 |
| Mario Frangoulis on One Voice From Africa |
Mario Frangoulis is a tenor of the 21st Century, with the ability to sing everything from a hard-rock anthem to an operatic aria. "My greatest love is opera and classical music," Mario says, "I always sang from an early age, with a record player—with Greek singers of course, but also recordings of movie musicals, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand. I knew I had a good voice but I didn’t know I had an operatic voice. In the beginning, I was against anyone saying I had that kind of operatic sound. I had always felt I didn’t belong in that category. I wanted to communicate the music, and I didn’t think opera singers sounded young enough, modern enough."
Then Frangoulis saw a performance of Carmen with José Carreras and Agnes Baltsa, which drew him into the world of opera.
Mario studied the violin for 10 years, and even composed a bit when he was a boy. At the age of 17, he attended London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study acting and singing. While at Guildhall he was discovered by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who is referred to by the New York Times as “the most successful, influential and powerful producer of our time.” He immediately hired Frangoulis upon his graduation to play the character of Marius in Les Misérables in London’s West End. Soon thereafter, he was invited by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber to play the role of Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera to great critical acclaim.
Listen to my exclusive interview with Mario Frangoulis on ONE VOICE FROM AFRICA coming up!
