King Charles’ Coronation: From Pretty Yende to Andrew Lloyd Webber, who will be performing in the ceremony?

Ahead of King Charles’ coronation on May 6, an order of service and music programme has been released offering an insight into what the attendees will be listening to in Westminster Abbey.

While the public can watch the ceremony on television and try to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be-crowned monarch King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla in the procession, the musical programme casts a spotlight on some of the leading British composers and performers.

His Majesty King Charles reportedly had a real influence and say on which artists would perform on his coronation day, taking inspiration from his life-long passion for music and the arts.

The Palace said: “[The programme blends] tradition, heritage and ceremony with new musical voices of today…His Majesty has overseen, influenced and been personally involved in the commissioning process and the detail of the music programme, which will showcase and celebrate musical talent from across the United Kingdom and further afield.”

In addition to selecting the performers, King Charles personally commissioned twelve new pieces of music for his coronation including a new Coronation Anthem written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

From the Phantom of the Opera writer to South African opera singer Pretty Yende, the soprano will be performing a solo piece in Westminster Abbey, where coronations have taken place since 1066.

38-year-old Pretty Yende has sung at numerous opera houses, but her coronation performance will be written in the history books as she will become the first African singer to perform a solo for a British monarch at a coronation.

King Charles, a life-long fan of the opera, saw Pretty sing at Windsor Castle last year before inviting her to participate in the ceremony.

Pretty said: “"I feel very, very honoured because it is something that has never happened before.

Generations from now they will read about the British monarchs... and they'll see the name of a girl from the tip of Africa written in there — that she was actually invited by the King himself to sing at Westminster Abbey."

Joining Pretty and Andrew Lloyd Webber on the musical programme is Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, British baritone Roderick Williams and a special coronation orchestra conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, who is scheduled to become chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2024.

Half a dozen of the new commissions will be performed by the orchestra before the ceremony begins at 11am, before the millions of TV viewers and the audience in Westminster will hear the first Welsh language song ever to be performed at a coronation by Paul Mealor.

Many of the new commissions, as mentioned, pay tribute to countries across the world and Commonwealth with leading British composers such as Roxanna Panufnik and Judith Weir to name a few, putting their touch on proceedings.

So prepare for ‘all things bright and beautiful’ this Saturday as King Charles makes sure to start his reign off on the right (musical) note before the Coronation Concert on Sunday, 7 May.