Filippa Giordano

Filippa Giordano (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B00002DDXF
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,042 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #80 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Historical Periods > Modern & 20th Century

Track Listings

1. Norma: Casta Diva (Short Version)

2. Samson & Dalila: S'apre Per Te Il Mio Cuor

3. Tosca: Vissi D'arte

4. Carmen: Habanera

5. Gianni Schicchi: O Mio Babbino Caro

6. Ave Maria

7. La Traviata: Addio Del Passato

8. Lost Boys Calling

9. You Are The One (Sotto Le Stelle)

10. Dissonanze (Mondo Trash)

11. Maria (By The Sea)

12. Casta Diva (Extended Version)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This eponymous album from the Italian singer Filippa Giordano confounds expectations. Released on the classical label Erato, Giordano mixes arias with contemporary songs such as the Ennio Morricone-Roger Waters "Lost Boys Calling" from the 1999 Golden Globe-winning movie The Legend of 1900. Using a conventional orchestra sometimes supplemented by electronic keyboards and occasional drums, the production achieves a slick and glossy chart-friendly sound that will find favor with fans of Whitney Houston and Céline Dion. Key to the album are two versions of "Casta Diva" from Bellini's Norma, between which arias from Samson and Dalila, Tosca, Carmen, and La Traviata sit rather uncomfortably alongside several pop anthems. With the vocal flavor of Broadway and a hint of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the intention seems to be to add contemporary crossover appeal to opera in much the same way that Andrea Bocelli has done with such conspicuous success. It's doubtful that serious opera aficionados will care much for Filippa Giordano, though music lovers in general may well find the album an attractive entry into the sometimes-forbidding world of the classical diva. --Gary S. Dalkin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her voice is uncanny!, April 10, 2005

By 

C. Pacheco "Music Lover" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Filippa Giordano (Audio CD)

Filippa's voice has a hint of the color of Lara Fabian
A wink to the vocal range of Mariah Carey, serious visits to the belting of Celine Dion and the high powerful notes like Patti Labelle (without being screechy).
I think this CD is amazing, her voice is completly gorgeous, such a wonderful vocal range (up to G above high C in "Vissi D'arte" and and "You are the one") and high belting of F's, G's and even A's and B's below soprano high C!
Also very low notes like in "Habanera", she is simply fantastic.
Of course, for someone lookin' for pure opera, stay away from this! but of course, Filippa can sing in an opera voice (like in "Mariah by she sea" where she sings layered vocals in pop and operatic way).
I hope to see more of her soon, her style is different from Sarah Brightman's (who has basically 3 voices), Emma Shapplin (who sings in a classical way but her own songs about witches and vampires), Filippa who is more of a pop singer than anything else is unique and I appreciate that :)
Also her pop songs are far from being the typical Mariah or Celine song, they are "trippy" for lack of a better word, but it's fantastic work.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Understand this album for what it is, and what it is not., February 1, 2007

By 

Aardvark "Aardvark" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Filippa Giordano (Audio CD)

Opera aficianados take note - she is not an opera singer. It is pointless to consider her as one. You might as well snipe at a nasturtium for not being a rose. She is a pop singer. If you are looking for nuanced interpretations of classic bel canto opera, why the heck did you pick this album up in the first place? You know where to look already.

I completely disagree with the opera buffs who say that it is a travesty that she recorded these albums and besmirched the great masters. She did not record this for *you*. She recorded this for listeners of pop music. Have you heard what passes for pop music? Evidently not, or you would realize her albums far surpass everything currently in play... and if that is damning to pop music, well, so it is.

If one person... a single soul... listens to this album and is inspired enough to go out and listen to "the real thing" then Filippa Giordano has done them a great service and made the world a richer place. Opera aficionados are not born knowing and appreciating opera. One must be exposed to the music in the first place. Many people grow up having NEVER heard opera. This sort of album has a chance at being played in venues where Callas and Fleming couldn't get feet in the door. To the uninitiated, opera can seem bewildering and unintelligible, full of unfamiliar conventions. Filippa Giordano uses pop conventions to put these arias in musical terms that pop music lovers can grasp. Melodic familiarity goes miles toward connecting people to the emotional core of an operatic performance. Before you spew venom, consider that you are potentially thwarting a pathway that may lead to genuine appreciation of "real" opera down the pike. Bite your tongue. Go listen to your own recordings of the masters. You are right. They are infinitely more sophisticated. But this album has considerable value despite its flaws, and it wasn't created for you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not really opera, but fun anyway, February 2, 2006

By 

Mandy (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Filippa Giordano (Audio CD)

As previous reviewers have said, "purist" opera fans would probably not consider this album to be opera, but it's still very enjoyable. Filippa Giordano will not likely be cast in a Wagnerian role anytime soon; she has a beautiful voice, but it does sound rather thin at times (she's no Maria Callas or Renee Fleming, in other words). It would be very easy to compare her to those other "(p)opera" divas, Sarah Brightman and Charlotte Church, but Filippa's sound is considerably more playful than Sarah's, and more sophisticated than Charlotte's. The highlights of this album are her renditions of "Casta Diva" and "Habanera," and I would recommend it for those two songs alone, but the rest of the album is also very good. This would be a great way to introduce a young person to the genre, as many of the songs could pass for pop songs.