Two billion people were transfixed watching the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle in May 2018.
However, not many would have known that the angelic voice accompanying Megan down the aisle of St George’s chapel at Windsor Castle to the notes of Handel’s Eternal Source of Light Divine was of Elin Manahan Thomas.
Thomas, a classical soprano, best known for specialising in baroque and high music and who has been singing since childhood, will be in Malta next week for two concerts and to raise funds for the restoration of the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the oratory in Valletta.
This is not her first visit to Malta, having had the opportunity to sing in the city last summer.
“I fell in love with it. I’m so delighted to be returning this month, and I look forward to taking the time to explore the island, and particularly to enjoying its wonderful food,” she says.
Thomas has been invited to Malta for a performance tour by Dr Mark Agius, who she knows through their time at Clare College, Cambridge.
She’ll be performing on two separate occasions. Endless Pleasure will take place on Thursday at 7.30pm at the Casino Maltese in Valletta. Sopranos Hannah Bonnici and Michaela Agius, and accompanist Maria Elena Farrugia will also be participating during the concert.
The angelic voice accompanying Megan down the aisle of St George’s chapel at Windsor Castle was of Elin Manahan Thomas
Another concert, Music for a While, includes the participation of harpist Caroline Calleja and will be held on Saturday at 7.30pm at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta.
Thomas, grew up in Wales “where everyone always sings!”
She recalls: “I continued singing when I studied old languages at the University of Cambridge, in Clare College. After I graduated with a first class degree and completed a postgraduate course, all in Old Irish studies, I became a professional singer and moved away from academia. At first I sang in London’s many internationally-acclaimed professional choirs, such as the Monteverdi Choir, The Sixteen and The Gabrieli Consort, before branching out into a solo career.”
As a soprano soloist she has sung around the world in many of the most renowned international venues and concert halls: St Mark’s, Venice; Carnegie Hall, New York; The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; The Royal Albert Hall and innumerable others. She has released seven solo discs and sung on over 200 hundred other recordings.
At home, Thomas is a mother to two lively and chatty boys who are nine and five, and juggles her busy work and family life with her husband, Robert Davies, who is a professional baritone.
Thomas’s biggest break came in 2007, when she signed a recording contract with Universal. “I released my debut album Eternal Light that year. It is a selection of my favourite baroque music, a repertoire for which I’m known. Later, in 2012, I reached my first audience of over a billion people when I sang Handel’s Eternal Source of Light Divine at the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics.”
And what else does she have lined up for the coming months?
This year and the next continue to be busy with many solo song recitals, bespoke compositions, and the release of a new CD – a modern commission based on the Old English epic tale Beowulf.
She’s also beginning a new collaboration with the acclaimed violinist Nicky Benedetti. They will work together on workshops and master classes, since music education is her great passion.
“I will also continue my partnership with the jewellery company Clogau, who work with very rare Welsh gold, and provide wedding rings for Royal marriages, including that of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” she adds.
For invitations and details on the concerts, e-mail Mark Agius at mark.agius52@gmail.com.