Jonathan Antoine in Concert: Going the Distance

JONATHAN ANTOINE: I did grow up in the UK, but I'm from Hainault, and that's a very small little place.

I know everyone there pretty much.

I am still very much trying to discover who I am.

At sort of the age of 8, I was encouraged by a school teacher to sing in a little choir for a little production, and now here I am.

I just know that people think I'm good at it, and I really enjoy it right now.

For me, the show is the story of a child who is maybe not accepted by his peers, maybe isn't all that happy at home.

And the show itself is about that young person's struggle and eventual triumph over the adversities of life.

[applause] I have often dreamed Of a far off place Where a hero's welcome Would be waiting for me Where the crowds will cheer When they see my face And a voice keeps saying This is where I'm meant to be I will find my way I can go the distance I'll be there someday If I can be strong I know every mile Will be worth my while When I go the distance I'll be right where I belong Down an unknown road To embrace my fate Though the road may wander It will lead me to you And a thousand years Would be worth the wait It might take a lifetime But I'll somehow see it through And I won't look back I can go the distance And I'll stay on track No, I won't accept defeat It's an uphill slope But I won't lose hope 'Til I go the distance And my journey is complete But to look beyond the glory Is the hardest part For a hero's strength is measured by his heart Like a shooting star I will go the distance I will search the world I will face its harms I don't care how far I can go the distance 'Til I find my hero's welcome Waiting in Your arms 'Til I find my hero's welcome Waiting in Your arms [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering] There's a calm surrender To the rush of day When the heat of the rolling wind Can be turned away An enchanted moment And it sees me through It's enough for this restless warrior Just to be with you And can you feel the love tonight?

It is where we are It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer That we got this far And can you feel the love tonight?

How it's laid to rest?

It's enough to make kings and vagabonds Believe the very best There's a time for everyone If they only learn That the twisting kaleidoscope Moves us all in turn There's a rhyme and reason To the wild outdoors When the heart of this star-crossed voyager Beats in time with yours And can you feel the love tonight?

It is where we are It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer That we got this far And can you feel the love tonight?

How it's laid to rest It's enough to make kings and vagabonds Believe the very best It's enough to make kings and vagabonds Believe the very best [applause and cheering] Good evening, good evening, good evening, good evening, good evening, good evening.

[cheering] Ha ha ha!

It is wonderful to see you all!

How are we feeling?

[cheering] And what a wonderful night it is for a little bit of music.

Now that you can see my face and I can see a few of yours, I just want to take this chance to welcome you to the biggest show of my life so far.

[applause and cheering] For those curious, our last two songs were "I Can Go the Distance" from "Hercules" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King," both films that played a large part in shaping my young life.

And this theme carries through to our next song, but before we dive in, I would like to welcome my guests, the Disney a cappella sensation, DCappella!

Let's get down to business To defeat the Huns Did they send me daughters When I asked for sons?

You're the saddest bunch I ever met But you can bet before we're through Mister, I'll make a man out of you I'll make a man out of you [vocal percussion] Tranquil as a forest But on fire within Once you find your center You are sure to win You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot And you haven't got a clue Somehow I'll make a man out of you I'm never gonna catch my breath Say goodbye to those who knew me Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym He was a fool for cutting gym This guy's got 'em scared to death Hope he doesn't see right through me Now I really wish that I knew how to swim Be a man We must be swift as the coursing river With all the force of a great typhoon With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon Time is racing toward us 'Til the Huns arrive Heed my every order And you might survive You're unsuited for the rage of war So pack up, go home, you're through How could I make a man out of you?

Be a man We must be swift as the coursing river With all the force of a great typhoon With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon Be a man We must be swift as the coursing river With all the force of the great typhoon With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon [applause and cheering] "Compass" is basically kind of an open letter to all of the downtrodden, the sad kids in the world who need to feel loved.

And in a way, it's, you know, me reflecting, it's looking back and kind of saying that even though things are tough for you, there is light at the end of the tunnel and that there are all of these people around you who do love you, even if you can't quite see it.

