia, there is also a Kickstarter campaign.

Also in: Music & Sound