A Night at the Opera in St Andrews

Two University of St Andrews graduates will sing some of the best loved songs from opera and musicals, such as The Mikado and West Side Story, in the atmospheric venue of St Salvator’s Chapel this weekend.

Laurie Slavin, tenor, and Caroline Taylor, soprano, will perform at the evening concert on Saturday (4 May) being held to raise funds for their continued study in the specialist field of opera, with a portion going to the National Deaf Children’s Society.

Featuring scenes from Puccini’s La Bohème, Bernstein’s West Side Story and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, the concert will be free with donations welcomed.

Since graduating in 2014 and 2015, Laurie and Caroline have completed Masters of Music and Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music respectively. During their time at St Andrews, they performed more than 15 roles in productions with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Byre Opera (formerly St Andrews Opera) and the Just So Society, both receiving the prestigious Cedric Thorpe Davie Memorial Scholarship and Prize in their final year.

Laurie said: “We are thrilled to return to our alma mater for this concert, which will not only allow us to raise funds for career development but will be an occasion to celebrate where our singing careers began.”

Caroline said: “We feel so lucky to have studied at one of the top universities in the UK and to have also received a wealth of musical opportunity. We really can’t wait to perform our favourite music in Sallies.”

Laurie, who graduated from St Andrews with a first in Modern History in 2014, is now preparing to apply for opera schools throughout the UK and USA whilst studying privately with John Evans. He was a 2016/ 2017 Alvarez Young Artist with Garsington Opera, covering the role of Albazar in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia, and a soloist for several seasons with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company. He has worked extensively with British Youth Opera and joins them again this year for their summer season.

Caroline is applying for opera schools in the UK and Europe. She read for an MA (Hons) in French, Italian and Spanish, spending a year at Paris IV-Sorbonne as the recipient of a Stevenson Scholarship. The 2018 winner of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Joyce and Michael Kennedy Strauss Award, her operatic roles have included Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Sara in the world premiere of Kaye and Gorb’s The Path to Heaven. This summer, Caroline returns to Byre Opera as She in the European premiere of Madeleine Dring’s Cupboard Love.

Admission is free to the concert, with donations welcome; doors open at 5.45pm for a 6pm start.