Award-winning tango vocalist Martín Alvarado will perform in the UK in May as part of his 27th international tour and among the dates is one in south London.

The Buenos Aires-born troubadour, who will perform at the Colour House Theatre at Merton Abbey Mills near Wimbledon on Thursday May 8, has earned worldwide renown for his exceptional tenor voice.

Tickets are £10 in advance and £12 on the door. They are available from the Colour House Theatre box office (cash only) and online at musicglue.com and colourhousetheatre.co.uk Alvarado is now considered to be one of the most exciting and significant contemporary vocalists in traditional tango to have emerged from Argentina for decades and has even been described as a successor to the late, great tango singing superstar, Carlos Gardel, who died in 1935.

Like Gardel, Alvarado performs as a soloist, often just accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. This is unusual for tango artists who are normally part of a band or a large touring dance show.

On this tour he will also be accompanied by an acclaimed Peruvian pianist and bandoneón player, Claudio Constantini, performing in the UK for the first time. Alvarado and Constantini, who is considered to be one of the most accomplished bandoneón players based in Europe at the moment, have worked together many times at theatres and festivals in Latvia, Belgium, Finland, Spain, and Russia, including the St Petersburg Philharmonic Hall.

Alvarado’s trademarks are emotionally engaging performances of a largely modern repertoire of tango, including rare Piazzolla numbers, other Argentinian styles, and some self-composed songs.

BBC Radio 3 presenter Max Reinhardt, who heard him perform in London last year, described him as “totally mesmerising, a tango epiphany”.

Last year, Alvarado picked up the Latin UK Award for Concert by International Artist of the Year and also had his last album released by one of the leading world music record companies, Clapham-based World Music Network, on their prestigious Riverboat label.

The album, Guitar Tango: Más Allá, was described on Radio 3 as “a jewel album” and earned a four-star review in Songlines magazine. Another critic on Austria's Südwind-Magazin described it as the best tango album to be released in recent years.

Alvarado’s talent was first discovered on the streets of Barcelona in 2002 where he was singing for tourists and trying to earn enough money to record his first album. He was heard busking and invited to perform in Finland which has a vibrant tango tradition of its own.

Within weeks of arriving there in 2003, news of his talent had spread and he was invited to perform with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then he has toured almost continuously and performed, often to sold-out audiences, more than 500 times.

His nine-date, ten-day tour, from May 2 to 11, which takes him around the country, from Gloucestershire to Lincolnshire is being organised by his UK promoter and manager, Lisa Cherry-Downes, of L Tango Promotions.

She said: “I am really looking forward to taking Martin and, for the first time, Claudio, around the UK. Martin always gets a great reception wherever he plays in the world, whether it is a philharmonic hall in Russia or a small theatre in England. I am sure it will be the same in south London where he will be performing for the first time.”

Alvarado added: “I love touring in the UK – the audiences are very responsive and appreciative of what it is I do. And it is always a bit of magical mystery tour with Lisa, which is fun.”

His 27th international tour also takes in concerts in Russia, Finland and Spain, including two solo concerts at St Petersburg’s famous Music Hall, a performance at the Alexander Theatre in Helsinki and starring roles in three performances of the Piazzolla operita, Maria de Buenos Aires, in Finland.

Details of all the UK dates and tickets can be found at https://www.musicglue.com/l-tango-promotions and more information about Alvarado, his music and his tour can be found at www.martinalvarado.info Based on information supplied by Lisa Cherry-Downes.