Mario Frangoulis - A Tenor and his Music

Mario Frangoulis was born in Rhodesia in the heart of Africa and now has a place in the heart of all those who appreciate his beautiful perfect tenor voice. At the age of four he was taken to Greece where he was brought up by his Aunt. He studied music and developed into one of the most loved Greek tenors of international acclaim.

Mario Frangoulis is far from being a conventional operatic singer. Although he has a superb tenor voice, he easily crosses over from classical to pop and rock songs. He became famous internationally before he became the darling of Greece his native country. 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 had such diverse roles as high-school hero Danny Zuko in Grease to a production of Aristophanes' The Birds featuring the songs of Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis who was the Oscar winning composer of the music for the film Never On Sunday. This was played in the ancient amphitheatre at Epidaurus. As an actor, Mario has played leading roles in King Lear, The Bacchae andA 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.

Mario Frangoulis was born in Africa in Rhodesia, just as it was becoming the new nation of Zimbabwe. He hard a hard childhood and at the age of four, his mother found a home for him with her sister in Greece. The political situation in Africa was explosive and dangerous for many years so he couldn’t go back and was 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 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 encouraged him. Juggling this new found 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.

Frangoulis went to Rome under the mentorship of the legendary Marilyn Horne to audition for the acclaimed tenor Alfredo Kraus who was performing with Nicola Rescigno. Both were impressed. Mario became the only private student of the late Alfredo Kraus had ever accepted. As a result, Frangoulis travelled all over the world with Kraus while he performed. He then continued his studies at the JulliardSchool in New York, under the direction of Dodi Protero, solidifying his skill as a vocalist and trained musician.

Mario Frangoulis is far from being a conventional operatic singer. Although he has a superb tenor voice, he easily crosses over from classical to pop and rock songs. He became famous internationally before he became the darling of Greece his native country. 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 had such diverse roles as high-school hero Danny Zuko in Grease to a production of Aristophanes 'The Birds' featuring the songs of Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis who was the Oscar winning composer of the music for the film Never On Sunday. This was played 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 McConnell'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.

His numerous albums include:

Fengari Erotevmeno

Sometimes I Dream

Follow Your Heart

Live at Iera Odos

The Garden of Wishes

Music of the Night

Amor Oscuro

Passione – A Tribute to Mario Lanza

In his live performances Mario Frangoulis truly reflects the scope of his diverse and expansive artistry. Due to his vocal and theater training he is able to reach across boundaries and touch his audiences through singing in English, Spanish, French, Italian or Greek, through musical style such as opera, pop, rock, folk, and international. As a result, he is able and has collaborated with many world famous artists including Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Monserrat Caballé and Hayley Westenra, Jim Brickman, Justin Hayward, Lara Fabian, Lucio Dalla, Alejandro Fernandez, Deborah Myers, Sarah Brightman and many more.

Most recently, he has recorded the Randy Newman song “Feels Like Home” on a major compilation CD called Give Us Your Poor with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Bonnie Raitt and others in support of this significant education and awareness project to end homelessness.

Finally, in March, 2008 he was invited by Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams to be her official Global Ambassador for Peace for the World Centers of Compassion for Children International, partnering with her and many other Nobel Peace Laureates on a global education and awareness campaign to take children and their families out of refugee camps and war-torn countries to violence free zones all over the world.