Crete International Festival of Arts
Featured Performers
Aims International Artists Events Venues Schedule Partners Supporters
It is proposed that the 2012 Crete International Festival of Arts will feature a host of the finest domestic and international performers including:
Peter Karrie
Born Peter Karagianis, Peter Karrie is a Welsh international musical theatre star of Greek ancestry. His voice has been showcased in many of the
greatest theatrical successes in contemporary musical theatre, the
highlight of which must be his highly acclaimed portrayal of The Phantom
in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record breaking musical The Phantom of
the Opera.
Peter first played The Phantom at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London before going on to play the role in Toronto, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vancouver and the Millennium tour of Great Britain.
His performances have been reviewed as “definitive” and have earned him the title of “The World’s Most Popular Phantom” on two separate occasions (as voted for by The Worldwide Phantom Appreciation Society). Peter has also been acknowledged by The Really Useful Group and The Cameron Mackintosh Organisation as being the longest serving ‘Phantom’ of all time with over 2750 credited performances, as announced at the recent ‘Phantom of the Opera’ 25th anniversary celebration at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Other stage credits are as follows.
Peter originated the Che role in ‘Evita’ for the first national tour of Britain.
He played the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables for more than three and a half years at London’s Palace Theatre reprising the same role several years later and then reprising it for a third time after that. He was once again reunited with the role in 1997 taking part in a spectacular open air concert in front of 15 000 people at Cardiff Castle.
Peter was an original member of the cast of Chess, eventually taking over from Murray Head as The American (Freddy Trumper).
Peter’s first West End production was in Ray Cooney’s Fire Angel. This was soon followed by another short lived production called James Dean. He also created the role of John Blackthorn for James Clavell's Shogun in Washington and on Broadway, New York.
One of his all time favourite roles was as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (at the Palace Theatre).
In 2004 he played Daddy Warbucks in Annie. In early 2005 he created the role of the fire-and-brimstone preacher The Reverend Peter Price in the brand new, all Welsh musical Amazing Grace. This was followed in the summer of 2005 with an out of town run as Fagin in a Cameron Mackintosh production of Oliver!
In February 2006 he performed, once again to great critical acclaim, as Don Quixote in the very demanding and complex musical Man of La Mancha at the Cork Opera House. In the summer of 2006 he performed the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. This was followed by a second tour of Amazing Grace, once again playing the stand out role of The Reverend Peter Price.
2007 saw Peter creating yet another role in the brand new musical ‘The Contender’ (A life story of boxing legend Tommy Farr). His role was that of Tommy’s one-legged trainer Joby ‘Peg leg’ Churchill. In 2009 Peter performed in the first UK tour of ‘The Thorn Birds’. Written by Coleen McCullough and based on her sensational blockbuster book and television series of the same name. Peter played the role of Cardinal Di Contini Verchese.
In addition to his theatrical roles Peter has also hosted, for two consecutive years, his own BBC Wales television chat show called ‘Peter Karrie... Unmasked’. He has four CDs on general release – ‘Theatrically Yours’, ‘Peter Karrie – Unmasked’ (live recordings taken from his BBC television series of the same name), ‘The Impossible Dream’ and ’On the Other Side of Love’. All are available on Amazon and iTunes, and can be accessed via Peter's official web site www.peterkarrie.com
Peter is presently recording a new album, entitled ‘Standing Alone’. It’s release date is set for Spring/Summer 2012 and it features an exciting and eclectic mix of ‘The theatrical’ and ‘The modern’ including five self-penned works. He is also working on the exciting musical theatre project for 2013 entitled 'Rasputin'. Further information on the Standing Alone album and Peter's current tour dates and venues can be found at www.peterkarriestandingalone.com
Peter first played The Phantom at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London before going on to play the role in Toronto, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vancouver and the Millennium tour of Great Britain.
His performances have been reviewed as “definitive” and have earned him the title of “The World’s Most Popular Phantom” on two separate occasions (as voted for by The Worldwide Phantom Appreciation Society). Peter has also been acknowledged by The Really Useful Group and The Cameron Mackintosh Organisation as being the longest serving ‘Phantom’ of all time with over 2750 credited performances, as announced at the recent ‘Phantom of the Opera’ 25th anniversary celebration at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Other stage credits are as follows.
Peter originated the Che role in ‘Evita’ for the first national tour of Britain.
