Alfie Boe - Not just a brilliant Tenor

Tonight (Feb 24th) saw the start of the UK tour for the Fron Male Voice Choir and their guest artist, tenor, Alfie Boe. Classicalx’s Sarah Fahey went along to watch the performance and also caught up with Alfie to ask him a few questions in an exclusive for Classicalx.

Everything I know about Alfie Boe, I have learned here at Classicalx and so, when I heard that he would be performing at a venue near me with the No1 Classical chart group, the Fron Male Voice Choir, I decided to go along and see for myself just how good they both were.

This was the first night of the tour and the venue was St. George’s Hall in Bradford. The Fron Choir was under the direction of Ann Atkinson and was accompanied by the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, led by Simon Lenton.

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Richard Wilford and he introduced Alfie to the audience by quoting The Observer newspaper who had described him as “a stunning tenor, who could be the best tenor of his generation”.

Alfie came onto the stage wearing a dark suit and white shirt, he stood for a moment before addressing the audience saying “This is scary isn’t it? - You haven’t heard me sing yet!” The audience laughed and then settled down to Alfie’s first piece which was a tenor aria from the Rosenkavalier. It was not a piece I was familiar with but Alfie sang it with great feeling and it was incredible to hear. For his entire set, Alfie had just a piano accompaniment, which only hi-lighted further what an amazing voice he has.

Alfie announced afterwards, that this was one of 47 songs he would be singing tonight and he hoped that no-one had plans to do anything else for the evening. The audience

laughed as he warned them that the jokes wouldn’t be getting much better. For his next number, Alfie performed "A Vuchella", again it was not one I was familiar with but it sounded beautiful.

Alfie then joked that this was the point in the performance where he walked off and left his pianist to play Rachmaninov’s 18th Variation on a theme of Paganini. He started towards the back of the stage and turned to see the reaction of the audience and more importantly, his pianist. Al seemed to be used to Alfie’s humour though and started to play the piece much to the surprise of the audience and to an extent Alfie. Later on, when I had the chance to talk to Alfie and Al, I got to witness firsthand, more of their lively banter and I’m sure that should Alfie ever decide to quit music, he and Al could make a good living as comedians.

Alfie then spoke about the release of his forthcoming album, “Onward” which is due for release on 12th March. The next song he sang was taken from the album and was the Christmas song, “I Wonder As I Wander”. Alfie had said that although it was nowhere near Christmas, he felt that this song was one which could be sung anytime of year as it was such a wonderful piece. His voice really emphasized the beautiful lyrics of this song and the whole feel to the piece was very moving.

This led nicely into his next piece, the well known hymn, Amazing Grace. Alfie said how many different artists had recorded this track in different ways, and indeed the Fron Choir sang it later as part of their programme. Alfie said that as he was a classical singer, he would sing it in the Classical style. Such is the popularity of the piece, that I think most people in the audience could have sung along and yet as Alfie sang it, no one said a word. This was one of the songs where Alfie not only sang with a gentle reverence, but also with great power and really reflected the music and lyrics in the way he sang.

His final song for the evening is also on the new album and will be released as a single. Written by Alison Krauss, who is better known for Country and Western music, the piece is entitled “A Living Prayer”. I think this was my favourite piece of the evening, the lyrics are so poignant and Alfie really put his heart and soul into performing this number. The power in his voice was incredible and yet it didn’t detract you from the beauty of the lyrics. The piano accompaniment was also perfect on this piece and complimented Alfie’s voice brilliantly.

Alfie’s performance received a rapturous applause and in the interval, I overheard quite a few people complimenting his performance and saying how remarkable he was.

The Fron Choir now came on to continue the concert and sang many well known songs which included “Exodus”, “Sailing”, “Abide with Me” and also “All Through the Night” and “You Raise Me Up” which were sung in Welsh. They sounded wonderful and clearly their choices of song were thoroughly approved of by the audience who gave them huge applause.

During the Interval, I met up with Alfie, his manager, his tour manager and his pianist Al. Alfie had now changed into more informal attire of a Liverpool t-shirt and jeans and we all chatted away as we went to his dressing room for the interview. I had intended to record the interview but ended up writing the answers. I wish I had recorded it now as you would have been able to hear what fun we had. Alfie is a natural comedian and together with his sidekick Al, they would make a great comedy duo. Several times in the interview they had me in fits of laughter and hopefully some of the fun we had will show through in the answers he gave to the questions.

