Get classical this winter
Blake and Cortes warm the Palace of Dreams with song this winter.
For the first time ever, the renowned Blake and Cortes and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra head east to Emperors Palace.
On June 27 and 28, the Theatre of Marcellus will welcome international musicians, Blake and Cortes, to the stage.
The Brit Award winning and nominated Blake; four of the most gifted male vocalists in the world, joined by popular opera star Cortes, will join forces combining the very best of opera, classical and pop harmony.
Some of the best loved classical cross-over music ever written and masterfully arranged will be expertly performed to create a magical evening.
Mixing pop, rock and classical anthems with rich harmonic vocals, British “boy band” Blake launched their first album in 2007.
The public embraced their debut album immediately, with over 100 000 copies sold in just three weeks, earning the group their first Gold Disc.
The music industry followed in early 2008, when the album received the prestigious Brit-Award for Album of the Year, a huge honour for a group less than a year old.
Since then, their music has achieved remarkable success.
Their upbeat version of “Swing Low” was chosen as the official anthem of the England rugby team for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
In 2008 their highly anticipated second album, “And So It Goes” was released and went straight to number 12 in the UK pop charts and number one in several classical charts around the world.
Joining Blake on their debut South African tour is the “James Bond” of classical music, Cortes, an Icelandic tenor who was born into a musical family and trained as a singer in Vienna, Copenhagen and London.
He has performed various leading tenor roles in operas, as well as a leading part in The Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End.
His debut album in the UK titled “Cortes” was released on April 16, 2007, and entered the UK classical chart at number one.
Gauteng’s flagship orchestra, The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, will accompany Blake and Cortes for this stellar line-up of the finest classic cross-over singers in the world.
