“It’s surreal”: Canadian plays King Charles’ former cello in coronation concert

LONDON – When Marion Portelance plays at King Charles’s coronation At her concert on Sunday, she will play a cello that has a special connection to the monarch.

The Royal College of Music student, originally from Montreal, will play an 1804 William Forster cello, believed to be the same cello once owned and played by King Charles.

The 24-year-old says she is honored and excited to be playing at the concert, which follows Saturday’s concert coronation Ceremony.

“It’s surreal for me to be able to take part in a historic event like this,” she said in an interview.

She said the instrument was played by King Charles during his student days. It was later sold to charity, Portelance said, and then donated by the Linbury Trust to the Royal College of Music collection.

“So a lot of history and a beautiful instrument, and it sounds amazing,” she said.

Portelance is part of a string quartet that will perform a new arrangement of the song “Somewhere” from West Side Story as part of a collaboration with the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet. The Royal College of Art provides a visual backdrop.

“It’s just a great collaboration of all kinds of arts and I think it reflects very well the fact that King Charles was always a great supporter of the arts and especially music,” said Portelance, who graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de has Montreal.

She said she was contacted a few months ago to ask if she was free the first weekend in May, but didn’t find out why until later.

Pop stars Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and opera singer Andrea Bocelli are among the headliners set to perform at Sunday’s concert at Windsor Castle.

Portelance had the first opportunity to visit the site for a rehearsal on Thursday, which made the situation feel even more real.

Portelance said she was more excited than nervous, but tried not to think about whether the king would pay special attention to her performance on the cello he used to play.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2023.