Julian Ovenden
Encyclopedia
Julian Ovenden is an English
stage
, television
and film
actor
and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II.
Ovenden sang in the St Paul's Cathedral
Choir as a child. He later won a scholarship to Eton College
. He subsequently studied at the University of Oxford
on a choral scholarship. Whilst he has received training as an opera singer, he has professionally used his music training in musical theatre. He continued academic studies in drama at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
.
Ovenden's roles in the theatre have included:
Ovenden has also sung musical theatre songs in several concerts at The Proms
, in particular concerts of Stephen Sondheim
and of Rodgers and Hammerstein
. Future plans include tentative casting as Daniel Cleaver in a musical adaptation of Helen Fielding
's Bridget Jones's Diary (musical)..
Ovenden's work in television has included:
In private life, Ovenden and his wife, the soprano Kate Royal
, have a son, Johnny Beau, born in October 2009. The couple married in December 2010, the ceremony being conducted by Ovenden's father, who also christened their son in a double ceremony.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II.
Ovenden sang in the St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
Choir as a child. He later won a scholarship to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. He subsequently studied at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
on a choral scholarship. Whilst he has received training as an opera singer, he has professionally used his music training in musical theatre. He continued academic studies in drama at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
.
Ovenden's roles in the theatre have included:
- Merrily We Roll AlongMerrily We Roll Along (musical)Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
(Franklin) (2000) - Grand HotelGrand Hotel (musical)Grand Hotel is a musical with a book by Luther Davis and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with additional lyrics and music by Maury Yeston....
(The Baron) (2004) - Butley (play) (Joseph Keyston) (2006)
- MargueriteMarguerite (musical)Marguerite is a musical with a book by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Jonathan Kent, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer, and music by Michel Legrand, with original French lyrics by Boublil. Based on the romantic novel La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, the musical...
(Armand) (2008) - Annie Get Your GunAnnie Get Your Gun (musical)Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
(Butler) (2009)
Ovenden has also sung musical theatre songs in several concerts at The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
, in particular concerts of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
and of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
. Future plans include tentative casting as Daniel Cleaver in a musical adaptation of Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, a sequence of novels and films that chronicle the life of a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life and love.Her novels Bridget Jones's...
's Bridget Jones's Diary (musical)..
Ovenden's work in television has included:
- Foyle's WarFoyle's WarFoyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
(Andrew Foyle) - The Forsyte Saga (2002 miniseries)The Forsyte SagaThe Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
(Valerius 'Val' Dartie) - The RoyalThe RoyalThe Royal is a British medical drama series produced by ITV. The show comprises one hour episodes which were normally first aired on ITV in the Sunday early evening slot....
(Dr David Cheriton) - Related (Jason Greenstein)
- Cashmere MafiaCashmere MafiaCashmere Mafia is an American television dramedy which ran on ABC from January 6, 2008 to February 20, 2008. The series was created by Kevin Wade, who also served as executive producer alongside Darren Star, Gail Katz, Jeff Rake and Michael Pressman, with Susie Fitzgerald co-executive producing....
(Eric Burden) - A Christmas Carol: The MusicalA Christmas Carol (2004 film)A Christmas Carol, also known as A Christmas Carol: The Musical, is a 2004 television film based on a 1994 stage musical of the same name, with songs written by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens . The musical is based on Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name, produced by Hallmark...
(Fred Anderson)
In private life, Ovenden and his wife, the soprano Kate Royal
Kate Royal
Kate Royal is an English lyric soprano. She is the daughter of Steve Royal, a singer and songwriter for television, and of Carolyn Royal, a former model and dancer....
, have a son, Johnny Beau, born in October 2009. The couple married in December 2010, the ceremony being conducted by Ovenden's father, who also christened their son in a double ceremony.