You are currently on tour supporting the Fron Male Voice Choir, how’s it going so far? What do you like about being on tour?
Well tonight is the first night, so I think it has gone well so far. This is the first time I have met the guys from the Fron Choir and as we are doing different sets, we don’t rehearse together or anything. It is going to be great going to all the different venues and performing to the different audiences.

And what’s to dislike about being on tour?
Well nothing so far. All of the time that I am performing at venues in the North, I will be driving home after the concert. I will get to stay in comfort of my own home and not have to experience the whole hotel / tour bus scenario.

The Choir actually performed one of your songs tonight too, Amazing Grace.
Yes they did didn’t they, but next week when we go to Liverpool, I’m going to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” so we’ll be even.

What do you do to keep your voice in such good shape?
I drink plenty of fluids; plenty of water and tea and make sure I warm up properly.

You will be appearing in the ENO production of Kismet later in the year, where you will be working with Michael Ball and Megan Mulally. Are you excited at the prospect of returning to the stage?
Yes I am, and thank you for pointing out that I am returning to the stage as most people are unaware of the fact that I have performed in Operas before. I did Cosi Fan Tutte with the ENO previously and I am looking forward to working with them again.

In previous interviews I have read of yours, it does always sound like you were working as a mechanic one day, then took the overalls off and became a singer the next day.

Al: Yes it does, so maybe this is the chance to set the record straight, it didn’t happen overnight.

What would be your ideal role to play in an Opera or Musical?
Actually, I have already done it! My favourite role was Rodolfo in La Boheme, although there are lots of other great roles for tenors in other Operas too.

Do you enjoy going to the theatre or opera yourself or do you find it hard to watch without being critical of the performance?
To me, it’s too much like a Busman’s holiday and so I don’t really go. I don’t have a lot of spare time at the moment anyway but I would probably only go to support friends if they were appearing in a particular performance.

It was only last September that the CD Classicfm presents Alfie Boe was released and went to No2 in the Classicfm chart and here we are, 5 months later, looking at the release of your second album Onward (12th March). Are you surprised at how quick this has all happened?
Yes I am, twelve months ago, I didn’t even have a recording contract so it has been quite amazing really.

The Fron Choir have just re-entered the Classical Music Chart at No1 and your first album reached No2. Potentially, when your new album is released, you could knock these guys off the No1 spot and you would still be on tour with them!
Blimey, I bet that wouldn’t go down too well – Are they really back at No1? (Pulls a funny face as he thinks about the reaction of the Fron Choir if he knocks them off the No1 spot!)

Now the new album was recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and you’ve worked with some big names like Howard Goodall, Nick Ingham, Chris Elliott and John Rutter with arrangements for it. What do you think will appeal to the general public about this album?
Well, there’s also a DVD that will be accompanying this album in which I will appear fully nude – and Al too!
Al: Yes but at least I’ll have a piano to hide behind! (this part of the conversation continued for a while before Alfie got it back on track!)
No seriously, this album has lots of well known songs, hymns and anthems and I think people will enjoy the choice of music and the arrangements.

Do you think that Classical Crossover artists are helping to bring Opera to a more general audience?
I hope so, that is what I aim to do. I am not sure about the term Crossover though. Most people would say that it’s where the artist sings Opera and then mixes it with Pop, but for me, it is all about sticking to Opera but just getting it to a wider audience.

Do you have a favourite track on the new album?
“A Living Prayer” is my favourite; wonderful music and beautiful lyrics.

With all the success and fame that is headed your way, what will you do to ensure that you remain level headed?
I’m not going to do anything, I intend to be a real pain!(joking) I don’t think there’s much chance of being any different, but really, I’m just Alfie Boe from Fleetwood, I enjoy singing and that’s what I do, nothing is going to change that!

Having met Alfie and seeing what a genuine and down to earth guy he is, I hope that he doesn’t change. In the short time I chatted with him and Al, we really did have great fun and at times it was easy to forget we were in an interview situation. I look forward to hearing the new album and hopefully seeing Alfie perform again in the near future. If you do have the opportunity to see Alfie performing on this UK tour, then don’t miss out, or you’ll be missing a great evening.

Added: February 25th 2007
Reviewer: Sarah Fahey
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