Anthony Warlow

Anthony Warlow (born November 18, 1961) in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, is an Australian star of opera and musical theatre. Notable musical roles include lead roles in The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden (as Archibald Craven), Annie, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady (as "Henry Higgins"), Jekyll and Hyde (recording only), and Man of La Mancha, as well as a significant supporting role in Les Misérables (as "Enjolras"). His portrayal of the Phantom of the Opera (in the first Australian production, ca. 1990), a demanding role, vocally, dramatically and physically, is regarded as being among the finest in the world. Critics have been quoted as noting his was the only performance to rival Michael Crawford's (the original Phantom in the West End and on Broadway) legendary interpretation of the role. At 29 years old, he became the youngest actor to hold the role, a distinction he holds to this day. In October 2006, it was announced that Anthony will return to the role of the Phantom in the July 2007 production to be launched in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. [1] His opera roles include major roles in Die Fledermaus (as "Gabriel Eisenstein"), The Magic Flute (as "Papageno"), and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Anthony Warlow was the youngest baritone ever to play the role of "Papageno", a role which he played for the first time at the age of 21. His Gilbert and Sullivan roles for Opera Australia include the featured comedic role in The Mikado (as "Ko-Ko") in 2004, as well as appearing in major roles in the 1996 production of Patience (as "Archibald Grosvenor") and in the 2005 double-bill of Trial by Jury (as the "Learned Judge") and H.M.S. Pinafore (as "Captain Corcoran"). Apart from The Mikado, these the Gilbert and Sullivan productions are available on DVD. Warlow is currently appearing in the Opera Australia production of "The Pirates of Penzance" (another popular Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera), in which he is appearing in the role of the "Pirate King" - with performances during 2006 in Sydney, New South Wales (at the Sydney Opera House), in Canberra, A.C.T. and in Brisbane, Queensland (at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre). During 2007 he will return to the role in Melbourne, Victoria. In the opera production, Anthony Warlow looks very much like Captain Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean". Anthony Warlow said, in an press interview in Brisbane, that he had deliberately based his Pirate King character on the Pirate Captain from "Pirates of the Caribbean" - commenting that people, who did not know the opera, recognised the Pirate character he portrayed, and also recognised the gestures he used, which were also based on the Pirate Captain from the movie - and that this recognition might help people (who knew the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, but not "The Pirates of Penzance" opera), enjoy the opera more [2]. Also appearing in the production are David Hobson (as "Frederic"), and Suzanne Johnston (as "Ruth"). This production of "The Pirates of Penzance", with Anthony Warlow as the Pirate King, was shown on television, by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, on Saturday night 9 December, 2006 - followed by a comment that a DVD of the production (just seen) had now been released (the opera was filmed during a live performance at the Sydney Opera House). There was also a comment that Anthony Warlow would be back on television, in a concert performance, on the night of 24 December (the concert will also be shown by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Anthony Warlow was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1992, during the early publicity for the arena production of Jesus Christ Superstar where he was to appear as Pilate. This forced him to put his career on hold for about a year while he battled the disease. He returned to performance in the second half of 1993 with a national concert tour for the launch of his Back In The Swing album. He has since done promotional work for the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia. His 4th solo album, Midnight Dreaming, made it to the top ten of the Australian Aria Charts. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.