Julie Andrews: Not Resurrecting Singing Career with O2 Concert

The L.A. Times reports this morning that musical theater star Julie Andrews wants the world to know that she is not resurrecting her singing career.

Back in 1997, Andrews had non-cancerous nodes removed from her throat which damaged her voice permanently. 

Back in the fall, rumors circulated that the soprano was planning to undergo vocal reconstruction surgery and make a comeback with a large concert at the O2 arena in London.

The rumors of her surgery are, in fact true and the O2 event is indeed a go.  However, Andrews explains: "What is happening is that I am re-creating a concert last year I did at the Hollywood Bowl and toured America with...It's with full symphony orchestra and singers. The first half is all Rodgers and Hammerstein music as it is related to me, so it's footage and narration and storytelling...I go right out and say, 'You all know I have had vocal surgery and I do have about five bass notes left, so I can assure you I can still sing the hell out of "Old Man River."'"

Andrews will be singing a bit at the concert.

having been unable to use her voice as she once famously did in  My Fair Lady, Camelot, and the films Mary Poppins (Oscar winner for Best Actress), The Sound of Music, and Victor/Victoria on stage and screen, Andrews has spent the latter part of her career as a children's book writer, penning such stories as Simeon's Gift, and making family-friendly films such as the Princess Diaries with Anne Hathaway, Shrek, and Eloise at the Plaza. 

To read the full report on Andrew's O2 concert, future projects, and the stars reflections on her past achievements in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

Julie Andrews' UK one-off concert will mark her return to the stage for the first time in thirty years. 'An Evening with Julie Andrews' will be hosted at The O2 on Saturday 8th May, and will see a night of music from her greatest stage and screen performances, as well as the live narration of the story Simeon's Gift, the best selling children's book written by Julie and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.

Accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Ian Fraser, Julie Andrews will also be joined on stage by an ensemble of five performers including West End and Broadway stars. Together they will take the audience on a nostalgic trip through some of the greatest musical theatre songs of the last fifty years. This will include hits from The Sound of Music, The King and I, South Pacific and Carousel.

Her latest films, Tooth Fairy and the animated Despicable Me, will all be released in 2010. She is one of the most recognized performers in the world and has an extraordinary fan base of 5 generations.

Tickets are on sale for the concert at http://www.theo2.co.uk or or by calling +44(0)844-856-0202.