Singing Work
Charleson had a beautiful, haunting tenor singing voice, which he used in musicals and other performances. He did notable solo singing work in productions including Much Ado About Nothing (1974), an episode of Rock Follies of '77 (1977), The Tempest (1978–1979), Piaf (1978–1980), Guys and Dolls (1982), A Royal Night of One Hundred Stars (1985), After Aida (1985–1986), Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's Cricket (1986), Sondheim: A Celebration (1988 benefit for Crusaid), and Bent (1989). He also sang classic standards and show tunes, and the songs of Robert Burns, in variety programmes on stage and television.
Three commercial recordings have been issued that include Charleson's singing:
- The National Theatre cast album of Guys and Dolls (1982)
- Charleson singing Ariel's Songs from The Tempest, issued by the Royal Shakespeare Company; music by Guy Woolfenden
- The Original London Cast Album of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (ensemble only)
Charleson also sings a solo ballad on an episode ("The Empire") of the television series Rock Follies of '77, available on DVD.
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Famous quotes containing the words singing and/or work:
“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and
strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off
work,”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“A work is never completed except by some accident such as weariness, satisfaction, the need to deliver, or death: for, in relation to who or what is making it, it can only be one stage in a series of inner transformations.”
—Paul Valéry (1871–1945)