Theatre Review: “Singing with the Stars”, Thomas Whitham Sixth Form

The concert, “Singing with the Stars,” will take place at 7-30pm on Wednesday, March 27th, in the Barden Lane campus auditorium.

Students including Jack Herbert, Tom Shaw and Joe Martin, will be rubbing shoulders with Argentinian tenor Roberto Garcia Lopez, opera singer Sean Ruane, and mezzo Kathleen Wilkinson, whose recent performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden were screened in more than 800 cinemas worldwide.

Kathleen was a pupil at the former St Hilda’s High School, and performed regularly on stage in Burnley before winning a music scholarship to the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and then embarking on a successful international singing career.

She has sung major roles with virtually all Britain’s major opera companies, including notable appearances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and has sung in France, Portugal, Italy, Tenerife, Belgium and Poland.

Sean was a pupil at the former St Theodore’s High School. He developed a passion for opera after going on a school trip to the Royal Opera to see a performance of “La Boheme.” In addition to operatic appearances in London and Europe, he has established himself as one of the best known performers at sporting events. This includes singing every day at the Ashes series, and in Trafalgar Square when England celebrated regaining the Ashes in 2005. He has sung at all the major sporting venues in the UK.

Roberto was born in Buenos Aries, and studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón and then at the National Conservatoire. He then came to Manchester to continue his studies at the RNCM, where he met his wife – recital pianist Joanna Porter. Joanna is an ex-pupil of the former Walshaw High School, and the two are settled in the Burnley area.

Tickets are £5 and are available from the campus library, in Barden Lane, via Thomas Whitham students, or can be reserved by calling 01282 682272.