Alfie Boe, Michael Ball enjoy UK chart success with Together

His concert-going fans must sometimes wonder if Alfie Boe is as much a comedian as a singer. His current tour with Michael Ball promoting their UK top three album, Together, has seen audiences rock with laughter as the duo tell as many gags as perform their songs.“Michael and I have a wonderful relationship,” smiled the Blackpool-born but Fleetwood-raised tenor. “We’ve known each other for about ten years. “We developed a great friendship when we performed together for the English National Opera in a long run of the stage musical ‘Kismet’ at the London Coliseum. We can joke around with each other and tell stories between songs. It’s something different for our audiences and certainly seems to be appreciated.”Michael featured in this column some years ago; so now is the time to focus on the man born Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe. Alfie’s Irish Roman Catholic father gave him his Italian middle names from those of Pope John XXIII. Giovanni is the Italian for John and Roncalli was Pope John’s family name.“Pope John died in 1963, ten years before I was born,” Alfie explained. “But he is still known as ‘The Good Pope’ and my father had so much love for him that he wanted this to be reflected in my name.”Alfie’s natural vocal talent shone through as a child. His love for classical singing developed from hearing his father’s operatic cast records and those by the Austrian tenor Richard Tauber.“I loved the music and singing and hoped I might one day be able to sing like the wonderful artists I heard on record. I had taken singing lessons from a local teacher, Lottie Dawson, and performed on stage at the Fleetwood Marine Hall in a ‘Songs from the Shows’ concert when I was 14.“I was also a member of the Fleetwood Amateur Operatic Society. But mine was an ordinary family. Becoming a professional singer was regarded as a pipe dream. I had to go out and earn a living so, aged 17, I became an apprentice car-body mechanic at the TVR factory in Bispham.”At 19, Alfie landed the role of Tony in the Preston Musical Comedy Society’s production of “West Side Story.” His life changed one day at work when he was heard singing along to the “West Side Story” tape by a customer with connections in the music business.“He told me the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company were holding open auditions and strongly advised me to sing for them. I did and won a place with the Company.“That customer set me on the road to where I am now. I’ve been unsuccessful in trying to find him to give my thanks in person. But I always tell the story when I’m asked how I got into the business so I hope he has read about me and knows how grateful I am to him.”Despite enjoying critical acclaim and with further offers from D’Oyly Carte and West End theatre producers, Alfie chose to study singing at the Royal College of Music.“It was something I felt I had to do to become a better singer and overall performer. I studied there for three years winning the John McCormack Golden Voice competition and coming second in the Lyric Tenor of the World competition in Munich. I then transferred to the National Opera Studio which was a really big deal because they only accept around 12 singers a year.”After training at the National Opera Studio and singing at Glyndebourne, Alfie joined the Royal Opera House’s Young Artists Programme. While there, he was invited to audition for the role of Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann’s Broadway production of Puccini’s opera, “La Boheme.”“His people came to London to audition me. I was actually watching a performance of Wagner’s opera ‘Parsifal’ and did the audition during an interval before racing back in time for the next act.“I didn’t imagine I would get the part in ‘La Boheme’ so it was a tough decision to accept and leave the Young Artists Programme. But I realised you sometimes have to take risks in life and this one paid off massively.”After winning a Tony Award for his performances in “La Boheme,” Alfie’s career has gone from strength to strength. He is so in demand that he can effectively pick which roles he wants to play and for whatever length of time.“I’m probably best known for playing Jean Valjean in ‘Les Miserables’ but the great thing about my career is being able to perform a wide variety of quality songs whether they be in opera, stage musicals or pop. Michael is the same. Our album contains everything from a ‘Les Miserables’ track to Stevie Wonder’s 1968 hit, For Once In My Life.”Together is Alfie’s fifth UK top ten album and Michael’s eleventh, though Michael has been in the music business for 15 years longer than Alfie. It is the first album the two friends have recorded as a duo. Their enormous chart success should ensure it will not be the last.IN BRIEFThe WeekndAbel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has created a 12-minute video to accompany his smash hit third studio album, Starboy.Posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBsycvSU6r8, MANIA is a sequel to the video for his hugely successful i song. The soundtrack is composed of excerpts from the songs on his album.In other news, The Weeknd and fashion model Bella Hadid recently announced the end of their 18-month romantic relationship. But it seems things are not as they might have appeared.Word is that the couple have had no great falling out. It was their very busy and conflicting work schedules which prompted the split. They might have officially broken things off for the time being but don’t bet against Abel and Bella rekindling their romance in the not too distant future.Bridgit MendlerFormer Disney teen star Bridgit Mendler recently released her second EP, Nemesis.All four tracks can be heard in full on YouTube. The official audio for Snap My Fingers is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9-OzgqDKfg, while Library is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK9I6_VNJ30Official videos are available for the other two tracks both of which have been released as singles. “Do You Miss Me At All” can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTVDuR9lam0 while Atlantis, which also features Florida rapper, musician and visual artist Kaiydo, is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8VoVqLXeY“The songs were inspired by events in my life over the past year,” explained 23-year-old Bridgit. “They are basically a collection of regret songs. I took a few liberties in telling the stories my way but I’m pleased to be able to share them with my fans.“I was actually a little concerned that people might not fully understand what I’m talking about, particularly in Atlantis, because the lyrics are pretty abstract. I also wondered if they would like it because being numb about the end of a relationship isn’t the most appealing subject to write about. It’s so rewarding to have people tell me they not only like the song but totally relate to it.”QuinAnyone who has heard rap star G-Eazy’s 2015 album, When It’s Dark Out, will have likely been impressed by the contribution from Bianca Quinones, better known simply as Quin, on the song, Think About You. Many reviewers hailed it as the standout track on the album.The Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and musician describes her own music as fantasy soul.“My new EP, Galactica, is pretty much just a soundtrack to my dreams. It was such a natural project which felt like it almost created itself. It’s a kind of space rollercoaster. Everything you hear is based in space.”Galactica is effectively a mini-album rather than an EP as it contains seven songs. One of these, Over Again, features her friend G-Eazy. Each track can be heard in full at www.youtube.com/channel/UCQER-339PRXMwqHkquNa3UQ Official audios are posted for six of the songs while there is a video to accompany Galacticat.If you enjoy Quin’s music, more of her songs are available to hear at (no www.) soundcloud.com/thequincat