[ ClassicalX ] A passion for opera

Superstar tenor Alfie Boe may never have performed in Chester before but he has already made his mark on one of the city's top tourist attractions.

“I remember going to Chester Zoo as a kid and I think my name is still on a plaque at the elephant house,” recalls the singer who headlines the first major concert of the 2008 Chester Summer Music Festival at the Cathedral on Sunday (July 20).

The Chester audience will be treated to his La Passione performance based on his new album which explores the evocative tradition of Italian song and which has obviously been a project close to his heart.

He said: “It’s great to be able to show people some of the songs they might not hear that often. It’s music that I just fell in love with.”

Those songs include standards such as O Sole Mio and Funiculi Funicula but also take in less familiar titles such as Munasterio' E Santa Chiara, Feneste Che Lucive and Torna a Surriento.

Most of the album and a couple of other additions will be performed on Sunday to fans who are certain to be every bit as delighted with Boe’s performance as the crowds who flocked to see him at the Llangollen Eisteddfod last weekend.

“That was fantastic and I had a wonderful night. It was such a great event and one I will never forget. It’s tremendous what they do up there,” he said.

Fleetwood-born Boe is also delighted to have been able to arrange two northern-based concerts in quick succession. “I couldn’t really have a career if I just did northern concerts but I would like to move back up north eventually. I currently live in Oxford so I’m getting a bit closer!”

Achieving that ambition may be something he will find difficult if he continues to maintain the levels of success that have come his way during the past 18 months.

Having studied at the Royal College of Music and performed with the famed D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, his big break came when Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann picked him to perform one of the main leads in Puccini’s La Boheme on Broadway, which won Boe a Tony Award.

This led to an explosion of activity that has seen him release three albums in one year as well as embarking on the concert tour to support La Passione.

But as successful as the tour has been, Boe has pledged never to turn his back on full scale opera productions.

“Singing Nessun Dorma does not make you an opera singer - singing the whole of Turandot does.

“It’s something I continue doing and will never stop. Performing in opera is vital to my career and I will always want the legitimacy of being considered an operatic tenor.

“Even when I perform in concert I am singing classical music. I don’t cross over into other forms.”

The excitement continues for Boe as he reveals he will be making his debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall at the end of the year before heading back to the studio to start work on another album, the concept of which remains under wraps.

For now, though, the focus of his attention is on Sunday’s concert at Chester Cathedral: “I am really looking forward to performing in such a fabulous venue.”

Tickets for Alfie Boe at the Cathedral are priced £32-£14. Ring the box office on 01244 304618 or visit www.chesterfestivals.co.uk.

Source: Flintshire Chronicle