Andrea Bocelli: Opera - an album guide
A stunning celebration of opera, Andrea Bocelli's new album is called, unsurprisingly, Opera. Including fantastic recordings of arias from composers like Verdi, Puccini and Bizet.
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1. "La donna è mobile" from Verdi's Rigoletto
What a belter to start off with! This is a bit of a showpiece in the tenor repertoire and, as you'd expect, Bocelli goes for it with vim and gusto, taking on the role of the over-confident Duke of Mantua .
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2. "Recitar!" - "Vesti la giubba" from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci
Another classic from the tenor repertoire, this forces the narrator to accept his wife's infidelity. Don't expect a dry eye in the house when Andrea starts this one…
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3. "Amor ti vieta" from Giordano's Fedora
Translating as "Love forbids you", this emotionally charged number lends itself perfectly to Bocelli's style.
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4. Ingemisco, from Verdi's Requiem
This is the only track on the whole album that couldn't strictly be described as operatic, but when it sounds this good who are we to complain?
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5. "Addio, fiorito asil" from Puccini's Madame Butterfly
One of the opera world's enduring classics, Madame Butterfly is a romantic, lush and indulgent masterpiece… much like Andrea Bocelli's interpretation of one of its most famous arias.
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6. "Celeste Aida" - from Verdi's Aida
"If only I were that warrior!" is the pleading first line of this beautiful Verdi gem, a paean to the majesty of the "Heavenly Aida" of the title.
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7. "Intanto, amici, qua...Viva il vino" from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria Rusticana remains one of the most popular operas in regular performance, and it's easy to see why - Bocelli's choral-accompanied rendition of this cheeky aria is scintillating.
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8. "Mamma, quel vino è generoso" from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana
Another aria from Cavalleria Rusticana, another great performance from Andrea… this time it's a fantastic drinking song that mentions, among other things, Santa.
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9. "C'était le soir - Au fond" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers
Bizet makes an appearance in the operathon with The Pearl Fishers. This duet is one of the best-loved in the whole operatic repertoire, and Bocelli gamely puts his own stamp on it. Typically beautiful.
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10. "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
Donizetti is one of the masters of opera, and it's easy to see why here. The narrator, Nemorino (or Andrea Bocelli, as you may know him), gets gradually more excited as he realises a love potion has had the desired effect on the object of his affection.
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11. "Lamento di Federico" from Cilea's L'arlesiana
All the greats have had a stab at this one - Enrico Caruso, Jonas Kaufman, Luciano Pavarotti… and now Andrea Bocelli! How does he fare? Beautifully, of course.
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12. "O mio rimorso!" from Verdi's La Traviata
Another stalwart from Verdi. Bocelli's voice turns urgent and animated to convey the intensity of the scene in a breathless rendition.
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13. "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's La Boheme
Translating as "what a cold little hand", this Puccini favourite is one of the early focal points of La Boheme, as Rodolfo tells Mimi about his life as a Bohemian poet in Paris' Latin Quarter. Simply dreamy.
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14. "O soave fanciulla" from Puccini's La Boheme
Another classic from Puccini (pictured) and the great La Boheme, this time from later on in the opera.
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15. "Di quella pira" from Verdi's Il trovatore
It's testament to Verdi's genius that he features so much in this operatic collection, and here Bocelli performs one of his most famous arias, sung by the Manrico character.
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16. "Dammi i colori!" - "Recondita armonia" from Puccini's Tosca
Sung by the painter Mario in the stage version, Bocelli brings to life his thoughts of Tosca, his love, in comparison to a woman he is painting.
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17. "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini's Tosca
Another aria from Tosca, this time with Bocelli's soaring tenor bringing the romance to this sentimental number.
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18. "Come un bel dì di maggio" from Giordano's Andrea Chénier
Not an obvious opera name, but this delightful Giordano aria was originally made famous by the great tenor Enrico Caruso (pictured) - but this version is all about Andrea Bocelli.
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19. "Pourquoi me réveiller?" from Massenet's Werther
Bocelli makes this aria as dreamy as possible - "Why awaken me, oh breath of spring?" he chimes at the climax, making for a beautiful performance.
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20. "Pour mon âme quel destin" from Donizetti's La Fille Du Regiment
Andrea tackles the heights of Donizetti's aria from the opera 'La Fille du Régiment'. It's an impressive display of high notes from the tenor.
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21. "Come un bel dì di maggio" from Giordano's Andrea Chénier
Not an obvious opera name, but this delightful Giordano aria was originally made famous by the great tenor Enrico Caruso - but this version is all about Andrea Bocelli.
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22. "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot
How could any self-respecting collection of opera classics miss out the great Nessun Dorma? Well, worry not, Andrea's not only included it, he's used it to close the album in magnificent fashion. Bravo, Andrea!
