Customer Reviews

Filippa Giordano

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Filippa should be the pride of Europe if she isn't already. Her interpretation of classic arias is very risky but absolutely incredible! She takes the favorite from Carmen to new heights with a voice that would make Bobby (Don't Worry Be Happy)sit up and take notice! She has a beautiful coloratura that seems to have been well trained in the classical school. Her range and vocal ability will astound a listener who is expecting just another soprano trying to do classics mixed with pop. Her ability to blend her skills far surpasses that of Sarah Brightman and others. She presents her music with great passion and a spirituality that must be heard to understand. Nothing is lost to language as her English, French and Italian are more than respectable, with wonderful diction. There will no doubt be purists who will frown on Filippa for the freedom she takes with the classics. However, we are a global society and she will bring great music to a broad and welcoming audience. Speaking as a classically trained singer myself, it would be an honor to sing with her and I am sure that Bocelli and Cura are in line. A voice is an instrument and she has incredible skills with hers. Anyone who can enjoy Brightman, Bocelli, Cura, Kiri etc. will find her a real discovery. Hopefully an astute industry exec will have the courage to give her the marketing exposure she deserves and we will be blessed with her future efforts.

This is an album by a gifted pop singer singing some beautiful classical arias. Now, opera geeks are going apoplectic that this woman has the temerity to do so. I listen to opera, and I am occasionally relieved to hear CDs like this. It's nice not to hear a singer sounding like several people are tightening her Wagnerian corset so hard that she is expelling air through every orifice in her body. It is not the music that keeps opera unaccessible to everyone except pretentious pseudo-intellectuals (you don't need a Ph.D. to appreciate it). No, what has kept opera out of the mainstream is the constipated sounds too many opera singers make. If you like beautiful music sung well, if not brilliantly, you will like this CD. And for the record, I loathe C?line Dion's and Whitney Houston's music passionately, so don't let the first reviewer's comments dissuade you from this CD.

Filippa Giordano is not afraid to take the traditional corpus of operatic music in a new direction. Her odd use of microphonics lends an intimate and profoundly moving quality to her vocal abilities, which are already stunning in every respect. For those who like pure opera, Filippa may not be the answer. But for those individuals who want to be moved, and who are curious to know in which directions opera can be taken, this album, along with her other, are essential.

BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST CROSS OVER ALBUMS OF THE YEAR. I AM CERTAIN, WITH THE RIGHT RECORDING COMPANY, WE WILL HEAR A LOT FROM FILLIPA IN THE COMMING YEARS

I am a music listner and when I listen to this CD my heart opens, no soars. All of the correct posturing between true classical, pop, etc., means nothing to me. I feel that she sings from her heart and that is what I am hearing. I love this compilation of diverse songs.
Anjellea

I bought this CD while I was in Europe this past May. I found to be enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who loves good music. No this CD is not your typical opera, but if you like a voice with range and pitch you will love Filippa.

Filippa's introductory album here demonstrates some interesting interpretations of opera classics which are different. This is not a Callas on Verdi, te Kanawa pouring out Babbino Caro, or Georghiu glorious in Traviata. It's different. Not classical, not pop, but a nice little voice putting some feeling in most places. There may be a bigger voice there, still restrained for nice control.
I heard a voice like this in a small bistro in central Sicily fifty years ago which could have been a family relation - very nice, very comfortable.
If a light version of the great classics offends you, skip this one.
If you like a very nice, well controlled instrument with apparently restrained depth and probable potential, give it a try, along with her "Il rosso amore" which is quite good, showing more maturity in her voice. It's a better buy if you prefer comfortable listening.
The other reviewers are right about the pop selections on "Filippa". They are pretty dreadful. The accompaniments are also less than helpful, which says loads about Filippa still sounding good over and under extreme variations in the background noises.
Filippa seems to know exactly what her voice can and can't do at this point. As mentioned elsewhere, with good coaching, we will hear more from her than the two current existing albums - I hope.