Spotlight On Urs

Urs's musical background sewed the seeds for this spirit of restless activity and inquiry. As a five-year-old in Lucerne, he joined the local choir, and began to take lessons in violin, clarinet, piano, guitar and drums. Even then, you couldn't box him in. At the same time as he was studying at the music academy, Urs was fronting a heavy metal band.

Later, he would travel to the Netherlands to study singing at the Sweelink Conservatorium, appear at the Salzburg Festival and earn a distinguished reputation as an operatic tenor at the Netherlands Opera and many other opera houses across Europe. So Urs has never been about standing still, artistically, and settling back into a comfort zone ­ or respecting the barriers some insist on placing between different musical genres. “From my training,” he laughs, “I know, from the classical point of view, that this is a good sound, and that is a bad one. But in every single other style of singing, that doesn't apply. Blurring the boundaries upsets the purists, certainly ­ but that's a good thing to do.”

You can read more of Urs' biography here.

We caught with Urs and asked him about a few of his favourite things, from music & movies, to food and travel.

Favourite Album: Ozzy Osbourne/Randy Rhoads – Tribute

Favourite Song: Taio Cruz – Break Your Heart

Favourite Piece Of Clothing: Leather Jacket & Cowboy Boots

Favourite Shop: Divertimenti (Kensington, London), Amb Botes (Cowboy Boot Shop, Playa d’Aro, Spain)

Favourite Movie: Wallace & Gromit – The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit

Favourite TV Show: Father Ted

Favourite Restaurant: Chez George, Amsterdam

Favourite Food: Big long Breakfast in all it’s variations.

Favourite Vacation Destination: Home.

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