Listen and weep

Porn, weed and a wooden park bench: Alfie Boe's big break, from London streetlife to stardom

Identifying a classically-trained singer isn't rocket science. Listen for the way they intone when they speak, check out the scarf — even in warm weather — and the required water bottle for hydration. That's nothing like Alfie Boe, the British tenor who spellbound audiences on Broadway with his tender Jean Valjean and his passionate Rodolfo.

In his story, that water bottle was alcohol, his roommates were potheads and internet porn addicts and his bed was a wooden bench in Hyde Park. Typical student life while at the Royal College of Music? Rather unlikely. But so is his fame. He has sung alongside Renée Fleming and for Queen Elizabeth II, performed on the most prestigious stages, recorded albums, filmed DVDs and even penned a book.

Boe, who's set to performed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Wortham Theater Center, took a brief respite from his busy schedule to chat with CultureMap via phone from London. En route to the U.S. for a concert tour, Boe spoke to us about his family, his journey and what audiences can expect at his performance.

CultureMap: Not to quote a song from Les Misérables — admittedly I can't help myself — but the life you dreamed to dream — unlike the character of Fantine — became real for you. Was there a moment in your career when you breathed a sigh of relief knowing that you had made it?

Alfie Boe: I don't think that, as an artist, you can ever really say that you've made it, that you have arrived. If you say that you've made it, I think it signals that you're settled and you don't have anywhere else to go or room to grow. I am nowhere near the end of my journey. It's always an ongoing thing for me.

But when people ask me about my biggest break? Was it playing Rodolfo in La Bohème on Broadway or was it playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables or was it being a part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert? Honestly, my biggest break was getting an audition for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. That's what set me on path to having a career as a professional singer.

CM: The opening line of your memoir, Alfie: My Story, tickles my sense of curiosity. I put it right up there with "Call me Ishmael" or "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." For a music devotee to read, "Bizet nearly killed me," there has to be a juicy story there.

Though your book doesn't come out here until November, would you spoil this bit for us?

AB: Sure. That was specifically about a job I was doing for the English National Opera. I was playing the role of Nadir in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, and I had an accident during the rehearsal period where I lost my sight. It was a bit of neglect from the opera company that I was working for. They didn't support me or help me very much. But I survived, as you can hear.

CM: I am very glad you did. In your book you speak of your difficulty with alcoholism, how you slept in many park benches, how your roommate was addicted to porn. And yet you thrived, found your break and you carved a successful career in the entertainment industry.

While many who live in the public's eye would be tempted to hide these type of life details, you talk about them openly.

AB: I don't see any reason why I should hide my past for the sake for keeping the image of what an opera singer should be like. I wasn't trained to be anything other than honest and truthful, and to show people what the pitfalls are in life when you hit hard times. I don't mean to glamorize my life or to merely use it as a point to sell a book.

I want to show people that it wasn't easy; it isn't easy for many people. I hope that people can get something from the challenges that I lived through in London and the trials that I had to overcome to be a singer.

That's something I wouldn't want to hide.

CM: Apropos music and food, as they so often flock together, I hear rumors that you are quite the chef and that there maybe a cookbook in your future? Is that true?

AB: That's a bit of a rumor I am afraid. I am not proficient enough as a cook — as a chef — to write a book about cooking. But I do love to cook and I cook all the time. But I don't think a cookbook is in the cards for me. I want to be a singer, not a chef. I think I'll avoid that one and stay home and cook for myself and my family.

I love to make lots of casseroles, traditional English dinners, Italian dishes, a mixture of things.

CM: Not unlike your repertoire. You sing many different types of music. I am sure you have a cornucopia of tunes planned for your Houston appearance. But what most want to know is: Will you sing Bring Him Home? You have to, don't you?

AB: I'll definitely will be singing Jean Valjean's Bring Him Home — yes, I have to (laughs). There will be a few songs from my album, Alfie, and I am also going to throw in some melodies that I've been working on for future recordings. And you never know, an operatic aria might just happen.

I don't really consider myself an opera singer anymore even though I love to sing that genre of music. I just don't like the title of classical singer. I don't like the title of pop singer. I don't like the title opera singer. I just want to be known as a singer and not be tied down a single genre.

CM: How do you balance being a father and a traveling artist? Has your little girl Gracie shown any interest in music?

AB: It's very hard. It's part of the job so you have to deal with it and get used to it. It's a difficult balance, but I make it work. I spend a lot of time on the road away from my family.

My daughter is very artistic. She loves to sing; she loves to dance; she loves to paint. She's a talented little girl. I think that the older she gets, her talent is going to manifest even more. It's beautiful to hear her sing.

CM: Don't you have a birthday coming up?

AB: I'll be 39 by the time I get to Houston.

CM: And what will you do to celebrate? Should we throw you a party?

AB: (Laughs) It will be on the road. What can I do? I plan on eating a lot of steak while I am there.

Coming back to America and playing to Houston audiences is very exciting for me. It feels like I am coming home because I spent so much time in America. My wife is American. I've been connected to American culture and American life for a long time.

It feels like home to me now.

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Alfie Boe will perform at Wortham Theater Center on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $34 and can be purchased online or by calling 713-222-5400.

Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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