Tenormorphosis! Blond-haired, clean-shaven, 12st boy-band singer Jonathan Ansell is transformed into Pavarotti

They could hardly be more different – one is a gym-toned, blond-haired boy-band singer and the other was, literally, the world's biggest opera star.

But Jonathan Ansell is about to play his idol, legendary singer Luciano Pavarotti, in a new show.

To help him prepare for his role on stage in Las Vegas later this year, The Mail on Sunday enlisted the aid of a professional make-up artist to transform Jonathan into a dead ringer for the Italian tenor.

Gone is the slim body and clean-shaven boyish looks and in their place comes some generous padding, a false beard and a trademark dinner jacket and white bib shirt.

While Jonathan is a 12-stone, 26-year-old with a 32in waist, the man he will play was a 21-stone giant with a shock of black hair and a beard.

Jonathan, formerly of the classical vocal group G4, has been signed to play the tenor in a new show called Pavarotti – The Music.

He will sing the songs that chart Pavarotti's path from the start of his career, through worldwide fame with classics such as Nessun Dorma and La Donna è Mobile, to his old age.

The culmination of the show will see Jonathan transformed into the raven-haired larger-than-life operatic icon known to his millions of fans as the Maestro of Modena.

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The British singer, from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, has already tasted fame himself as one quarter of the group that finished second in the first series of TV talent show The X-Factor in 2004 and went on to sell more than 1.5million records worldwide.

The band, whose debut album went double-platinum and who sold out four tours, including performances at the Royal Albert Hall, split up last July and Jonathan, generally regarded as the best singer of the four, went solo.

He said: "Pavarotti was the ultimate hero for me; a brilliant artist who introduced the world to classical music.

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"Obviously with my blond hair, I am not a natural double for Pavarotti, but I am looking forward to getting into the role.

"Hopefully people won't believe their eyes, or their ears, when I'm in the right costume with some padding to fill me out and a few adjustments in singing style.

"Pavarotti is one of my life heroes and to have the opportunity to play him in a Las Vegas musical is amazing.

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"He is an iconic singer, one of the greatest the world has ever heard."

Pavarotti once claimed his size was his "greatest regret".

The twice-married star's weight fluctuated throughout his life and he died from cancer in September last year, aged 71.

The new show is being put together by music impresario David King, who has worked with Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Andrea Bocelli and Coldplay, and will feature a 40-piece orchestra.

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Mr King said: "I have no doubt that Jonathan will leave audiences open-mouthed with his transformation.

"He has a tremendous voice and American audiences have seen no one like him."

The show will launch in the autumn at a Las Vegas casino and marks the latest step in the career of Ansell, a graduate of London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Last year he signed a solo deal worth £1million with Universal Music and he is managed by pop svengali Jonathan Shalit, who discovered Charlotte Church when she was 11.

THE PAVAROTTI DIET

• Breakfast – three croissants with jam, cream and chocolate. Cake and fruits-of-the-forest tart. Full-fat cappuccinos, yogurt and fruit.

• Lunch – four plates of pasta with a creamy sauce. Steak with roast potatoes and vegetables. Several helpings of ice cream and cake.

• Dinner – three more plates of pasta with a creamy sauce. Stuffed pig's trotter with a large helping of polenta. More cake and ice cream.

Between meals Pavarotti snacked on Parma ham sandwiches.

THE ANSELL DIET

• Breakfast – a bowl of cereal, normally Shredded Wheat, with a sliced banana and semi-skimmed milk, accompanied by a glass of orange juice.

• Lunch – a bowl of pasta, with seafood mixed in, followed by a piece of fruit. To drink: a can of Diet Coke or a glass of water.

• Dinner – grilled chicken fillet on bed of salad with olive-oil dressing, and more water.