Album Review - Bring Him Home by Alfie Boe

Despite having performed on Broadway and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and having a hugely successful operatic career it seems that the name of Alfie Boe only really burst onto the scene following his spectacular performance as Jean Valjean in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables at London’s O2 arena in 2010.

Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, more commonly known as Alfie Boe, was born 1973 in Fleetwood Lancashire, the youngest of nine children and counts some of his earliest memories as listening to his father’s Richard Tauber records. He joined an amateur dramatic society at the age of 14 and performed the song Bring Him Home from Les Miserables as his first solo piece. At the age of 17 he became an apprentice mechanic at the TVR factory in Blackpool and would enjoying singing opera arias to his colleagues whilst polishing cars. It was whilst in this job that he was overheard by a customer who had connections in the music industry and suggested that Alfie audition for the D’Oyley Cart Opera Company. The audition was a success and Alfie left his job to embark on a music career. He studied at the Royal College of Music and in 2002 was approached by Baz Luhrmann to play the lead role in the Broadway production of La Boheme.

His first album Classic FM presents Alfie Boe was released in 2006 and since then he has gone on to appear in numerous opera productions, be nominated for two Classical Brit Awards and perform for Royalty. In 2007, he was appointed as an ambassador of The Prince of Wales Arts and Kids Foundation, a British educational charity working to inspire and educate children by introducing them to the arts. Alfie's role being to bring music, and opera in particular for those children involved.

In October 2010 he performed the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables alongside a cast of Musical Theatre’s leading performers at the O2 arena. His rendition of Bring Him Home earned him a standing ovation which went on for several minutes – something which I’ve heard has never happened midway through a performance in the whole 25yrs that Les Mis has been performed. He became part of musical theatre history when as an encore he performed with the Valjean quartet (Simon Bowman, John OwenJones and Colm Wilkinson all who had previously played the role of John Valjean in the UK) the most incredible arrangement of Bring Him Home which has subsequently been released as a charity single.

On December 27th 2010, he released his new album under the title of the track that had catapulted his recent success Bring Him Home. It is an album comprising of many well known and much loved songs from the world of musical theatre including Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific, Come What May from Moulin Rouge (featuring Kerry Ellis) and On the Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady.

The choice of songs is interesting as although they will be familiar to many, they are not songs that have been sung to death by other performers. They are also all songs that have a particular significance and meaning to Alfie which I think adds to the feel and overall emotion of each piece.

I have to say that I have been a fan of Alfie’s for quite a few years now. I have met him on several occasions and am always struck by how genuine, sincere and humble he is. He has to be one of the nicest performers I have ever met. He has a great sense of humour, interacts well with his audience and always takes the time after a performance to meet his fans. His voice is quite distinctive in that it appears to be gentle and melodious, full of emotion and passion but it is also very powerful and evocative. There are times when he sings, that he will pitch just one note with such perfection that it strikes a chord deep into the heart of the listener creating a truly magical moment.

His choice of songs on this album therefore is ideal as they allow him to portray all of these characteristics in his voice and for the listener; it is easy to get caught up in the mood of the piece.

The album is so varied in its style of songs that it has something which will appeal to everyone. There are songs from children’s musicals such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, there are the romantic ballads such as Come What May from Moulin Rouge and Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific and there are the more poignant ballads such as Tell Me It’s Not True from Blood Brothers. Each sung with emotion which really highlights the beauty of the music and lyrics.

There are so many wonderful songs on the album that it would be hard to pick just one favourite and indeed every time I listen to the album I find a different track that I enjoy. Each song is beautiful in its own way and listeners will find that they can connect to the songs in different ways as each will have special meanings to them. However, I will say that after seeing Les Miserables three times this year (once with Simon Bowman, once with John OwenJones and at the O2 with Alfie Boe) my favourite song is Bring Him Home. This is a hauntingly beautiful piece which is overwhelming in emotion I confess I cannot listen to it without being overcome, it is simply sublime. Seeing Alfie perform this at the O2 had to be the highlight of my year.He performed with such feeling and yet so naturally that the whole piece was incredibly heart wrenching.I think he should now have shares in Kleenex as I doubt there was a dry eye in the O2 after his performance.
 

One thing is for sure, this CD will bring many hours of listening pleasure and will delight both old and young alike. Pick up your copy and Bring Him Home today – you will not be disappointed!
 

For more information on Alfie Boe including upcoming performances in the UK and USA – visit his official website http://www.alfieboeuk.com/ or follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/AlfieBoe