Ball and Boe join forces for a musicals-heavy concert tour
Posted by Mark Smith on Thursday, November 10, 2016
At
first glance Michael Ball and Alfie Boe might seem an odd combination as a duo
for a concert tour. Ball of course made his name as leading man of West End
musicals such as Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Aspects of Love and has emerged as one of
the nation's best all-round entertainers. Boe on the other hand has appeared on
the world's most prestigious opera stages and is the biggest-selling British
classical tenor. However, he has more recently also turned to the world of
musical theatre, headlining productions of Les
Miserables in the West End and on Broadway as Jean Valjean and appearing in
Gary Barlow's musical Finding Neverland.
Appearing at Colston Hall in Bristol on the 6th date of a 28-date tour across the UK which takes in the London Palladium for two nights this weekend, Ball and Boe obviously revel in each other's company and are having much fun on stage. The best of their duets from their recently-released album are from the world of musical theatre. Opening with West Side Story's Somewhere, and quickly progressing to Phantom's Music of the Night and the powerful Anthem from Chess, Ball and Boe's voices seem to blend together effectively and with great emotion. It soon becomes obvious that Ball takes on the role of raconteur and narrator for the evening - Boe claims that his co-star never stops talking!
Appearing on stage the day after the UK woke up to the news that Donald Trump is the new President of the United States, Ball says that the famous Blood Brothers anthem ‘Tell me it's not true’ has taken on a new meaning in light of the latest news! Other song choices include a more reflective pairing of ‘Wonderful World’ and ‘Over the Rainbow’ along with the lesser-known song ‘Incurably Romantic’. Ball tells us that this latter song was a favourite of David Jacobs and that he sang it at the Radio 2 presenter's memorial service.
Boe is the more reserved of the two singers but lets his hair down with encouragement from his friend Ball. However, when the pair take separate turns in the spotlight, Boe ventures into rock territory which isn't as well suited to his vocal comfort zone. Ball's solo choices not surprisingly are from the world of musical theatre, although he wisely plays against type by giving a powerful version of 'Gethsemane' from Jesus Christ Superstar. Ball's father - who was in the audience - took him to that musical at the age of 11 and he never looked back. Ball follows this with his signature tune from Aspects of Love, 'Love Changes Everything', a song that Andrew Lloyd Webber played to him earlier on in the development of the show and then wrote for his character Alex.
The two singers end their concert with a well-written Les Miserables suite which encompasses both their big solo members from the show and Fantine's 'I Dreamed a Dream'. Leaving the stage to rapturous applause and a standing ovation, the Bristol audience demanded that Ball and Boe return for an encore, another powerful number from a musical, Carousel's 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. This might be equally true for the two singers who met while appearing in the musical Kismet at English National Opera a few years ago. With the success of this show and their album and a forthcoming ITV special, Ball and Boe might not be singing alone for a good while yet.
Appearing at Colston Hall in Bristol on the 6th date of a 28-date tour across the UK which takes in the London Palladium for two nights this weekend, Ball and Boe obviously revel in each other's company and are having much fun on stage. The best of their duets from their recently-released album are from the world of musical theatre. Opening with West Side Story's Somewhere, and quickly progressing to Phantom's Music of the Night and the powerful Anthem from Chess, Ball and Boe's voices seem to blend together effectively and with great emotion. It soon becomes obvious that Ball takes on the role of raconteur and narrator for the evening - Boe claims that his co-star never stops talking!
Appearing on stage the day after the UK woke up to the news that Donald Trump is the new President of the United States, Ball says that the famous Blood Brothers anthem ‘Tell me it's not true’ has taken on a new meaning in light of the latest news! Other song choices include a more reflective pairing of ‘Wonderful World’ and ‘Over the Rainbow’ along with the lesser-known song ‘Incurably Romantic’. Ball tells us that this latter song was a favourite of David Jacobs and that he sang it at the Radio 2 presenter's memorial service.
Boe is the more reserved of the two singers but lets his hair down with encouragement from his friend Ball. However, when the pair take separate turns in the spotlight, Boe ventures into rock territory which isn't as well suited to his vocal comfort zone. Ball's solo choices not surprisingly are from the world of musical theatre, although he wisely plays against type by giving a powerful version of 'Gethsemane' from Jesus Christ Superstar. Ball's father - who was in the audience - took him to that musical at the age of 11 and he never looked back. Ball follows this with his signature tune from Aspects of Love, 'Love Changes Everything', a song that Andrew Lloyd Webber played to him earlier on in the development of the show and then wrote for his character Alex.
The two singers end their concert with a well-written Les Miserables suite which encompasses both their big solo members from the show and Fantine's 'I Dreamed a Dream'. Leaving the stage to rapturous applause and a standing ovation, the Bristol audience demanded that Ball and Boe return for an encore, another powerful number from a musical, Carousel's 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. This might be equally true for the two singers who met while appearing in the musical Kismet at English National Opera a few years ago. With the success of this show and their album and a forthcoming ITV special, Ball and Boe might not be singing alone for a good while yet.
