Ernesto Tomasini

Tomasini at a party

Ernesto Tomasini (born May 15, 1968 in Palermo , Italy ) is an Italian actor, singer and author living in Great Britain . Tomasini has now had a twenty-year stage career and has been making a name for himself in recent years with his excursions into contemporary music.

Early performances

Tomasini has been active in the Italian theater scene since he was sixteen , which includes renowned theaters as well as cabaret . The anecdote was he in Palermo as a child for his soprano - arias known that he sang in the streets and among friends, to the owner of a small Hafenkneipe him asked to appear at his club. During his teenage years, Ernesto performed numerous skits and songs (mainly from musicals by the English icon Julie Andrews ) in clubs and on small cabaret stages. He kept his theater activities a secret from his parents for a long time, and his mother found out about her son's career quite late in the press.

Stage career

As he developed his talents more and more, he found his way into more exclusive theater clubs, until he finally played and sang on famous stages in Italy alongside internationally recognized stars. One of the first career highlights was his role in Franz Xaver Kroetz "The Christmas Death". Despite his success in the theater, he never lost touch with cabaret. For Italian television he worked with comedians like Nino Frassica , and in 1992 he was awarded a prize for his character designs for the TV show Scuola di Cabaret. In the mid-1990s, Tomasini, who had previously been trained as an autodidact, went to Great Britain, where he studied acting at the Arts Educational London School. At the same time he pursued his career there, playing on Westend stages as well as in experimental off-beat theaters. An avant-garde comedian and cabaret artist, he has performed in theaters, museums and nightclubs in twelve countries and worked with artists such as composer Stephen Montague and performer Ron Athey .

After Tomasini had already made experiences with his own small productions in the late 1990s (such as the musical The Other Woman), he increasingly concentrated on his own shows in the new millennium. His first major success was the show True or Falsetto ?, written by Time Out critic Lucy Powell based on Tomasini's designs. A Secret History of the Castrati, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival, later performed in London and went on an international tour. This was followed by a play written by Tomasini himself, The Veiled Screen: A Secret History of Hollywood! which was sponsored by the English Art Council. Tomasini's style is often described as a dark, operatic mixture of Italian cabaret, avant-garde performance art and thoughtful variety.

music

In the past few years Tomasini has lent his voice to a variety of experimental music projects. Characteristic of Tomasini's singing style is his often unpredictable change from bass to baritone to falsetto , which, together with his androgynous outfit and ecstatic choreography, is often described as eccentric. Comparisons with Klaus Nomi and Carmelo Bene , whom he also describes as an influence, are often drawn.

In recent years, Tomasini has worked frequently with the Greek composer and pianist OTHON , who regards him as his muse and who has written numerous songs for Tomasini's voice. The first result is the CD "Digital Angel", released in 2008, on which Tomasini sings a number of songs with piano accompaniment (along with other pieces with Marc Almond and David Tibet from the band Current 93 ). The duo has performed as Othon & Tomasini in numerous European concert halls, theaters and churches. You play at fashion shows and have a song for the soundtrack of Bruce LaBruce's zombie film Otto; or, Up with Dead People. In 2007 Tomasini released the album Canes Venatici with Turin bassist Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo (from the post-rock band Larsen), which puts his voice in a raw musical context. Tomasini has a great affinity for types of music beyond opera, musicals and cabaret. This includes post-punk and metal as well as experimental sound collages. When performing live, Tomasini already interprets songs by bands such as Venom and Judas Priest . His collaborators from the experimental camp include Andrew Liles (known from his work with Nurse With Wound ) and Peter Christopherson (including Throbbing Gristle and Coil ). With the latter and his band The Threshold HouseBoys Choir, he recorded a new soundtrack for Derek Jarman's 1985 film The Angelic Conversation with OTHON, David Tibet and Ivan Pavlov , the original score of which was by Coil. The new setting took place in the Ambrosio Cinema in Turin in honor of the coil singer John Balance , who died in 2004 . At a Current 93 appearance in London's Queen Elisabeth Hall , Tomasini made a guest appearance alongside Marc Almond and Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons .

