Ernesto Tomasini (born 15 May 1968, in
Palermo,
Italy) is an Italian actor/singer/writer living in Britain. Best known for his more recent forays into contemporary music, he has also had a 35-year career on the stage.
Early Performances
Tomasini begun his career at 16 on the Italian comedy circuit.[1] Soon afterwards he landed on the legitimate stage, appearing next to one of Italy's leading stars of the time,
Duilio Del Prete, in the national premiere of
Franz Xaver Kroetz's Death on Christmas Night.[2] After this he performed in numerous theatre productions, never abandoning his first love:
Cabaret, something he continues to do to this day. He was the support act for TV comedian
Nino Frassica and performed on the televised (
RAI 3) Premio
Anna Magnani.[3] For the Scuola di Cabaret TV show, he created comic characters that became household names and in 1990 he was awarded the prize for best comedy act from
Sicily.
Stage
In 1992 he moved to the UK where, after graduating at the Arts Educational London School, he worked as actor/singer on the
West End stage ( Chicago the Musical), in Off-West End productions (Blind Summit's Mr China's Son) and with experimental theatre companies (
Lindsay Kemp).[4]
Having made some early experiments in the late '90s with a production called The Other Woman,[5] in 2002 Tomasini started to create (in various capacities) his own shows and first attracted attention with an appearance at the
Edinburgh Festival with True or Falsetto? A Secret History of the
Castrati.[6] Written by
Time Out critic Lucy Powell, the show was a sell out hit not only in Edinburgh but also in
London for two seasons and on international tours, in three different languages.[7] This was followed by Ernesto's own script for The Veiled Screen: A Secret History of
Hollywood! which has had two London runs in 2006, sponsored by the
Arts Council of England.[8] Tomasini's style of performance – an operatic, dark and twisted blend of Italian Cabaret, avant-garde
performance art and thought-provoking
Vaudeville – has been described "as shocking as it is moving".[9]
From 2013, after a six-year period dedicated almost exclusively to music, he returned to theatre with three new plays written especially for him: Andrea Cusumano's Petit Cheval Blanc,
Roberta Torre's Aida and Il Mutamento's Mamma Schiavona. In 2017 he debuted his own musical comedy, Beato chi ci crede, at the Out Off Theatre in Milan.[10]
As
avant-garde comedian and cabaret artist he has performed in theatres, museums, nightclubs and cultural institutes in fourteen countries around the world and has collaborated with artists as diverse as
Stephen Montague,
Ron Athey,[11]Carlos Motta[12] and with the
Resonance Radio Orchestra.
For the past 15 years he has been lending his wide vocal range to
experimental music, singing an eclectic repertoire written by him or for him by a multitude of musicians, and, in the process, becoming an international
cult figure.[13] He also performs a more classical repertoire, often alongside opera stars, in opera houses and concert halls. A wide vocal range combined with his melodramatic delivery have interested the press:
Frontiers magazine described him as "the most exciting and flamboyant personality to shake up the opera world since
Klaus Nomi"[14] and Italian newspaper
La Repubblica called him a "prominent figure in avant-garde circuits with his seducing high voice reminiscent of those belonging to
evirated singers".[15]
In 2012 he was included in the Theatre/Music section of Eccellenza Italiana (Italian Excellency, with presentation by the President of the
Republic of Italy,
Giorgio Napolitano), for representing Italy in the world.[27] In 2013 he was awarded the prize "Sicilian in the World" and in 2016 received the keys to the city by the mayor of his hometown of Palermo.[28]
A lecturer on theatre history and techniques he has given master-classes to drama students in England,
Spain and
Mexico. Tomasini is the only Italian to have given a masterclass at
RADA Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[29]
His work and performance style are discussed in four books and an academic essay.[30] For two years (2010–2012) Ernesto was the London correspondent of the Italian magazine Musical!.[31]
Discography
Black Widow (album, 2007) Beta Lactam-ring Records
Black Sea (album, 2007) Beta Lactam-ring Records
When I Leave You (single, 2007) Othon Mataragas
Canes Venatici (album, 2007) Blossoming Noise
Otto; or, Up With Dead People (soundtrack album, 2008) Crippled Dick Hot Wax!
Digital Angel (album, 2008) Durtro Jnana
The Hunting Dogs of Boötes the Herdsman (album, 2010) Chew-z
Last Night I Paid To Close My Eyes (single, 2011) Cherry Red/SFE
Impermanence (album, 2011) Cherry Red/SFE
Impermanence (single, 2012) Cherry Red/SFE
Düde (album, 2012) Tin Angel Records
Messier Objects (album 2013) Tourette Records
InSonar, L'Enfant et le Ménure (album, 2013) Lizard Records
Dawn Yet To Come (single, 2014) Cherry Red/SFE
Pineal (album, 2014) Cherry Red/SFE
Devotional Songs (album, 2016) Honest Jon
Madame E (album, 2017) Undogmatisch
Star (album, 2017) Parrish Digital
Fun House Mirrors (album, 2017) Backwards Records
Plaisir (single, 2018) Undogmatisch
LB/R La Bellezza Riunita (album, 2018) Lacerba
Amour Braque (album, 2018) Prophecy
La Bellezza Eccetera (album, 2020) Lacerba
Bibliography
Autori vari. Incontroazione 70/96 – 20 anni + 1, Theatrum Mundi Edizioni 1997
Marinelli, Manlio. Per un teatro degli spazi, Theatrum Mundi Edizioni, 2001
Scarlini, Luca. Lustrini per il regno dei cieli. Bollati Boringhieri, 2008
Autori vari. Teatro Libero. Quarant’anni: Le creazioni di Beno Mazzone e Lia Chiappara, 1969–2009, Theatrum Mundi Edizioni 2009