He played the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables for more than three and a half years at London’s Palace Theatre reprising the same role several years later and then reprising it for a third time after that. He was once again reunited with the role in 1997 taking part in a spectacular open air concert in front of 15 000 people at Cardiff Castle.
Peter was an original member of the cast of Chess, eventually taking over from Murray Head as The American (Freddy Trumper).
Peter’s first West End production was in Ray Cooney’s Fire Angel. This was soon followed by another short lived production called James Dean. He also created the role of John Blackthorn for James Clavell's Shogun in Washington and on Broadway, New York.
One of his all time favourite roles was as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (at the Palace Theatre).
In 2004 he played Daddy Warbucks in Annie. In early 2005 he created the role of the fire-and-brimstone preacher The Reverend Peter Price in the brand new, all Welsh musical Amazing Grace. This was followed in the summer of 2005 with an out of town run as Fagin in a Cameron Mackintosh production of Oliver!
In February 2006 he performed, once again to great critical acclaim, as Don Quixote in the very demanding and complex musical Man of La Mancha at the Cork Opera House. In the summer of 2006 he performed the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. This was followed by a second tour of Amazing Grace, once again playing the stand out role of The Reverend Peter Price.
2007 saw Peter creating yet another role in the brand new musical ‘The Contender’ (A life story of boxing legend Tommy Farr). His role was that of Tommy’s one-legged trainer Joby ‘Peg leg’ Churchill. In 2009 Peter performed in the first UK tour of ‘The Thorn Birds’. Written by Coleen McCullough and based on her sensational blockbuster book and television series of the same name. Peter played the role of Cardinal Di Contini Verchese.
In addition to his theatrical roles Peter has also hosted, for two consecutive years, his own BBC Wales television chat show called ‘Peter Karrie... Unmasked’. He has four CDs on general release – ‘Theatrically Yours’, ‘Peter Karrie – Unmasked’ (live recordings taken from his BBC television series of the same name), ‘The Impossible Dream’ and ’On the Other Side of Love’. All are available on Amazon and iTunes, and can be accessed via Peter's official web site www.peterkarrie.com
Peter is presently recording a new album, entitled ‘Standing Alone’. It’s release date is set for Spring/Summer 2012 and it features an exciting and eclectic mix of ‘The theatrical’ and ‘The modern’ including five self-penned works. He is also working on the exciting musical theatre project for 2013 entitled 'Rasputin'. Further information on the Standing Alone album and Peter's current tour dates and venues can be found at www.peterkarriestandingalone.com
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MUSICAL THEATRE ROLES (At a glance)
Ø The Phantom - Phantom of The Opera Ø Jean Valjean - Les Miserables Ø Don Quixote - Man of La Mancha Ø Judas - Jesus Christ Superstar Ø Daddy Warbucks - Annie Ø Fagin - Oliver! Ø Tevye - Fiddler On The Roof Ø The American (Freddy Trumper) - Chess Ø John Blackthorn - Shogun (Washington & New York) Ø The Rev Peter Price - Amazing Grace Ø Joby Churchill - Contender Ø Cardinal Di Contini Verchese - The Thorn Birds |
TELEVISION and RADIO
Ø Peter Karrie... Unmasked - BBC Wales Television (prime time chat show series) Ø Karrie on Karrie - BBC Wales Radio (interviewing stars series) Ø Young At Heart - HTV (afternoon chat show series) FURTHER INFORMATION Ø BBC Profile www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/peter-karrie Ø Official Website www.peterkarrie.com Ø Press Reviews www.peterkarrie.com/reviews.html |
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress. Born in Cyprus, she studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, Greece in 1973, where she signed with Minos and simultaneously collaborated with other musical artists and released promotional singles of her own while studying at the University of Athens.
Vissi established herself in the recording industry by winning the Thessaloniki Song Festival in 1978 with the song "As Kanoume Apopse Mian Arhi" and releasing her debut album of the same name. Since the 1980s, Vissi began a nearly exclusive collaboration with songwriter Nikos Karvelas, to whom she was married to from 1983–1992 and had one child with, resulting in one of the most successful music partnerships in the nation's history. Together they created the label CarVi, which resulted in legal issues with EMI Greece, and they then moved to CBS Records Greece, which later became Sony Music Greece.
