Cole Porter

Porter was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time. het geluk op het juiste moment op de juiste plaats te zijn. Born at the turn of the century, he lived through the roaring 20s in Paris, and the golden age of the 30s and 40s in Hollywood and on Broadway.

Being born into wealthy family, Porter had the important advantage not having to compose to survive. He had the opportunity to develop his artistic ideas in full freedom. His first songs were composed during his English Literature studies at Yale University, where he entertained his peers as a singer and pianist.

After Yale, Porter started a music degree at Harvard, after which he moved to Paris for a couple of years. There he studied at the Schola Cantorum and explored the vibrant night life together with composers such as Milhaud and Poulenc. It was then and there, that Porter decided to devote himself to the composition of songs with his own original lyrics.

Paris was also the place where Porter met his wife, the beautiful and wealthy Linda Lee Thomas. Their life was full of grandeur and a sense of beauty and openness. Because despite their loving marriage, it was not a public secret that Porter was actually attracted to men...

The late 20s saw his big breakthrough on Broadway with the musical Paris, in part due to Irving Berlin. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love became Porter's first big hit. Hereafter, he moved to New York where he divided his time between Manhattan and Hollywood. In 1937, a dramatic accident with a horse turned his successfull life upside down. Both his legs were crushed, and despite many surgeries, from that point onwards Porter lived in constant pain. Not withstanding more Broadway triumphs untill deep in the 50s.

At a first glance, Porter's songs seem simple. But a deeper look reveals complex harmonies, rhythms and large intervals, technically challenging for the performers. Often his lyrics are autobiographical, and cover all aspects of love – from young love to bitter farewell. And in spite of a usually tragic undercurrent, Porter always finds a way to add some witticism. It does not come as a surprise that his motto was: “Have a smile on your face”.