- Performer: Opera Babes
- Composer: Opera Babes
- Audio CD (Feb 4 2008)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Sme
- ASIN: B00007MB2F
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #34,339 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. One Fine Day (Un Bel Di From Madame Butterfly) |
| 2. Sempre Ricordo (Piano Concerto in A minor) |
| 3. There's A Place (From The New World Symphony) |
| 4. Beyond Imagination (From A Midsummer Nights Dream) |
| 5. O Fortuna (From Carmina Burana) |
| 6. Lakmé H2O (Flower Duet) |
| 7. Ebben?..Ne Andro Lontano (from La Wally) |
| 8. You Live On In My Heart (Cinema Paradiso) |
| 9. Chanson Bohème (From Carmen) |
| 10. Remember Me |
| 11. Stranger In Paradise (From Kismet) |
| 12. Ode II Joy (From Symphony No. 9) |
| 13. 1001 Nights (From The Nutcracker Suite) |
| 14. Barcarolle (From The Tales Of Hoffman) |
| 15. Lakmé (VibeTribe Mix) |
| 16. Ave Maria |
| 17. Vittoria! (Aida 2002) |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Plucked from a wet afternoon of busking Bizet and Puccini to passersby on the Piazza in Covent Garden in the spring of 2001, soprano Rebecca Knight and mezzo Karen England soon found themselves singing in slightly larger venues: the FA Cup and Champions League soccer finals. That the management company doing the plucking had recently performed a similar Cinderella crossover act for Russell Watson offered portent, and indeed the Babes--the moniker began as a joke--were soon on their way to this recording debut. The marketing shtick and its soccer connections may offend purists, but it's the football hooligans that the Babes are trying to win over here; can Borodin soothe the savage Manchester United fan? Their classically trained voices mesh gloriously, with England's warm mezzo showing particular character in her solo turns.
The repertoire choices here cover material that may already be familiar to fans of Charlotte Church (i.e., Delibes "Flower Duet") and other crossover acts, but they do include some pleasant surprises, like Offenbach's Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann and "You Live On in My Heart," a reworking of Ennio Morricone's enchanting Cinema Paradiso theme with lyrics by Knight. But in a rush toward the musical middle of the road, it's the productions themselves that sometimes overwhelm the Babes with bathos ("Ave Maria"), hollow thunder ("Aida 2002"), and electro club kitsch (the 'Vibe Tribe' mix of "Flower Duet"). Former Art of Noise mainstay Anne Dudley's tastefully restrained coloring of Tchaikovsky's "1001 Nights" is one of the notable exceptions. They're babes, they sing opera--with fair promise--for the masses, and if they turn one in a hundred from football hooliganism to a well-mannered appreciation of Grieg and Dvorák, won't it all have been worth it? --Jerry McCulley
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing, beautiful album,
By A Customer
This review is from: Beyond Imagination (Audio CD)
I thought this was an incredible cd not only because their voices are so beautiful, but also because of the songs that they sing. People are considering this as a crossover album, which is not true. The reason I don't like Bond or other such groups is because they are too close to pop music or something. However, Opera Babes is not what I would call crossover, but in fact a great classical opera album.
4.0 out of 5 stars
overall a good performance,
By J. C. (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beyond Imagination (Audio CD)
I am not usually interested in female vocalists but when I listened to this CD at Borders', I was mesmerized by it. The duo have very nice voices which complements one another. The songs, although most are versions of familiar songs, sounded "new" with their revised accompaniments. Overall, quite enjoyable.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific First Effort,
By A Customer
This review is from: Beyond Imagination (Audio CD)
This CD is excellent! Two of my favorites are Lakme and Aida, and these singers do a superb job. Then there are others from well- to lesser-known pieces which receive the ladies' best singing efforts. The arrangements are fresh but remain true to the composers' works. No cacophonous horn bleats, no singers wailing off-key, no calling it "interpretation", just good, solid performances from all. One might not usually think of an operatic CD as a "foot-tapper", but this one pulls in the listener to forget that word "opera" and just to enjoy!
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