Over the course of her career she has released over two dozen albums, most of which have been certified at least gold in the two countries and has also starred in three theatrical productions and briefly ventured into television and radio. Vissi experimented with different styles of music; after becoming one of the first Greek artists to introduce Western pop and dance elements into Greek laïko and entehno, she became one of the most prominent portrayers of the laïko-pop hybrid genre and culture that was thriving from the mid 1990s into the mid 2000s. She landed her biggest commercial success with Fotia (1989), followed by the double Kravgi (2000), which became the best-selling album of the 2000s decade and eighth best-selling of all time in terms of units, while five others – Kitrino Galazio (1979), I Epomeni Kinisi (1985), Klima Tropiko (1996), Travma (1997), and Antidoto (1998) – have also achieved six figure sales. She has also had several radio hits, including her signature song "Dodeka". Since the late 1990s, Vissi has also established a career abroad: she struck success with her 2005 single "Call Me", which made her the first Greek or Cypriot artist to top the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart and has also represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980 and 2006, and Cyprus in 1982. Her performance for Cyprus remains the highest placement the country has ever received in the contest.
Through a career that has spanned nearly four decades, Vissi has influenced several of the nation's younger generation of female artists. She has won six Arion Music Awards, 15 Pop Corn Music Awards, and nine MAD Video Music Awards. Vissi has received 32 Platinum and 11 Gold certifications from IFPI Greece and has become one of the country's best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 9.5 million records worldwide and is also one of the country's top earning artists. In 2010, Alpha TV ranked Vissi as the second top-certified female artist in Greece in the phonographic era (since 1960), behind Haris Alexiou, while Forbes listed her as the 15th most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and fourth highest ranked singer
Vissi established herself in the recording industry by winning the Thessaloniki Song Festival in 1978 with the song "As Kanoume Apopse Mian Arhi" and releasing her debut album of the same name. Since the 1980s, Vissi began a nearly exclusive collaboration with songwriter Nikos Karvelas, to whom she was married to from 1983–1992 and had one child with, resulting in one of the most successful music partnerships in the nation's history. Together they created the label CarVi, which resulted in legal issues with EMI Greece, and they then moved to CBS Records Greece, which later became Sony Music Greece.
Over the course of her career she has released over two dozen albums, most of which have been certified at least gold in the two countries and has also starred in three theatrical productions and briefly ventured into television and radio. Vissi experimented with different styles of music; after becoming one of the first Greek artists to introduce Western pop and dance elements into Greek laïko and entehno, she became one of the most prominent portrayers of the laïko-pop hybrid genre and culture that was thriving from the mid 1990s into the mid 2000s. She landed her biggest commercial success with Fotia (1989), followed by the double Kravgi (2000), which became the best-selling album of the 2000s decade and eighth best-selling of all time in terms of units, while five others – Kitrino Galazio (1979), I Epomeni Kinisi (1985), Klima Tropiko (1996), Travma (1997), and Antidoto (1998) – have also achieved six figure sales. She has also had several radio hits, including her signature song "Dodeka". Since the late 1990s, Vissi has also established a career abroad: she struck success with her 2005 single "Call Me", which made her the first Greek or Cypriot artist to top the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart and has also represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980 and 2006, and Cyprus in 1982. Her performance for Cyprus remains the highest placement the country has ever received in the contest.
Through a career that has spanned nearly four decades, Vissi has influenced several of the nation's younger generation of female artists. She has won six Arion Music Awards, 15 Pop Corn Music Awards, and nine MAD Video Music Awards. Vissi has received 32 Platinum and 11 Gold certifications from IFPI Greece and has become one of the country's best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 9.5 million records worldwide and is also one of the country's top earning artists. In 2010, Alpha TV ranked Vissi as the second top-certified female artist in Greece in the phonographic era (since 1960), behind Haris Alexiou, while Forbes listed her as the 15th most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and fourth highest ranked singer
Nikos Karvelas
Nikos Karvelas is a Greek songwriter, producer and singer. He has sold millions of records as a producer and is most recognizable for his three-decade-long collaboration with Anna Vissi, while some of his other well-known collaborations include Tolis Voskopoulos and Sakis Rouvas. Karvelas has released multiple personal studio albums that have had mild to big success.
