Alessandro Safina
Encyclopedia
Alessandro Safina is an Italian
operatic tenor
.
Born in Siena
, Italy
, Safina's love of opera was encouraged early in life by his mother encouraged his eagerness. His father was also a singer.
The early 21st century saw the rise of this Italian singer who has combined his opera roots with modern-day pop music
. Late in his teens Safina began to appreciate pop
and rock music
, drawing inspiration from such bands as Genesis
, The Clash
, Simple Minds
, and U2
. Shortly thereafter, he began to combine the opera and pop genres.
In the '90s, Safina was discovered by renowned Italian pianist/composer Romano Musumarra, and the pair quickly began to record together, in an attempt to bring Safina's dream of creating a "soulful new pop opera music" to fruition. The end result was Safina's self-titled debut, issued in September 2001. It contained a single named "Luna", released in 1999, which reached number 2 in the Dutch charts. The song is mainly about a gleaming moon.
In 2001 Safina contributed to the score of Baz Luhrmann
’s film Moulin Rouge!
. He performed Elton John
's Your Song with Ewan McGregor
.
In September 2001 his concert Only You was taped in the amphitheatre El Greco in Taormina
, Sicily
. The concert was later broadcast in the series Great Performances by American public channel PBS and released in 2003 on DVD
.
In 2003, Safina performed the English and Korean vocals for a Korean song called Hamangyeon (하망연(何茫然)), which was featured as part of the soundtrack for Dae Jang Geum
, a popular South Korean historical drama TV series.
Safina appeared in a film Tosca e Altre Due, based on the opera Tosca
of Puccini
.
In 2007 he recorded a duet with the British Soprano Sarah Brightman
for her album "Symphony". He was then invited to join her during her "Symphony World Tour" for Mexico's presentations in November 2008 and in the Asian Tour in march-April 2009. He sang with Sarah Canto della Terra
and Sarai Qui.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
operatic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
Born in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Safina's love of opera was encouraged early in life by his mother encouraged his eagerness. His father was also a singer.
The early 21st century saw the rise of this Italian singer who has combined his opera roots with modern-day pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Late in his teens Safina began to appreciate pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, drawing inspiration from such bands as Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
, and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. Shortly thereafter, he began to combine the opera and pop genres.
In the '90s, Safina was discovered by renowned Italian pianist/composer Romano Musumarra, and the pair quickly began to record together, in an attempt to bring Safina's dream of creating a "soulful new pop opera music" to fruition. The end result was Safina's self-titled debut, issued in September 2001. It contained a single named "Luna", released in 1999, which reached number 2 in the Dutch charts. The song is mainly about a gleaming moon.
In 2001 Safina contributed to the score of Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
’s film Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
. He performed Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's Your Song with Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
.
In September 2001 his concert Only You was taped in the amphitheatre El Greco in Taormina
Taormina
Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. The concert was later broadcast in the series Great Performances by American public channel PBS and released in 2003 on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
In 2003, Safina performed the English and Korean vocals for a Korean song called Hamangyeon (하망연(何茫然)), which was featured as part of the soundtrack for Dae Jang Geum
Dae Jang Geum
Dae Jang Geum is a 2003 epic South Korean television series directed by Lee Byung Hoon and produced by MBC. Starring Lee Young Ae, it tells the tale of an orphaned kitchen cook who went on to become the king's first female physician...
, a popular South Korean historical drama TV series.
Safina appeared in a film Tosca e Altre Due, based on the opera Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
of Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
.
In 2007 he recorded a duet with the British Soprano Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
for her album "Symphony". He was then invited to join her during her "Symphony World Tour" for Mexico's presentations in November 2008 and in the Asian Tour in march-April 2009. He sang with Sarah Canto della Terra
Canto della Terra
"Canto della Terra" is the second single from Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli's 1999 album, Sogno. The song was written by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto, the same writers of Bocelli's biggest hit "Con te partirò", and is among Bocelli's most popular and well-known songs.Like "Con te...
and Sarai Qui.
Discography
- Alessandro Safina (2001)
- Insieme a Te (2002)
- Musica Di Te (2003)
- Sognami (2007)