Thursday, December 18, 2008

Birthday Boys

18 December - Happy Birthday to British astrologer Jonathan Cainer, and pop/opera singer Mario Frangoulis - one a longtime favourite of mine, the other a newer voice to me, and one I very much appreciate.

I'll not be presumptuous enough to investigate Jonathan's natal chart, but I'll dare to take a peek at Mario's. There's a wee problem though. Some sources say he was born 1966, some 1967. Just a very brief look then, to see what a difference a year makes.

A recent interview available on YouTube, below, offers a chance to see and hear Mario speaking about his career, and a little about his charity work, but not a clear idea of who he is - other than that he appears unaffected, non-glitzy and charming, in a quiet way.

He is a tireless supporter of charities.


"The World Centers of Compassion for Children has a specially elected Ambassador of Peace. Mario Frangoulis is a world acclaimed Greek tenor. He has starred in numerous theater productions from London’s West End to New York City. From musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber to Rogers and Hammerstein, Mario Frangoulis has graced the stage of many top venues.

With a strong passion to help, Mario Frangoulis has always had a drive to engage with charitable organizations. He has sung in approximately forty charity galas, such as the Red Cross Annual Ball, held at the Grosvenor House, several galas organized by the Greek foundation Elpida -a charity dedicated to the cure of children who suffer from cancer- and many others. His commitment to making a difference was a perfect match with the World Centers of Compassion for Children." (Here)


INTERVIEW




As no time of birth is known, the 1966 and 1967 charts for Mario Frangoulis are set for 12 noon. He was born in Zimbabwe when it was known as Rhodesia, but moved to live in Greece at a young age. In the absence of an exact location, I've used the capital, Salisbury, which will suffice to indicate planetary positions.
(Click on image to enlarge).




Moon, Mars, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter all in different signs '66 to '67, leaving the only common ground as Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius, and the 3 outer planets in the same signs in both years.
Moon's Nodes move from Taurus/Scorpio in 66, to Aries/Libra in 67.

There's a case to be made for either chart, the Moon remains in a compassionate water sign, which could have been a give-away had it moved to a less sensitive placing. I quite like the Mars in Aquarius for him - it could link to his humanitarian drive towards helping charities, but that might come from philosophical Sagittarius too, or from his unknown ascendant. I like Venus in Scorpio, for the passion he displays in his songs, but again that could come from the ascendant. It's a mystery, but if pushed, and in the absence of a birth time, I'd choose the 1967 chart, on the right.

In an interview about his career for Hello Magazine, Mario said
"I'm not putting myself across as this major opera star, I'm just being Mario, a simple guy who does good music." The crossover pop/opera genre is becoming ever more popular. Il Divo, Amici Forever, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and others are all enjoying sucess just now. Along with that other crossover genre of standards/pop/jazz (e.g. Michael Buble, Nora Jones), such artists are filling gaps left in modern popular music, where novelty tends to usurp quality. A prediction: this trend will grow and grow over the next few years.

Mario Frangoulis with Justin Hayward: "Nights in White Satin"



8 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you. Fabulous version of that song. Gave me goosebumps. He's very good. Do you know where the concert was held? Looks like it was outdoors somewhere. I linked through to You Tube and listened to the Moody Blues original too! Justin Hayward looking great.

Good word verification...ovenul. Just off to cook some lamb ribs and baked potatoes in the oven! Not the coleslaw though.

Twilight said...

The concert was at the
outdoor Theatre of the Earth in ThessalonĂ­ki, Greece, Rossa.

I'm hooked - cds and dvds now on Christmas list for Santa. ;-)
I especially like his version of "Caruso" - it's on YouTube if you'd like to sample.

Enjoy your meal!

Anonymous said...

Hi Twilight!

I really enjoy your blog and the chart analysis you provide of so many people (I'm interested in many of the same characters you are so it's great to come on here and see who you talk about next....)

Hope it's OK to post a question here in the comments of your most recent post, that is not related to it:

Was wondering if you had a take on Caroline Kennedy? With all the current discussion of her, and her here-to-date low political profile, I was not too surprised to see she has a 12th house Sun.

Not sure if she captures your attention at all but just would be interested in your perspective!

Wisewebwoman said...

I'll have to wait to play the 'Tubes, T. they sound great!
And I too was going to ask you about Caroline. Strange co-incidence.
XO
WWW
she will be president one day after all.

Twilight said...

Hello Anonymous ~~~ Caroline Kennedy hasn't enthused me so far- not sure why. I'll gladly look at her chart though, and see what I can make of it for a blog post in the next day or two.

To be honest, I'm not a great fan of the Kennedys in general - other than JFK. Perhaps I have that legendary curse at the back of my mind - the one said to fall on the whole Kennedy family. Perhaps that is distracting me ....don't know. Let's hope that it's played out now, if it exists.

Twilight said...

WWW ~~~Hi! See previous comment!
I don't see Caroline as presidential, myself. But what do I know ? Stranger things have happened in this crazy country! :-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks! Actually, I'm not a huge Kennedy fan either, but I was more interested in her behavior and how her tendency toward such a private life , etc. might play out in her chart.

Politically, I have some real reservations about the recent Senate appointments (including Joe Biden's seat in Delaware). I chalk it up to Pluto in Capricorn, that we are questioning politics as usual -- and perhaps not accepting political dynasties. Hopefully we'll be doing more of that!

Twilight said...

Hi again Anonymous

I've posted as much as I could draw from Caroline's chart.
hope it's of interest.

Yes, it's good that the public is taking a close note of what's going on in high places these days.

Dynasties are not such scary things for me, being British, royal dynasties are a way of life in the UK.

I've no quarrel with political dynasties as long as the succession is from talent and ability - that's they key. I don't think we should automatically discount a person because of a "dynastic" background.

I got quite annoyed when people connected Hillary Clinton in this way - I thought it was silly on two levels. She does have lots of talent and she and her husband hardly form a dynasty. :-)