Ernesto Tomasini


Ernesto Tomasini 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.
WWW ernestotomasini.com

Early Performances

Tomasini began his career at the age of 16 on the Italian comedy circuit. He subsequently made his theatrical debut appearing alongside Duilio Del Prete in the national première of Franz Xaver Kroetz’s Death on Christmas Night. He later appeared in numerous theatre productions while continuing to work in cabaret. He performed as a support act for the comedian Nino Frassica and appeared on the RAI 3 broadcast Premio Anna Magnani For the television programme Scuola di Cabaret, he created comic characters that gained widespread recognition, and in 1990 he was awarded the prize for best comedy act in Sicily.

Stage

In 1992 Tomasini moved to the United Kingdom, where he trained at the Arts Educational London School. He subsequently worked as an actor and singer in the West End stage, at the Royal National Theatre, with experimental theatre companies, in Off-West End productions, and in national and international tours.
After early experiments in the late 1990s, including The Other Woman, he began creating his own productions in the early 2000s. He first attracted wider attention with True or Falsetto? A Secret History of the Castrati, presented at the Edinburgh Festival. Written by Time Out critic Lucy Powell, the show subsequently ran in London for two seasons and toured internationally in three languages. This was followed by The Veiled Screen: A Secret History of Hollywood!, written by Tomasini and presented in two London runs in 2006 with support from the Arts Council of England.
From 2013, following a six-year period largely devoted to music, Tomasini returned to theatre with a series of productions written specifically for him. These included Andrea Cusumano’s Petit Cheval Blanc, Roberta Torre’s Aida, Il Mutamento’s Mamma Schiavona, Lunaria.
He also resumed wrtiting his own plays, like Beato chi ci crede and he founded the first queer theatre company in Sicily, presenting the production La signora Palermo ha due figlie.
His performance style has been described by critics as combining elements of Italian cabaret, avant-garde performance art and vaudeville.
As an avant-garde comedian and cabaret artist, he has performed in theatres, museums, nightclubs and cultural institutes in 17 countries, and has collaborated with artists including Stephen Montague, Ron Athey, Carlos Motta and with the Resonance Radio Orchestra.
Tomasini has also been active in the fashion world, performing at runway shows by hat designer Nasir Mazhar during London Fashion Week in 2008 and 2009, and for Carlo Volpi at Pitti Uomo in 2017.

Music

For the past 18 years he has been lending his wide vocal range to experimental music, singing an eclectic repertoire written for him by a multitude of musicians, becoming an international cult figure. 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" 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".
In 2025 he returned to London's Crazy Coqs with a new recital and sang in Franco Maresco's Jazz nights at Teatro Santa Cecilia in Palermo. In 2024 he was singer and actor in “Derek Jarman’s Blue Live” by composer Simon Fisher Turner, at the National Cinema Museum in Turin, Italy. In 2023 he took a new one-man concert to the Danae Festival in Milan and played a major role in the Franco Zeffirelli centenary production of Donizetti‘s “La fille du regiment”, at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, directed by Marco Gandini, musical direction Giuliano Carella, with John Osborn. In 2022 he sang Cabaret chansons from the early 20th Century, directed by Omer Meir Wellber, at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and at the Toscanini Festival in Parma and Reggio Emilia. In 2020 he was among the highlights at the end of year concert of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, also under the baton of maestro Wellber, alongside soprano Carmen Giannattasio and baritone Markus Werba. 2020 also saw the release of a second compilation album by the Lacerba label in which Ernesto appears alongside Myss Keta, Federico Fiumani, Mirco Magnani and others.
Other collaborations include Marc Almond, the late "father of industrial music" Peter Christopherson, Current 93, electronic producer Shackleton, producer Man Parrish,Julia Kent, Andrew Liles, Rolo McGinty of The Woodentops, Spiritual Front, members of, Othon, Adam Donen and José Macabra, with whom he opened the 2011 Drop Dead Festival in Berlin.
Tomasini is singer/songwriter of the prog-rock band Almagest!, with which he tours extensively, appearing in venues like the Volksbuehne in Berlin and festivals like the Kurt Weill Fest.
He has sung his repertoire in London venues like the Royal Albert Hall, Purcell Room, National Theatre, Roundhouse, Cadogan Hall, Tate Britain, National Portrait Gallery, and in historical theatres, museums and churches around the world. As a recording artist he sings on 18 albums, six singles, six music videos and on the soundtrack of a film by Bruce LaBruce.

