jonathan ansell appearing as "the man" in Whistle Down the Wind at the Liverpool Empire
Some may think he looks far too angelic and baby-faced to play a dangerous fugitive, but that's just what Jonathan Ansell will be doing when he arrives at the Empire next week.
The former G4 singer is taking on the role played by Alan Bates in the 1961 film, but this time in a full-blown musical version penned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
I spoke to the singer last week during rehearsals, and he told me he was loving every minute of his first proper move into musical theatre.
He also assures me he's got some great numbers to get his vocal chords around, saying: "So Many Cries in the Night is a massive solo for me and I have the whole stage to myself and I'm pretty much going mad and there is a gun and I'm grabbing it and throwing it down, and there are dramatic actions all round the stage and I've got some incredibly dramatic vocal moments in it which are so exciting and thrilling.
"But earlier on in the show I'm very exhausted and weak and I'm having to hold my voice back, and Bill said to me 'you're not well enough to sing it that well'.
"Relax, you can't sing that beautifully, whereas in opera it's all a fully produced sound, in musical theatre you have to come back and you're too weak and frail to perform it like that so it's really restrained."
It's opera of course that he's best known for, but he maintains that his voice still has a long way to go.
He told me: "I auditioned for English National Opera and I met with another company in London and had very, very positive responses but they cast massively ahead and I wanted to try and see if there was something sooner.
"And the Coliseum is a massive venue and they were anxious for me playing a major role whether I could carry my voice throughout the whole Coliseum acoustically which is the way they perform obviously there, so they said come back next year and maybe your voice will have richened and developed.
"Obviously in opera I'm incredibly young, 27 and still really in the youthful ranks, generally you tend to be 30 at least and then mid-30s you start to really flourish.
"There is a lot more colour coming into my voice, it's a lot richer and more characterful and less just light young voice, and I can still draw upon the light tones which is exciting but I can also really draw upon those extra colours and shades and things I've got there as well."
So there you go. Read more in today's Echo, and Whistle Down the Wind opens at the Empire next Wednesday.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-entertainment/echo-entertainment/2010/01/15/jonathan-ansell-relishes-whistle-down-the-wind-at-the-empire-100252-25605372/
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Catherine Jones is the Liverpool Echo Arts Editor, and she'll bring you the news, reviews, recommendations and gossip from one of the most vibrant arts and culture scenes in the UK
A great interview thankyou.
Having followed Jonathan when he was in G4 and since he's become a solo artist I can honestly say I've seen and heard him develop in a magnificent way.
His voice has certainly become richer and although being a fantastic high tenor his lower tones are more developed too.
I'm so looking forward to see him in this musical..he already performs with such emotion so I'm sure he will be great in this role.
Good to hear Jonathan hasn't forgotten his classical passions.
That was very interesting interview thank you for interviwing him.
Jonathan is a wonderful singer
I think that everyone going to see WDTW will come out of the theatre very happy and thinking,that Jonathan Ansell is super