|
Sean Ruane's musical journey through life has taken some wild and wonderful turns. It’s a path that has taken him from schoolboy starlet and pop star hopeful, before blossoming as a critically acclaimed Irish tenor with a penchant for Pavarotti.
He was born and raised on a council estate in Bacup, Lancashire and Sean’s first taste of live music came when he sneaked into a Led Zeppelin concert while still very young. He loved it, vowing there and then to be a rock god!
His musical education had begun much earlier in life. Both Sean's mother and father had emigrated from County Mayo in Ireland and consequently the family record collection included classic Irish groups like The Dubliners and Clancy Brothers, while his brothers were more interested in rock, pop and new wave.
However, it was a childhood shaped by the tragic loss of his mother through breast cancer when he was aged just four.
Growing up, music was always important. He earned his first rave reviews at secondary school after taking the lead role in Fiddler on the Roof. His musical ambitions were a little more mainstream – to be the lead singer in a band and appear on Top of the Pops.
Opera didn't enter this eclectic mix of influences until relatively late. His first taste came when he was a teenager.
"I was about 16, when I went on a school trip to London and we were taken to watch Puccini's La Boheme at Covent Garden. I thought the first act was so boring I spent the second act messing around in the bar with a friend. I went back for the third and that's when it hit me. I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the story and the magical singing," he recalls.
This was no Road to Damascus-like transformation. Rather, Sean plugged away for another couple of years in a series of rock bands with dodgy names like Object D'Art and Electric Circus. He also tried his hand at acting with a local amateur dramatic society.
In the meantime, he had a succession of jobs in shoe factories, slipper works and insurance companies. Eventually, while working as a swimming baths attendant in his mid 20s, Sean decided he would have a proper stab at singing. He trained hard and won a coveted place at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Funding his college years by working as a nursing assistant at Manchester Royal Infirmary's Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, it took time for Sean to adjust to the rarefied and intense atmosphere at the Northern, but his natural talent shone through. So much so, that the Peter Moores Foundation gave Sean the backing to continue his studies on the continent with singing teacher Fernanda Piccini in Italy, and with style and voice coach Enrique Ricci in Spain.
Since turning professional in 2001, Sean has worked all over Europe, the United States and Russia. He has even returned to Covent Garden — as a performer rather than onlooker. His performances have won him praise from audiences and critics alike. He has sung the anthems at Ireland Rugby International tournaments, England Football Internationals and during cricket’s Ashes series.
But despite his rapid rise to the top, Sean has lost none of his down-to-earth nature and has remained true to his roots. In 2004, Sean released his first solo CD, She Moved Thro' the Fair, through his own Lancashire-based label, which featured a mixture of opera classics and Irish traditional songs.
It showcases a unique voice of power and beauty. A voice the world has grown to love.
|
