Time: 8 p.m.

 Tickets: $20 regular; $15 senior/student/alumni

If not already a Downton Abbey fan when you arrive, you are sure to become one before you leave this performance on Feb. 28.  Inspired by the British hit television series, this Soiree delivers a memorable evening of period song and music starting at 8 pm at the University Recital Hall.

Dressed in glamourous outfits and surrounded by rich period furnishings, the performers present salon favourites from the Edwardian period through to the popular music of the roaring 20s. Performers include Blaine Hendsbee (tenor) and Sandra Stringer (mezzo-soprano) accompanied by pianists Glen Montgomery and Magdalena von Eccher, Airdre Robinson on violin and Mark Rodgers on cello. Music majors Alyssa Durnie, Madison Craig, Camille Rogers and Melanie York also perform.

“Starting with the sinking of the Titanic and stretching into the late 1920s, the program covers the tumultuous period of transition ushered in by WWI,” explains host Blaine Hendsbee. “We perform music from the late Victorian, Edwardian period, and Roaring 20's, which would have been performed in the great homes of England during this period.”

According to Hendsbee, the music will be very familiar to many in the audience -- ranging from beloved parlour songs such as The Lost Chord, to oratorio standards (O Rest in the Lord), to popular art songs, favourite string solos, opera arias by Puccini, plus some Gilbert and Sullivan from The Mikado, Ragtime piano and even a WWI sing along.

Hendsbee thanks the U of L Costume Dept. for the elaborate costumes being worn by the singers and the musicians as well. “The Costume Dept. is well known for their accurate and beautifully constructed period garments, which have been used in hundreds of plays and performances throughout the history of the University,” he says.   

Tickets are already selling quickly. Get yours online at ulethbridge.ca/tickets, by phone 403-329-2616 or at the box office Monday-Friday 12:30 - 3:30 pm and 1 hour before ticketed performances. Tickets are $20 regular and $15 senior/student/alumni.

 Tickets are available online at uleth.ca/tickets, by phone 403-329-2616 or at the box office Monday-Friday 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. and 1 hour before ticketed performances. $20 regular; $15 senior/student/alumni.