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Free tenor in concert
By Elizabeth Hopkirk, Evening Standard 01.06.07
Cortes: appearing free this Saturday and Sunday in Covent Garden
Square dancing: the Royal Ballet's Swan Lake screening proved popular
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He is top of the charts and has sung in front of thousands at Upton Park.
But tomorrow, rather than taking the stage at the Royal Opera House, Icelandic opera singer Gardar Thor Cortes will perform free in the part of Covent Garden usually reserved for buskers.
The 33-year-old tenor, pictured, will perform opera favourites including Nessun Dorma and a classical reworking of the A-Ha hit Hunting High And Low, which will be released as a single on 23 July. Four half-hour performances will be staged outside St Paul's Church, beside the market, over the weekend.
Cortes joked his "busking" will bring him a step closer to his dream of singing Othello at Covent Garden. "Maybe the Royal Opera House director will hear me through his window," he said, adding: "Actually, Othello is a dramatic role which will have to wait until I am more mature in voice."
However, the main aim of the performances is to highlight London's homeless and the work of charity Shelter. The singer said: "I was shocked to discover there are hundreds of people living on the streets in London and thousands who don't have a home. I wanted to raise awareness of the work Shelter is doing.
"We only need a little change to make huge improvements."
Cortes started out as a child actor in Iceland but went on to study opera at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where his English mother had studied piano years before.
His first "crossover" album entered the classical charts at No1 in April. "One week I am singing Hunting High And Low and the next week I am performing Carmen with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. It really spices it up," Cortes said. "I hope to introduce classical music to a wider audience."
Shelter will be give away publicity material and inviting people to sign the "Wall of Shame" to help end bad housing.
•Cortes will perform at 3pm and 6pm tomorrow and 1pm and 3.30pm on Sunday.
• Ballet of Trafalgar: a live outside screening of the Royal Ballet performing Swan Lake drew more than 10,000 people to Trafalgar Square and Canada Square. The free, three-hour broadcast was the first of this year's three BP Summer Big Screen events from Covent Garden. The next, Don Giovanni, will be screened on 13 June at 7pm in Covent Garden Piazza
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