Paul Potts to be part of upcoming 50 Golden Years of Musicals

Paul Potts at Southward Car Museum, taking a break between rehearsals before 50 Golden Years of Musicals starts. Photo / David Haxton

In the foyer of the iconic Southward Car Museum in Paraparaumu, a man dressed in a flannelette checked shirt and blue trousers casually walks around.

He’s not a tourist looking at the vast number of classic cars.

Rather, the person is none other than global tenor Paul Potts, who is taking a quick break during rehearsals for the upcoming 50 Golden Years of Musicals.

Potts is the international act for the show, which celebrates Stewart and Tricia Macpherson’s half-century of involvement as promoters in the music industry.

The couple, who front The Stetson Group, have organised the musical, which will be performed in 10 venues, including the museum’s theatre.

Potts shot to fame after winning the first series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 with his rendition of Nessun dorma, one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera.

Despite his international success, Potts is very down-to-earth and has a good sense of humour.

Singing is an extension of who I am.

Paul Potts

Potts, who toured with The Stetson Group back in 2014, saw on Facebook that the 50th-anniversary show was happening and emailed Stewart to wish them luck.

He also mentioned he would be in New Zealand for a corporate show in Auckland just before their show.

“It was a complete coincidence.”

One thing led to another, and now Potts is part of the show, along with Deliah Hannah, Leanne Howell and Matt Pike, who will be singing about 35 songs from various musicals.

As an opera singer, Potts doesn’t often perform with other people, so he said it’s going to be great to be a part of it.

“It’s great to be a part of a team onstage.”

Paul Potts.

It will be a bittersweet ending to the show for him, and Potts said he sometimes gets post-production blues.

“You get that emptiness at the end of a production.”

Potts and his co-stars are deep into rehearsals at the Southward Theatre ahead of the show starting there on April 11 - 12, before heading to other venues around the country.

He will be performing a number of different songs, including Mr Cellophane from the movie Chicago.

“It’ll be quite different for me, because it’s not an operatic piece as such.”

He said winning Britain’s Got Talent had allowed him to do what he loves, and he never expected it.

“Singing is an extension of who I am.”

Potts, who has been to New Zealand quite a few times in the past, has big plans for after the show too.

He plans on staying in the country and travelling down the South Island in a campervan.

Potts is also a keen photographer and wants to stay in Milford Sound and photograph it at various times of the day.

“You can go down there in two different hours, and it’s not the same.”

Potts said that while he doesn’t seem to get recognised too much in New Zealand, he has had a couple of people do double takes and think it couldn’t be him.

“I’d be a very unlucky double,” he chuckled.

For info about and tickets to the 50 Golden Years of Musicals event, go to: www.stetsongroup.com.