When night is falling So hard upon you And the world is heavy Heavy on your heart When your soul is stranded And you're barely standing I will hold you Shield you Show you I am standing by And when you're lost And think no one can find you I will remind you You're not alone I will be there I'll be the one to guide you My love will be your compass Will lead you home When night has painted your world in shadows And you're left feeling left out in the cold When you're in the darkness And this world feels heartless I will know you Heal you Hold you I am standing by And when you're lost And think no one can find you I will remind you you're not alone I will be there I'll be the one to guide you My love will be your compass I will lead you home When you're in the storm and lost In the dark and lost at sea Grab my hand and reach for me I am standing by And when you're lost And think no one can find you I will remind you You're not alone I will be there I'll be the one to guide you My love will be your compass I will lead you home My love will be your compass I will lead you home [applause and cheering] That song just... just shows that he's come so far.

It's incredible that he can... he can be up there doing that, um, after all that he's been through.

And then to triumph like that.

It's just amazing.

I would now like to take a page directly from the Great American Songbook and one of the most popular musicals ever written.

For a first, let's jump back in time to the 1930s on the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, where a young woman sings to her child.

From the opening scene of "Porgy and Bess," this is "Summertime."

Summertime And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high Oh, your daddy's rich And your mama is good lookin' So hush, little baby Don't you cry One of these mornings You're gonna rise up singing Then you'll spread your wings And you'll take to the sky But 'til that morning There's a'nothing can harm you With daddy and mommy standing by One of these mornings You're gonna rise up singing Then you'll spread your wings And you'll take to the sky But 'til that morning There's a'nothing can harm you With daddy and mommy Standing by With daddy and mommy Standing by [applause and cheering] Before we begin our next song, to tell this story I'd like to bring to the stage world-class cellist and frequent collaborator of Hans Zimmer, Tina Guo, as we prepare to go on the emotional journey that is "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from "Les Misrables."

Ladies and gentlemen, Tina Guo!

[applause and cheering] There's a grief that can't be spoken There's a pain goes on and on Empty chairs at empty tables Now my friends are dead and gone Here they talked of revolution Here it was they lit the flame Here they sang about tomorrow And tomorrow never came From the table in the corner They could see a world reborn And they rose with voices ringing I can hear them now The very words that they had sung Became their last communion On the lonely barricade at dawn Oh, my friends, my friends, forgive me That I live and you are gone There's a grief that can't be spoken There's a pain goes on and on Phantom faces at the windows Phantom shadows on the floor Empty chairs at empty tables Where my friends will meet no more Oh, my friends, my friends Don't ask me What your sacrifice was for Empty chairs at empty tables Where my friends will sing No more [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering] So, last year, I set up a show in California.

[cheering] And I performed this song for the first time.

I had asked on Twitter earlier in 2017 which song people would most like to hear me sing, and this won by a landslide.

So here is... "Unchained Melody."

[cheering and applause] Oh, my love My darling I've hungered for your touch A long, lonely time And time goes by So slowly And time can do so much Are you still mine?

I need your love I need your love God speed your love to me Lonely rivers flow To the sea, to the sea To the open arms of the sea Lonely rivers sigh Wait for me, wait for me I'll be coming home Wait for me Oh, my love My darling I've hungered Hungered for your touch A long, lonely time And time goes by So slowly And time can do so much Are you still mine?

I need your love I need your love God speed your love To me To me [applause and cheering] The producer for the music you've been hearing tonight, Gregg Field, suggested... [applause] He suggested this song when we were brainstorming.

And it just so happens that his wife is Monica Mancini, the daughter of Henry Mancini, who wrote this song.

As such, we decided to take a pretty traditional approach, capturing as best we could the beauty of Audrey Hepburn's performance, which had always been Mr. Mancini's favorite, and the tenderness with which Audrey sings to her old friend, "Moon River."

AUDIENCE: Aww... Moon river Wider than a mile I'm crossing you in style Some day Oh, dream maker You heart breaker Wherever you're going I'm going your way Two drifters Off to see the world There's such a lot of world to see We're after the same rainbow's end Waiting round the bend My huckleberry friend Moon river And me [applause and cheering] "Country Roads."

I was adamant that we did this one.

We completely rearranged the song.

We changed it into, it's like a soul, gospel, just this huge, this giant thing.

I'm so, so proud.

