Russell Watson Anniversary Tour
Singing sensation Russell Watson will be on tour in Autumn 2021, celebrating over 20 years since his debut album ‘The Voice’ was released.
‘The Voice’ entered the Official Classical Artist Album Chart at No 1, becoming the biggest selling classical album of 2000 and establishing the tenor as one of the Britain’s most popular classical stars. In a very special concert, Russell will perform some of his most loved songs and career highlights from the past two decades.
Commenting on the tour, Russell Watson said: ‘I can’t believe that next year will be over 21 years since my debut album The Voice reached Number 1! All of you made this and everything that followed possible and I am thankful to be able to celebrate with you on my Autumn 2021 tour!’
Russell’s rise is the stuff of fairytale, a movie script in-the-making that saw the former bolt-cutter and working mens’ club act top charts both at home and abroad, perform for Popes and Presidents and open global sporting events from Champions League and Rugby Cup Finals to the Commonwealth Games. Single-handedly, the People’s Tenor, as he was dubbed, created classical-pop crossover, a genre that hasn’t stopped snowballing since.
Favourite pieces to be performed include Caruso, O Sole Mio, Il Gladiatore, You Are So Beautiful, Someone to remember me, Where My Heart Will Take Me.
He said: ‘There were the obvious ones that had to be in there, those ones the fans always demand, like Nessun Dorma and Volare. They made it straight onto the record. Another easy choice was Where My Heart Will Take Me, the theme from Star Trek: Enterprise. That was such a career highlight for me, to be asked to sing something that’s going to go down in history forever. I watched Star Trek as a kid, so it was a real shock that out of all the artists in the world, Paramount chose me to do that. I’ve always been very proud to have been involved with that. The album kind of chose itself, though there are still a few that maybe could have been there too, such as You Raise Me Up.’
In deciding to make new recordings of the classics instead of just releasing a greatest hits album, Russell and producer Ian Tilley had to decide whether to rework the tracks or not, which was more complex than it seemed.
Russell said: ‘It was on my mind. Some tracks were definitely approached differently. Where My Heart Will Take Me for example, we completely rewrote that into a ballad. I’m so pleased with how that turned out, versus the old version which is very ‘80s rock in its approach, like a Rod Stewart track or something. We’ve brought that into a more modern sounding piece, it’s less of a statement and more reflective. Tracks like Volare and ‘O Sole Mio were changed more subtly, just in terms of tempo and rhythm, which worked really nicely. You don’t mess with the core classical tracks like Nessun Dorma, though, you don’t start rewriting Puccini.’
Tour dates
19 Sep 21 Woking New Victoria Theatre
22 Sep 21 Milton Keynes Milton Keynes Theatre
20 Oct 21 Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
22 Oct 21 Shrewsbury Severn Theatre
24 Oct 21 Leicester De Monfort Hall
28 Oct 21 Cheltenham Town Hall
29 Oct 21 Cardiff St David’s Hall
31 Oct 21 Buxton Opera House
2 Nov 21 Harrogate Royal Hall
5 Nov 21 Basingstoke Anvil
7 Nov 21 York Barbican
14 Nov 21 Birmingham Symphony Hall
17 Nov 21 Hull Bonus Arena
21 Nov 21 Crewe Lyceum
25 Nov 21 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
26 Nov 21 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
28 Nov 21 Southend Cliffs Pavilion
30 Nov 21 High Wycombe Swan Theatre
14 Jan 22 Wolverhampton Grand Theatre