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By JOHN MILTON
Published January 28, 2005
amiciforever.com
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From classically trained vocalists such as Enrico Caruso to Andrea Bocelli, the opera world has added a new identity to its idiomatic wardrobe by way of crossover artists. Now, many classically trained vocalists are following suit by producing albums that can be described as Marriage of Figaro meets West Side Story .
The latest creation added to the classical crossover phenomenon is Amici Opera Band. The group, called the first opera band, consists of five young vocalists ranging from ages 26 to 32. They are: Geoff Sewell, tenor; Jo Appleby, soprano; Tsakane Valentine, soprano; David Habbin, tenor; and Nick Garrett, bass baritone. They sing a repertoire ranging from classical works such as Puccini's Nessun Dorma to more pop-inspired tunes like Canto Alla Vita .
Since the release of its debut album The Opera Band , the group certified gold in the United Kingdom, double platinum in Austria, triple platinum in New Zealand and was placed No. 2 on the Billboard charts for Top Classical Crossover Album. Via a phone conversation, Sewell answered a few questions while in his hotel room in the Austrian Alps.
When you say you are the world's first opera band, what does that mean?
It's just something that the media has tagged with us in the last two to three years. We sing classically, but we sing popular tunes. And also our look and our feel is more of a popular sort of band-type look than your sort of classical recital group.
What kind of people do you aim to attract?
You know, when we started out, we thought we were going to attract people our age and above. And actually, looking at the number of concerts we've done around the world, we're getting younger and younger audiences and also the sort of age group we thought we would have as well.
What has life been like since the release of your first album?
It's been very incredible. To be honest, we really thought that we would do well in England because obviously that's where all of us are from and are living at the moment. But it's gone international. We've been sort of blessed with the album having an international appeal.
At this point, what is one of the most memorable Amici performances?
I think one of the most memorable performances was when we did the Champions League final in the U.K. The Champions League is beamed to 500 million people around the world. It's second only to the World Cup Final. We were at Manchester United in the middle of England and there were 80,000 people just screaming. It was just incredible with the noise in the stadium and the people loving our singing.
What is it that makes the group work together when on stage?
The word synergy really sums us up. The sum of the whole is greater than the individual parts. If any one of us is missing or if any one of us is sort of not on form, then it affects all of us. With Amici Forever, you've got the wide range of music that we can do because you've got the tenor, the sopranos, and you've got the bass baritone. That's what makes our concerts so vibrant. You're not just hearing the same voice all the time.
- John Milton jmilton@tampabay.com
Here's the deal
Amici Opera Band comes to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Ferguson Hall to perform its eclectic repertoire. The show begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday (2/2) with tickets ranging from $19.50-$32.50. Call (813) 229-7827.
[Last modified January 27, 2005, 13:20:19]
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