Former Wicked star Kerry Ellis and Queen guitarist Brian May are to collaborate for a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 1 May in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.
Anthems: The Concert is the live version of the album Anthems which the duo released in September. The concert will see West End diva Ellis – who is currently appearing in Oliver! – sing a selection of songs accompanied by May on guitar and vocals.
American musical theatre star Adam Pascal, who appeared alongside Ellis in Chess In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall last year, will guest-star during the evening, which will include songs from hit shows Rent, Wicked, Chess, Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Show and Aida.
The performers will be accompanied by the City of London Philharmonic, the Anthems Ensemble and the West End Chorus and Dancers.
May met Ellis when she was appearing as Meat in Queen musical We Will Rock You, which May collaborated on with writer Ben Elton: “From the moment I first heard Kerry sing I was entranced, and felt the conviction that I would one day make an album with her,” said May. “The conviction never left me. The hard thing was to find the right medium to harness that amazing voice – the material and arrangements had to be worthy, and a musical style evolved to capture her unique magic. Anthems: The Concert will show what we’ve created together, a style that defines a new form of music – a kind of Anthemic-Orchestral-Rock-Musical-Theatre Fusion.”
After leaving We Will Rock You, Ellis went on to attract hoards of fans as Elphaba in the hit musical Wicked. She has since appeared on stage with May at the Royal Variety Show, the BBC Proms In The Park and The Night Of 1,000 Voices at the Royal Albert Hall.
Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is the only UK charity dedicated to research into blood cancers. It needs to raise £120 million in the next five years to continue its research.
CB