[ ClassicalX ] Summer Songs On The Lawn

Family comes first for home-grown opera star Geoff Sewell who'll tour here in the New Year.

For Geoff Sewell's homecoming tour he has decided to offer eight high school choirs, from each city he visits, the opportunity to perform with him on stage. The founder of the opera quartet, Amici Forever, will also offer the chosen choirs a one hour master-class that includes learning and performing with Sewell and some of the biggest opera stars of the West End, Broadway and Europe who make up Sewell's company, Incognito Artists.

Sewell's debut solo tour is one of the many doors that have opened since he left Amici Forever in 2006.

"At the time people thought I was giving up the music industry," he says. "What they didn't realise was that Amici was born off the back of the company Incognito Artists. I basically was wearing so many different hats and playing with so many different balls - something had to give. It was a huge decision but I realised fame and fortune don't mean a jot if it affects your family."

Leaving Amici when it was enjoying international success came about because Sewell's daughter, Sienna, now five, was diagnosed with autism which meant she needed stability and a routine.

With Amici, Sewell sold more than two and a half million albums worldwide, was nominated for a Classical Brit award and performed sell-out concerts around the UK, Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific region. The group has sung for the Queen, Prince Charles, Princes William and Harry, Nelson Mandela, several Prime Ministers and other artistes.

Earlier this year, Sewell released his first solo album, Believe, which went straight to number two on the New Zealand charts, holding the spot for a couple of weeks, and stayed in the top five for six weeks.

On the tour Sewell will sing one of the song's from the album, Sienna's Song, which was written by his wife, Simone.

"It's a difficult one to perform because it's so emotional. It's virtually impossible to sing it all the way through without breaking down. It's going to be doubly hard to keep it together, especially since both my daughters, Sienna & Olivia will be in the audience."

Geoff Sewell and Incognito Artists' summer tour, Villa Maria Estate, Feb 28th at 7:30pm - for tickets see www.ticketek.co.nz

Source: The Aucklander