Karvelas was born in Piraeus. When he was 5 years old, his parents bought him his first piano. He started to play popular songs and composed his first melodies. During the 1970s, he studied the law in the University of Athens. Karvelas created his first rock band influenced by famous rock bands like the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He started to become known at the end of the 1970s. In the beginning of the 1980s, Karvelas met his muse, Vissi, and a few years later, in 1983 they got married. Vissi has claimed that the first impression she had when she met Karvelas was a "hairy thing," but she was amazed by his talent and his sex appeal.
Karvelas' career as a singer started in 1985 when he released his first studio album under CBS Records Greece, San Diskos Palios (Like An Old Record) making two big hits, Despina and Kalokairines Diakopes (Summer Holidays). The album sold over 50,000 copies and became gold. In 1987, he released his second album Ola i Tipota (All or Nothing) and it became platinum. Next year, he released his third album, Dimosies Scheseis (Public Relations) and in 1989 he released his fourth album, "Tsouzi." His fifth step came out in 1990and tended to be his "lucky" album. It was called Diavolaki (Little Devil) and became gold. The top hit of the album was Antistrofi Metrisi (Final Countdown), a duet with Vissi.
Karvelas was born in Piraeus. When he was 5 years old, his parents bought him his first piano. He started to play popular songs and composed his first melodies. During the 1970s, he studied the law in the University of Athens. Karvelas created his first rock band influenced by famous rock bands like the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He started to become known at the end of the 1970s. In the beginning of the 1980s, Karvelas met his muse, Vissi, and a few years later, in 1983 they got married. Vissi has claimed that the first impression she had when she met Karvelas was a "hairy thing," but she was amazed by his talent and his sex appeal.
Karvelas' career as a singer started in 1985 when he released his first studio album under CBS Records Greece, San Diskos Palios (Like An Old Record) making two big hits, Despina and Kalokairines Diakopes (Summer Holidays). The album sold over 50,000 copies and became gold. In 1987, he released his second album Ola i Tipota (All or Nothing) and it became platinum. Next year, he released his third album, Dimosies Scheseis (Public Relations) and in 1989 he released his fourth album, "Tsouzi." His fifth step came out in 1990and tended to be his "lucky" album. It was called Diavolaki (Little Devil) and became gold. The top hit of the album was Antistrofi Metrisi (Final Countdown), a duet with Vissi.
Yannis Parios
Yannis Parios was born on the island of Paros. He made his first appearance as a singer in 1969. At that time no one could have imagined that his voice would one day become the most perfect expression of the word “love”.
Any attempt to analyse the “Parios Phenomenon”, his enormous appeal to the public and the hundreds of thousands of record sales (all his releases have won both gold and platinum discs), will show that his success is the result of his constant search for lyrics and music which contribute to his own growth as an artist, which promote his art and which will stand the test of time. Most of Yannis Parios’ time is spent on his work, which he approaches with dedication and respect.
His great talent, then, in conjunction with these factors explains why Parios has managed to break new ground in the love song, to gain the recognition of the general public and to have his songs on everyone’s lips. His popularity is constantly increasing and Parios is one of the very few singers who does not need a constant string of hit recordings to maintain his fame.
“Whenever a song is born”, says Yannis Parios - and this is one of his most deep-seated beliefs - ”and wherever it is sung (in France, Italy, or anywhere else), it belongs to everyone. That, really, is the reason why music exists: so that it cannot be fenced in by frontiers”.
With that consideration in mind, Yannis Parios was the first Greek singer to perform Alain Barriere’s song “Tu t’en vas” with Greek lyrics. Under its new title “Tora pia”; the song was a gigantic hit, on an unprecedented scale for the time, and it marked the beginning of a new age in which many Greek singers adapted “foreign” melodies to Greek lyrics.
Yannis Parios has worked with many of the leading Greek composers, including Greek composers, including Manos Loizos, Yorgos Hadzinasios, Stavros Xarchakos, Stamatis Spanoudakis, Yorgos Katsaros, Marios Tokas, Yannis Spanos and Alaxis Papadimitriou. He writes lyrics of his own, and often composes music, too. Quite a number of his songs have been translated and sung abroad. One of his releases holds the record for Greek sales: this was the album “Nisiotika”, released in 1982 and consisting of a collection of songs of the Aegean islands which, as an islander himself, he learnt and first sang in childhood.
