The ‘Little Pavarotti’

There is a new guy in the realm of popera. His name is Vittorio Grigolo. He is young, a tenor and Italian. He is making his bid for international stardom with an album of light easy listening tunes entitled In the Hands of Love which made one of the highest classical debuts in the UK hit charts late last year. And take note, the press release blurb about him stresses the fact that he is no Josh Groban but a real opera singer who has performed with Pavarotti and in real operas like Otello and Falstaff.

Vittorio has very impressive credentials. He was born in Rome but grew up in Florence. He started singing when he was only four. He was nine when he was tapped to join the Sistine Chapel Choir as a soloist. He was 12 when he was dubbed "Il Pavarottino" (Little Pavarotti) after a performance of Tosca with the great Luciano at the Rome Opera House. By the time he was 23, Vittorio had become the youngest Italian tenor to sing at the La Scala Opera House in Milan.

So is there cause for Groban, Russell Watson, Patrizio Buane and their ilk to take to the hills now that Vittorio is around? Maybe if we are to consider the fact that Vittorio has the sweetest vocals of them all. His tenor is lyrical and just a notch or two fuller than that of a boy soprano. His version of Maria from Berstein’s West Side Story is just as magical and prayerful as I have always imagined it should be.

Vittorio’s In the Hands of Love also includes Tu Sei, Bedshaped (Cosi), Magia de Amor, In the Hands of Love, All in Love is Fair (Se L’Amore C’e) Fuerte, Querida, Butterfly Forever, Roma Sogna, Listen to the Bell (Chi Ci Ascolter) and Il Mio Miracolo.

P. S. Those of you out there who still think the girls of The Pussycat Dolls are merely great looking but cannot sing should make sure they listen closely to the cut My Miracle. This is a duet between Vittorio and Pussycat Nicole Scherzinger and the girl can sing.

Here’s to the Heroes

Still on popera. I have to admit popera is beginning to sound boring. There is not only a surfeit of those recordings but operatic singing combined with the less demanding pop songs have plunged into the level of plain novelty. Maybe this is because the main purpose of classical voice lessons is to train soloists who might one day become opera stars. So when taken out of the solo spot and lumped together as one, they stop being outstanding.

Given this, who needs an album by a group called The Ten Tenors? Whoever thought of putting this together out there in Australia, probably wanted to put one over all the other popera acts we have today. Imagine having 10 voices when Il Divo has only four and Amiciy, eight. I do not know if whoever he is has succeeded or, if he has not, then if he ever will.

The temptation to dump Here’s to the Heroes by The Ten Tenors as just another bland popera recording was strong but I instantly changed my mind when I saw that it was produced by John Barry and is made up of his compositions. For those to whom the name does not ring a bell, Barry is an esteemed Academy Award winning musical director whose works have enhanced the beauty and grandeur of some of the most memorable motion pictures of all time.

Here’s to the Heroes is made up of melodies from some of these films. You Only Live Twice, Somewhere in Time (Words Without Meaning) and the Gladiator Suite which is made up of Now We are Free and Il Gladiatore are givens. As for the others, I am sure movie buffs will have a grand time identifying from where these come from.

Here’s to the Heroes and Places were easy to identify. They are so familiar I found myself humming the melodies and knowing instantly what films they scored. Now see if you can recall the movies behind Just to See Each Other Again, Buongiorno Principessa, There’ll Come a Day, We Have All the Time in the World, Les Choristes, Tick All the Days Off One by One and Who Wants to Live Forever.