He Will Rock You…AGAIN!
Yes, once again Michael is donning the leather jacket and eyeliner of Ben Eltons future emo, Galileo Figaro in the Queen Musical sensation We Will Rock You.
And rock you, he does!
Considered by some fans of the Queen/Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You (Australian Cast) as 'the most shaggable,' Michael proved beyond a doubt that he had the vocal strength and the stage presence to take on the lead role of Galileo Figaro.
This role required Michael not only to deliver as well musically as the late Freddie Mercury , but to do it with the commitment and empathy needed to justify a character who in lesser hands could, quite frankly, have seemed whiny and annoying.
Earlier this year Michael announced via his forum that he will be reprising the role for the touring company of We Will Rock You. Brian May confirmed this on his Soapbox
**Sat 24 Oct 09**
MICHAEL FALZON REJOINS THE WWRY FAMILY
[Asked if Michael Falzon replacing Alex Gaumond as Galileo for Edinburgh/Dublin leg of the WWRY Tour?]
Yes. We are sad to be losing the brilliant Alex Gaumond - who has been a wonderful lead player of our touring company this last year. But we're happy to say Michael Falzon is joining the WWRY British tour imminently. He will be playing the part of Galileo, in which he has of course already triumphed a couple of years ago, in our OZ production, Down Under! Michael is a great talent, and we're all very excited that he's rejoining the "WWRY Family".
Cheers
Bri
© brianmay.com
The Boys Audition
Featuring 24 of Queen's greatest hits, WE WILL ROCK YOU is a futurist adventure set in a time when live music is banned on earth, but the kids are in rebellion, fighting against the all powerful Globalsoft Corporation which controls their lives and feeds them a diet of synthesised pop.
A hero is needed who can help them rediscover themselves and live music. Could the arrival of The Dreamer - the young Galileo Figaro - be that man?
Michael Falzon plays that man, Galileo.
'It's ironic that the first Queen song I heard was Under Pressure', Michael says. 'I heard it through my big brother. Then the film Highlander did it on the soundtrack, and then I went out and bought Queen's Greatest Hits. I was a fan!'
http://www.brianmay.com/queen/wwry/OZ/pressrelease.html#01
**Wed 06 Aug 03**
THE RHAPSODY REACHES AUSTRALIA AS…
Previews leading up to tomorrow’s first night have already generated over Au$1 million and after only 3 months on sale the show has achieved an unprecedented advance of Au$6.6million.Performances are already sold out until early October.
These figures overshadow the recent opening of Mama Mia and the soon to open The Lion King. It is in fact the biggest ever Australian theatre opener since Phantom of the Opera arrived.
The Australian stage production of We Will Rock You is the first move in a sweep of the globe by the musical. It will be followed by a November 3 opening in Madrid, Spain, with openings to follow in 2004 in Italy, Russia and the USA. Productions are already being lined up for 2005 in Germany, Japan and South Africa.
As one critic recently observed, ‘the mighty Queen, it would seem, are unstoppable.’ The Australian production of We Will Rock You is adapted and directed by Ben Elton with Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor as producers and music supervisors. The show is produced by Michael Coppel, Queen Theatrical productions, Phil McIntyre and Tribeca Theatrical Productions. The local cast is headed by Michael Falzon (Galileo), Kate Hoolihan (Scaramouche) and Annie Crummer as Killer Queen
http://www.brianmay.com/queen/wwry/OZ/pressrelease.html#02
image source:http://www.brianmay.com/queen/wwry/OZ/prempress1.html
Arts - Michael Falzon
From emulating Freddie Mercury in We Will Rock You to showing up the government in The Wharf Revue, Michael Falzon spreads his talents wide. Just ask Tony Blair, who had the pleasure of a serenade from the Sydney star. 3D went after our own one-on-one.
Did you have to learn a whole new discipline to survive the run of We Will Rock You?
And then some! Hardcore singing such as Freddie Mercury performed does require a healthy dose of respect. When I started rehearsals Brian May (Queen guitarist and rock legend) told me to "just emulate what Freddie did on all the albums" - easier said then done! The hardest part was having to perform what is essentially a rock concert eight times a week. I had to train my voice up to the task and even stop singing some other vocal styles altogether. Curiously, it all rests on the two minuscule muscles that are your vocal chords and you have to put them under intense strain to sing Queen material. So although the songs were rock, my lifestyle was not...early nights and no alcohol. That's right, no alcohol. Freddie would be turning in his grave.
Just how surreal was it performing live onstage with Queen after inhabiting the role for so long?
It kinda felt just that - surreal. Yet it was comfortable too, as I had already sung so many of their songs hundreds of times over the last year or so. The really fun part was having two rock gods on stage to sing with! Brian and Roger have always been very supportive of my coming into their show, so this was an opportunity to finally have the chance to perform with them.
You have an album in the works. What can we expect from your debut?
The 64,000-dollar question (not a lot of money, but it was in the fifties...so I'm told). I still have a few tracks to go, but having been influenced by so many artists it's difficult to pinpoint one particular ‘sound’. In the works are: a pisstake on the rise of a rockstar, a rock-ballad for my mum (or indeed anyone's mum), the prerequisite more pop-oriented love song (in this case, for my fiancée), and a ballad about a broken man who doesn't really know why he is loved.
| Written by Jack Tregoning |
| Thursday, 06 July 2006 |
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