Almost heaven West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains Shenandoah River Life is old there Older than the trees Younger than the mountains Blowing like a breeze Country roads Take me home To the place I belong West Virginia Mountain mama Take me home Country roads All my memories Gather round her Miner's lady Stranger to blue water Dark and dusty Painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine Teardrop in my eye Country roads Take me home To the place I belong West Virginia Mountain mama Take me home Country roads I hear her voice In the morning hour, she calls me The radio reminds me of my home far away And driving down the road I get a feeling that I should have been home yesterday Yesterday Country roads Take me home To the place I belong West Virginia Mountain mama Take me home Country roads Country roads Take me home To the place I belong West Virginia Mountain mama Take me home Country roads [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering] Now I would like to explore some of the more kind of classical Italianate repertoire.

[cheering and applause] And we can take a dip into some of the most beautiful Italian songs ever written, from the late 1800s to the late '80s.

The first is "Parla Piu Piano," more often known as "The Godfather Theme."

When I recorded this for my album "Tenore," we made the decision to include "The Immigrant Theme," which plays in the beginning of the film, the very theme you're hearing right now, setting the scene of the dark world of Don Corleone.

Parla piu piano e nessuno sentir Il nostro amore lo viviamo io e te Nessuno sa la verit Neppure il cielo Che ci guarda da lassu Parla piu piano e nessuno sentir Il nostro amore lo viviamo io e te Nessuno sa la verit Neppure il cielo Che ci guarda da lassu Insieme a te io restero Amore mio Sempre cosi Nessuno sa la verit Insieme a te io restero Amore mio Sempre cosi Parla piu piano e vieni piu vicino a me Voglio sentire gli occhi miei dentro di te Nessuno sa la verit E un grande amore E mai piu grande E un grande amore E mai piu grande esister [cheering and applause] Thank you, thank you.

[applause] And now an aria from the opera "Fedora."

Its title in English means "love forbids you," and the story of "Fedora" is kind of filled with love, betrayal, and murder.

Lovely stuff!

Amor ti vieta Di non amar La man tua lieve Che mi respinge Cercava la stretta Della mia man La tua pupilla esprime T'amo Se il labbro dice Non t'amero!

[applause] [applause and cheering] Oh, ladies and gentlemen!

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

This is "Caruso."

Qui dove il mare luccica E tira forte il vento Su una vecchia terrazza Davanti al golfo di Sorrento Un uomo abbraccia una ragazza Dopo che aveva pianto Poi si schiarisce la voce E ricomincia il canto Te voglio bene assai Ma tanto tanto bene, sai E una catena ormai Che scioglie il sangue dint' e' vene, sai Vide le luci in mezzo al mare Penso alle notti la in America Ma erano solo le lampare E la bianca scia di un'elica Guardo negli occhi la ragazza Quegli occhi verdi come il mare Poi all'improvviso usci una lacrima E lui credette di affogare Te voglio bene assai Ma tanto tanto bene, sai E una catena ormai Che scioglie il sangue dint' e' vene, sai Ma due occhi che ti guardano Cosi vicini e veri Ti fanno scordare le parole Confondono i pensieri Te voglio bene assai Ma tanto tanto bene, sai E una catena ormai Che scioglie il sangue dint' e' vene, sai Te voglio bene assai Ma tanto tanto bene, sai E una catena ormai Che scioglie il sangue dint' e' vene, sai Te voglio bene assai [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering] One more?

[cheering] Here is the most famous aria of all time.

Enjoy.

AUDIENCE: Woo!

Nessun dorma Nessun dorma Tu pure, o Principessa Nella tua fredda stanza Guardi le stelle Che tremano d'amore E di speranza Ma il mio mistero chiuso in me Il nome mio nessun sapr No, no Sulla tua bocca Lo diro quando la luce splender Lo diro quando la luce splender Ed il mio bacio scioglier Il silenzio che ti fa mia Il nome suo nessun sapr E noi dovrem, ahim, morir, morir Dilegua, o notte Tramontate, stelle Tramontate, stelle All'alba vincero Vincero Vincero [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering] What I would really like for people to think about, to ponder, is the idea of imagining others complexly.

Every single person that you pass, every single person that you see on the street, they have as varied, storied and exciting of a life as you do.

So treat them that way, please.

[applause and cheering] I'd like to get everyone back out onto the stage.

Thank you all so much, ladies and gentlemen.

It has been incredible!

Like a shooting star I will go the distance I will search the world I will face its harms I don't care how far I can go the distance 'Til I find my hero's welcome...