Seeing Sounds

London Session Orchestra under the direction of Celso Valli was recorded at Angel Studio, London, England, Air Lyndhurst Studio, London, England and Whitfield Recording Studio, London, England.
London Session Orchestra under the direction of Marco Sabiu was recorded at Angel Studio, London, England and EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England.
Additional material was recorded at Fonoprint Studios, Bologna, Italy, Mayfair Studio, London, England and Roundhouse Studio, London, England.
With her self-titled album, Italian singer Filippa Giordano plunges into the "classical crossover" waters, and parallels to compatriot Andrea Bocelli are sure to be drawn particularly since some of the same people responsible for his enormous success are involved in this CD.
Giordano offers a mixture of classic arias and contemporary pop songs, but unlike Bocelli, who favors a traditional approach in his operatic endeavors, she brings a powerful pop sensibility and an emotional, distinctly non-traditional singing style to reworked versions of arias such as "Casta Diva" and "Vissi d'arte." Lush orchestral arrangements are embellished with electronic enhancements and a subtle undercurrent of beats--the perfect soundscape for Giordano's swoops, glides, and dives. Her renditions of "S'apre per te il mio cuor" ('Samson et Dalila') and "Addio del passato" ('La Traviata') are the closest things to straight operatic readings, but her version of the "Habanera" from 'Carmen' is quirky and playful with robotic voices and virtual duets and choruses comprised of her own voice.
Giordano shows that she's every inch the pop diva with dramatic, pull-out-all-the-stops renditions of three songs by Francesco Sartori (the force behind Bocelli's "Con Te Partiro"), including "Maria (By the Sea)," a tribute to Maria Callas. FILIPPA GIORDANO is probably not for the traditional opera lover, but should appeal to fans of Sarah Brightman, Celine Dion, and the like.