Discography

Black Widow (2007, part of the Vortex Vault series by Andrew Liles)
Black Sea (2007, part of the Vortex Vault series by Andrew Liles)
When I Leave You (single, 2007, with OTHON)
Canes Venatici (2007, with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
Otto; or, Up With Dead People (2008, with OTHON contribution to the soundtrack)
Digital Angel (2008, with OTHON)
The Hunting Dogs of Boötes the Heardsman (2010, with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
Last Night I Paid To Close My Eyes (single, 2011, with Othon and Marc Almond)
Impermanence, Cherry Red / SFE (2011, with Othon, Marc Almond and Camille O'Sullivan)
Impermanence, Cherry Red / SFE (single, 2012, with Othon)
Düde, Tin Angel Records (album, 2012, with XXL)
Messier Objects, Tourette Records (2013 album, with Almagest!)
L'Enfant et le Ménure, Lizard Records (album, 2013, with InSonar)
Dawn Yet To Come, Cherry Red / SFE (single, 2014)
Pineal, Cherry Red / SFE (album, 2014)
Devotional Songs, Honest Jon (album, 2016)
Madame E, Undogmatic (album, 2017)

Theater, musical theater, variety and performance

The LA Italian Revue (Variety - 1984, USA)
The Victoria Series (Cabaret - 1988/93, I)
Morte nella notte di Natale (Piece - 1988, I)
Ballarò (piece - 1989, I)
Support for Nino Frassica (Cabaret - 1991, I)
Nasci lu iornu (Musical - 1993, I)
Volti Lunari (piece - 1994, UK)
Reunion in Genthin (piece - 1995, UK)
Grand Hotel - The Musical (Musical - 1995, UK)
The Tempest (Piece - 1995, UK)
Varietè (Operetta - 1996/97, UK)
The Lenny Beige Show (Variety - 1998, UK)
The Other Woman (Musical - 1998/99, UK)
The Conquering Hero of Seville (Piece - 1999, UK)
The Amazing Tomasini (Cabaret - 2001, UK)
Mr China's Son (multimedia musical theater - 2002, UK)
True or Falsetto? A Secret History of the Castrati (Musical / Monodrama - 2002–2007, UK + world tour)
The Englishman Sits in a Caravan at St Osyth / Singing (Opera - 2003, UK)
Cabaret - The Musical (Musical - 2003, UK)
Chicago - The Musical (Musical - 2004/05, UK)
The Veiled Screen: A Secret History of Hollywood ( Musical / Monodrama - 2005/06, UK)
Stars Fall From Heaven (Performance - 2006, UK)
Camurrìa! (Musical - 2008, UK)
The History of Ecstasy (Performance - 2009, I)
Tomasini / Macabra Trans4Leben, London (Performance - 2011, D)
Lascia o raddoppia? (Performance - 2011, UK)
Petit Cheval Blanc (Piece - 2013, India)
Aida (Musical - 2014, I)
Mamma Schiavona (piece with music - 2014, I)

Radio, TV, film

Premio Anna Magnani (RAI 3, TV - 1990, I)
Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4 - 1998, UK)
Outlook (BBC World Radio - 2002)
Thunderpants (Pathè, film - 2002, UK)
Walking the Outer Road (Radio New Zealand - 2003, NZ)
Crowded Skies (BBC2, TV - 2003, UK)
Dream Team (Sky, TV - 2004, UK)
The Bottle Factory Outing (BBC Radio 4 - 2005, UK)
Children of Men (Universal Pictures, film - 2006, USA)
Siglo 21 (Radio 3 Nacional de España - 2007, E)
Otto; or, Up with Dead People (Soundtrack - 2008, D)
The Angelic Conversation with The Threshold HouseBoys Choir in Turin (Live-Soundtrack - 2008, I)
Othon & Tomasini en vivo a la Bienal de Zamora (Radio Nacional de España - 2009, E)
Forget Me Not (Quicksilver Films, film - 2010, UK)
Carne cruda (Othon & Tomasini en vivo y entrevista) (Radio Nacional de España - 2010, E)
Last Night I Paid To Close My Eyes (music video - Cherry Red / SFE - 2011, UK / Dm)
Impermanence (music video - Cherry Red / SFE - 2012, UK / Dm)
Heavenly Voices - Farinelli's Legacy (Tico Films - 2013, I / UK / Au / Gr)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Tomasini, Ernesto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian actor, singer and author
DATE OF BIRTH	May 15, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH	Palermo