Yannis Parios does not confine his appearances to Greece: he has sung at the Albert Hall, the Carnegie Hall and the largest theatres in Canada and Australia. He has also appeared on radio and TV programs with very high viewing and listening rates
Any attempt to analyse the “Parios Phenomenon”, his enormous appeal to the public and the hundreds of thousands of record sales (all his releases have won both gold and platinum discs), will show that his success is the result of his constant search for lyrics and music which contribute to his own growth as an artist, which promote his art and which will stand the test of time. Most of Yannis Parios’ time is spent on his work, which he approaches with dedication and respect.
His great talent, then, in conjunction with these factors explains why Parios has managed to break new ground in the love song, to gain the recognition of the general public and to have his songs on everyone’s lips. His popularity is constantly increasing and Parios is one of the very few singers who does not need a constant string of hit recordings to maintain his fame.
“Whenever a song is born”, says Yannis Parios - and this is one of his most deep-seated beliefs - ”and wherever it is sung (in France, Italy, or anywhere else), it belongs to everyone. That, really, is the reason why music exists: so that it cannot be fenced in by frontiers”.
With that consideration in mind, Yannis Parios was the first Greek singer to perform Alain Barriere’s song “Tu t’en vas” with Greek lyrics. Under its new title “Tora pia”; the song was a gigantic hit, on an unprecedented scale for the time, and it marked the beginning of a new age in which many Greek singers adapted “foreign” melodies to Greek lyrics.
Yannis Parios has worked with many of the leading Greek composers, including Greek composers, including Manos Loizos, Yorgos Hadzinasios, Stavros Xarchakos, Stamatis Spanoudakis, Yorgos Katsaros, Marios Tokas, Yannis Spanos and Alaxis Papadimitriou. He writes lyrics of his own, and often composes music, too. Quite a number of his songs have been translated and sung abroad. One of his releases holds the record for Greek sales: this was the album “Nisiotika”, released in 1982 and consisting of a collection of songs of the Aegean islands which, as an islander himself, he learnt and first sang in childhood.
Yannis Parios does not confine his appearances to Greece: he has sung at the Albert Hall, the Carnegie Hall and the largest theatres in Canada and Australia. He has also appeared on radio and TV programs with very high viewing and listening rates
Mario Frangoulis
Mario Frangoulis is a tenor of the 21st century, with the ability to
sing everything from a hard-rock anthem to an operatic aria. Frangoulis was born in Africa —
in colonial Rhodesia, as it was becoming the nation of Zimbabwe — and
survived a childhood marked by hardships. At the age of four, his mother
found a home for him with her sister in Greece, at a time when the
political situation in Africa was explosive and dangerous. Raised by his
aunt in Greece and separated from his beloved older brother, Mario was
surrounded with a large extended family, but still felt the loneliness
of being a child without his parents. Today, he speaks fondly of both
sets of parents and the feeling for music they instilled in him.
He studied the violin and even composed a bit when he was a boy. At the age of 17, he was sent to London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study acting. While at Guildhall, he was discovered by Cameron Macintosh who immediately hired him upon his graduation as 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.
However, it was also in his days at Guildhall that Mario discovered the operatic side of his tenor voice. He won the Maria Callas Prize, which he auditioned for simply because a friend (who realized he had a tenor voice) encouraged him. Juggling this newfound opportunity in opera with an emerging stage career was a challenge, but nonetheless, he found himself on a path to Italy to study opera with Carlo Bergonzi.
Under the mentorship of the legendary Marilyn Horne, Frangoulis went to Rome to audition for the acclaimed tenor Alfredo Kraus who was performing with Nicola Rescigno (Maria Callas’s favorite conductor). Both were impressed. Mario became the only private student the late Kraus ever accepted. As a result, Frangoulis travelled all over the world with Kraus while he performed. This intensive training cultivated Frangoulis’ solid vocal technique, and good high notes, both hallmarks of Kraus's style. He then continued his studies at the Julliard School in New York, under the guidance of Dodi Protero, solidifying his skill as a vocalist and trained musician.
Despite his intensive training, Frangoulis is anything but a conventional operatic singer. He won the role of Tony in West Side Story in its first performances at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. He has appeared in films and on television, in concerts and even in epic presentations of Greek tragedies. In his native Greece, Mario has been acclaimed in everything from the role of high-school hero Danny Zuko in Grease to a production of Aristophanes' The Birds featuring the songs of Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis (the Oscar-winning composer of "Never On Sunday") in the ancient amphitheater at Epidaurus. As an actor, Mario has played leading roles in King Lear, The Bacchae and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and he created the title role in Kit Hesketh-Harvey and James Mackonnell's Yusupov. More recently, he played the role of Alfred Drake from Kiss Me Kate in the film De Lovely, performing the song “So In Love” with Lara Fabian.