Radio, Cinema and TV

On radio he has sung, acted and been interviewed across all BBC stations, as well as on Classic FM, RAI Radio3, Radio Nacional de España, Radio New Zealand, Radiotelevisione svizzera and major broadcasters in France, Germany, Brazil and the US.
In film, he has appeared in features for Pathé and Universal Pictures, working with directors such as Alfonso Cuarón and Peter Hewitt. The short documentary Ernesto Tomasini: One Life to Live premiered on Dangerous Minds before being screened at the Sicilia Queer Filmfest, as part of a retrospective on his career. His Italian film debut came with Ciurè, in which he plays a major role, followed by his leading performance in Quir, an award-winning Swiss production, that premiered at the Taormina Film Festival ahead of its theatrical release in September 2025. His latest film, Bravo Bene!, by Italian cinema maestro Franco Maresco, was in competition at the Venice Film Festival 2025. As a voiceover artist, he has collaborated with Oscar-winning filmmakers like James Ivory, Ridley Scott, and Kevin Spacey.
His UK television work includes appearances on BBC, ITV, and Sky productions. In 2013 he was at the centre of the documentary Heavenly Voices – The Legacy of Farinelli, performing alongside the world’s leading countertenors. In Italy, he has been frequently interviewed on RAI 3 about his theatrical work and, in April 2025, he appeared on the same channel, in the cast of Ricordando Letizia a short film by Franco Maresco.
In 2015, he was the face of the House of Fraser lipstick campaign, and in 2016, he starred in Symphony to a Lost Generation, the world’s first holographic opera.

Other

In 2012 he was included in the Theatre/Music section of Eccellenza Italiana, for representing Italy in the world. 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.
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.
His work and performance style are discussed in four books and an academic essay.
For two years Ernesto was the London correspondent of the Italian magazine Musical!.

Discography

Black Widow Beta Lactam-ring RecordsBlack Sea Beta Lactam-ring RecordsWhen I Leave You Othon MataragasCanes Venatici Blossoming NoiseOtto; or, Up With Dead People Crippled Dick Hot Wax!Digital Angel Durtro JnanaThe Hunting Dogs of Boötes the Herdsman Chew-zLast Night I Paid To Close My Eyes Cherry Red/SFEImpermanence Cherry Red/SFEImpermanence Cherry Red/SFEDüde Tin Angel RecordsMessier Objects Tourette RecordsInSonar, L'Enfant et le Ménure Lizard RecordsDawn Yet To Come Cherry Red/SFEPineal Cherry Red/SFEDevotional Songs Honest JonMadame E with Mirco Magnani UndogmatischStar Parrish DigitalFun House Mirrors Backwards RecordsPlaisir with Mirco Magnani UndogmatischLB/R La Bellezza Riunita LacerbaAmour Braque ProphecyLa Bellezza Eccetera Lacerba

Selection of Work in Variety, Cabaret and Performance Art

  • The LA Italian Revue, Los Angeles
  • The Victoria Series, Palermo
  • Support for Nino Frassica, Palermo
  • The Lenny Beige Show at the Regency Rooms, London
  • The Amazing Tomasini at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow
  • Stars Fall From Heaven at the Colourscape Festival, London
  • The History of Ecstasy at MADRE Museum, Naples
  • Tomasini/Macabra Trans4Leben at the MILKandLEAD art gallery, London
  • Lascia o raddoppia?, London
  • Alternative Miss Liverpool
  • Franko B's Untouchable, London
  • New Year Celebrations in Piazza Politeama, Palermo
  • Bowie Night at Ace Hotel, London
  • Heavenly Voices/Sensual Bodies at the Teatro Massimo, Palermo
  • Franco Maresco's "Io e il Jazz" at Real Teatro Santa Cecilia for the Brass Group, Palermo

Selection of Theatre Work

  • Morte nella notte di Natale
  • Ballarò
  • Nasci lu iornu
  • Volti Lunari
  • Reunion in Genthin
  • Grand Hotel – The Musical
  • The Tempest
  • Varietè
  • The Other Woman
  • The Conquering Hero of Seville
  • Mr China's Son
  • True or Falsetto? A Secret History of the Castrati
  • The Englishman Sits in a Caravan at St Osyth/Singing
  • Cabaret – The Musical
  • Chicago – The Musical
  • The Veiled Screen: A Secret History of Hollywood
  • Camurrìa!
  • Petit Cheval Blanc
  • Aida
  • Mamma Schiavona
  • Beato chi ci crede
  • Lunaria
  • La signora Palermo ha due figlie
  • ''Serva delle mie brame''

Selection of TV, Film and Radio Work

  • Premio Anna Magnani
  • Woman's Hour
  • Outlook
  • Thunderpants
  • Walking the Outer Road
  • Crowded Skies
  • Dream Team
  • The Bottle Factory Outing
  • Children of Men
  • Siglo 21
  • Otto; or, Up with Dead People
  • Stoo Kuinnutu
  • Othon & Tomasini en vivo a la Bienal de Zamora
  • Forget Me Not
  • Carne cruda
  • Last Night I Paid To Close My Eyes
  • Impermanence
  • Heavenly Voices: The Legacy of Farinelli
  • Ciurè
  • Quir
  • Ricordando Letizia
  • ''Un film fatto per Bene''

Selection of Concerts and Recitals