Short Bio (100 words)
Mark Janicello is an award-winning American singer, actor, writer, and producer whose career spans more than 35 years and 53 countries. A Carnegie Hall-trained operatic tenor, he has released 39 albums across opera, pop, swing, and cabaret, and accumulated over 100 stage productions and 100 television and film credits. Winner of the LA Film Awards Best Comedy Film and Best Actor awards for The Finellis Movie (2022), he is currently performing Elvis & Me at Camden Fringe 2026. Ben Weisman, who composed 57 songs for Elvis Presley, called Janicello "the best Elvis interpreter (not imitator) in the world." Mark is based in London.
Long Bio (Full Biography)
Mark Janicello is an award-winning American Renaissance Man whose performing career spans more than 35 years, 53 countries, 100+ stage productions, and more than 100 film and television projects. Due to his truly unique and extremely versatile singing voice, he has recorded 39 albums in every conceivable musical style, from grand opera to Elvis Presley, swing, cabaret, pop, and adult contemporary.
Mark began his career as a classically-trained operatic tenor. While performing 40+ leading roles in operas and operettas, he continued studying acting for 10 years with a member of New York's famed Actor's Studio. He has shared the stage, screen, and microphone with legends and icons including Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Bill Cosby, Chick Corea, Jody Watley, Jon Secada, and rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley; operatic superstars Cecilia Bartoli, Edita Gruberova, Francisco Araiza, Anna Moffo, and Alfredo Kraus; Tony Award winners and nominees Liz Callaway, Debbie Gravitte, Kiril Kulish, and Judy Kaye; as well as Hollywood luminaries Anne Bancroft, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Alec Baldwin.
Among the honours he has received are a study grant from the Puccini Foundation to further his operatic career, and the first-ever Fleischer Music Prize from the City of Leipzig, Germany, for his contributions to music and culture. He made his Carnegie Hall debut performing in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, after being personally selected by conductor Eve Queler. He was subsequently invited to join the International Opera Studio of the Zurich Opera - one of the most prestigious opera training programmes in the world.
In 1992, Mark won the nationwide KFC Musical Feast competition, judged by rock legend Bo Diddley, representing New York City. He was awarded the $15,000 first prize and subsequently appeared alongside Bo Diddley on NBC's Today show.
As a writer, director, and producer, Mark created, wrote, and produced The Finellis - a comedy series selected as a featured presentation at the 2016 Berlin Serienale, one of Europe's leading television and series festivals. For his work as writer, co-director, lyricist, and leading actor (playing Tony Finelli) in The Finellis Movie (2022, available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV), Mark received more than 40 award nominations and won 18 prizes at international film festivals, including the LA Film Awards for Best Comedy Film and Best Actor.
His work as a playwright includes the successful European productions of the world-premiere musicals: Elvis: The Musical, The Chameleon Concert, Be My Love: The Mario Lanza Musical, Charlie, Cloud 9, and The Great Caruso. After moving to the United Kingdom, he was commissioned to write a new play, Take The Bins Out, which celebrated its world premiere at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, for which Mark was nominated for the BBC Writers Room / Popcorn Award. In 2024, The Finellis Musical celebrated its world premiere at Wonderville in the heart of London's West End.
His autobiography Naked in the Spotlight is available in both English and German wherever books are sold. He has lived in 13 countries and is tri-lingual in English, German, and Dutch. In addition to his performing abilities, Mark is a talented painter with 13 international exhibitions to his name. He has worked as a columnist for Hoop Doop Magazine and as a theatre critic for Broadway World. Mark has been vegan since 2004 and advocates for a plant-based lifestyle.
Ben Weisman - who composed 57 songs for Elvis Presley, more than any other songwriter - praised Janicello's voice: "Mark has a voice that Elvis could have only dreamed of. He is, in my opinion, the Best Elvis Interpreter (not IMITATOR) in the world, and I know what I'm talking about. I've heard them all." Janicello's current show, Elvis & Me, at Camden Fringe 2026, is the latest expression of that relationship: personal, musical, and entirely his own.
Mark Janicello is based in London and available for interviews, bookings, and media appearances worldwide.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Full name: Mark Janicello
- Nationality: American (based in London, UK)
- Profession: Singer, Actor, Writer, Producer, Director
- Career span: 35+ years
- Countries performed in: 53
- Album releases: 39
- Stage productions: 100+
- Television and film credits: 100+
- Languages: English, German, Dutch
- Training: Carnegie Hall debut; International Opera Studio, Zurich Opera; Actor's Studio (New York)
- Current show: Elvis & Me - Camden Fringe 2026 (August 16)
- Contact: contact@markjanicello.org