The tenor signed with Sony Classical New York in 1999 and has since then had a parallel recording career of his international releases and Greek albums with Sony Classical Greece. His first personal album Fengari Erotevmeno became triple platinum in Greece and in 2002 marked the release of his first international album Sometimes I Dream followed by Follow Your Heart in 2004.
Other recordings by Mario include Live at Iera Odos with George Dalaras, The Garden of Wishes, Music of the Night, Amor Oscuro and his latest album Passione – A Tribute to Mario Lanza, with several new projects underway.
Frangoulis’ live performances are a true reflection of his persona as an artist: diverse and far reaching. He is able because of his vocal and theatre training to reach across boundaries and touch his audiences through language (singing in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Greek), musical style (opera, pop, rock, folk, world), and impeccable interpretation. As a result, he has successfully performed in events such as the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics 2004 in Athens, and has collaborated with many artists ranging from Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Monserrat Caballé and Hayley Westenra, to Jim Brickman, Justin Hayward, Lara Fabian, Lucio Dalla, Alejandro Fernandez, and many more.
He studied the violin and even composed a bit when he was a boy. At the age of 17, he was sent to London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study acting. While at Guildhall, he was discovered by Cameron Macintosh who immediately hired him upon his graduation as 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.
However, it was also in his days at Guildhall that Mario discovered the operatic side of his tenor voice. He won the Maria Callas Prize, which he auditioned for simply because a friend (who realized he had a tenor voice) encouraged him. Juggling this newfound opportunity in opera with an emerging stage career was a challenge, but nonetheless, he found himself on a path to Italy to study opera with Carlo Bergonzi.
Under the mentorship of the legendary Marilyn Horne, Frangoulis went to Rome to audition for the acclaimed tenor Alfredo Kraus who was performing with Nicola Rescigno (Maria Callas’s favorite conductor). Both were impressed. Mario became the only private student the late Kraus ever accepted. As a result, Frangoulis travelled all over the world with Kraus while he performed. This intensive training cultivated Frangoulis’ solid vocal technique, and good high notes, both hallmarks of Kraus's style. He then continued his studies at the Julliard School in New York, under the guidance of Dodi Protero, solidifying his skill as a vocalist and trained musician.
Despite his intensive training, Frangoulis is anything but a conventional operatic singer. He won the role of Tony in West Side Story in its first performances at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. He has appeared in films and on television, in concerts and even in epic presentations of Greek tragedies. In his native Greece, Mario has been acclaimed in everything from the role of high-school hero Danny Zuko in Grease to a production of Aristophanes' The Birds featuring the songs of Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis (the Oscar-winning composer of "Never On Sunday") in the ancient amphitheater at Epidaurus. As an actor, Mario has played leading roles in King Lear, The Bacchae and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and he created the title role in Kit Hesketh-Harvey and James Mackonnell's Yusupov. More recently, he played the role of Alfred Drake from Kiss Me Kate in the film De Lovely, performing the song “So In Love” with Lara Fabian.
The tenor signed with Sony Classical New York in 1999 and has since then had a parallel recording career of his international releases and Greek albums with Sony Classical Greece. His first personal album Fengari Erotevmeno became triple platinum in Greece and in 2002 marked the release of his first international album Sometimes I Dream followed by Follow Your Heart in 2004.
Other recordings by Mario include Live at Iera Odos with George Dalaras, The Garden of Wishes, Music of the Night, Amor Oscuro and his latest album Passione – A Tribute to Mario Lanza, with several new projects underway.
Frangoulis’ live performances are a true reflection of his persona as an artist: diverse and far reaching. He is able because of his vocal and theatre training to reach across boundaries and touch his audiences through language (singing in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Greek), musical style (opera, pop, rock, folk, world), and impeccable interpretation. As a result, he has successfully performed in events such as the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics 2004 in Athens, and has collaborated with many artists ranging from Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Monserrat Caballé and Hayley Westenra, to Jim Brickman, Justin Hayward, Lara Fabian, Lucio Dalla, Alejandro Fernandez, and many more.
Further information on other various aspects of the 2012 Crete International Festival of the Arts, including the host of additional international performers supporting the event, can be found by clicking on the links below: