Jonathan Antoine
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Jonathan Antoine (born 13 January 1995), is a classically trained tenor from Hainault, Essex. He rose to fame after appearing on the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2012 as one half of the classical duo Jonathan and Charlotte. He has since gone solo and his newest album Tenore was released in the UK on 13 October 2014.
Early life
Jonathan Antoine was born to John, a police inspector, and Tracy, a home-maker. Neither was a musician, but they soon understood that their son had a special vocal gift. When he enrolled at West Hatch High School in Chigwell at the age of 11 he began to hone this talent and it was here that he met two people who were to influence him greatly: the singing coach Jenny Ewington and the head of music Ginette Brown. “I started having lessons with Mrs Ewington, and just took to it," he explains. "It was so nurturing. She was inspirational, and she became a fantastic friend”.
At around the age of 13 his voice broke. As his new sound was settling, Jenny Ewington encouraged him to sing challenging numbers such as Bring Him Home from Les Misérables, a song that brought him much attention at the 2010 Stratford and East London Music Festival where he earned the title“Young Musician of The Year” and to explore core-classical repertoire such as Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria which he performed at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England as part of the Rotary “Youth Makes Music” event in 2011. His talents were soon noticed further afield too. At 14, he auditioned for a junior place at the four major music conservatories in London and was accepted at all of them. He chose to go to the Royal Academy of Music, “because it was near Madame Tussaud’s” he jokes. He was taught there by the highly-regarded singing teacher Sara Reynolds. At this time he also began to take guitar lessons. (He now describes himself as “a guitar nut” with a collection of six, seven, and eight-string guitars, plus two basses and a ukulele).
Back at school, Mrs Brown encouraged Antoine to sing in concerts as she thought it might help with his shyness. “Jonathan came into his own” she says. “All the students would see him and say that he was the boy with the incredible voice”. Antoine himself slowly began to understand the power of his gift too. “I sang the duet Time To Say Goodbye with my friend Stephanie, and there was absolute silence from the audience. It was wonderful – and then we got a standing ovation. It was then I thought: I can really do this”. Ginette Brown asked Antoine and his friend Charlotte Jaconelli to sing The Prayer at her wedding in 2011.
Shy Boy and his Friend Shock the Audience with The Prayer -
Opera duo Charlotte & Jonathan - Britain's Got Talent 2012 audition - UK version
Jonathan and Charlotte - Vero Amore (Your Song)
Jonathan Antoine : Una Furtiva Lagrima : Blackpool Opera House : 29th March 2014
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