Sacred Arias
This 100 minute DVD features 17 tracks filmed in Rome at the Cathedral of Sopra Minerva. Songs included are Rossini's Sabat Mater, Verdi's Sanctus from Requiem, and Va, pensiero from Nabucco and much more! DVD features an extr a 13 minutes of material Set Contains: The Sacred Arias DVD includes a bonus performance, "The Hymn of the Great Jubilee," and a seven-minute featurette, "The Making of Sacred Arias," consisting of rehearsal footage and comments by Andrea Bocelli and conductor Myun-Whun Chung. French, German, Spanish, and Italian subtitles are available for the spoken portions of the DVD, and the booklet includes all texts in German, Italian, English, and French.
This collection of iconic sacred music lifts hearts heavenward through the power of song. Prepare to be deeply inspired.
Reverence for what is holy
Ardent love, no matter what
Confident reliance on God or others
Article excerpt: "The truth is, Andrea Bocelli couldn’t have been anything but a singer. An opera singer at that, filled with talent. Despite his disability, which never stopped him. He was born in the small town of La Sterza, not too far from Pisa. But, if his mother followed doctor’s orders, he would have never been born. In fact, his parents were advised to pursue an adoption. Doctors knew that Edi and Alessandro’s child would have a disability. But family’s love is stronger and Andrea was born on September, 22nd, 1958. Everyone knew he had problems with his sight and, eventually, the diagnosis was: congenital glaucoma. When he way 12, during an accident playing soccer, he lost his sight completely..." Read More
Article Excerpt: "Rightly or wrongly, this is the first Bocelli record that gives me a clear view of him. Previously there have been points to discuss, some favourable, others less so; but always an uncertainty has intruded, bringing a sense, more acute than with most singers on record, that one would never know what he was really like till he had been heard in the flesh and without microphones. This new disc is reassuring: though the power or volume of the voice is still difficult to estimate, the timbre and quality become clearer and more convincing. What is more, he sings well enough to allay suspicions of a reputation too assiduously promoted. The voice is attractively individual, precise in definition, sometimes flecked very lightly with a quick vibrato. He commands a quite remarkable breadth of phrase and uses it well in the 'Ingemisco' from Verdi's Requiem. He lightens effectively, as in Adeste fideles, and the style conveys affection without sentimentality. The high D flat of 'Cujus animam', the lower tessitura of 'Domine Deus', the quiet ending of the Mascagni are creditable features of these well-schooled performances. His pronunciation in German and English is clear, and while it is stretching a point to include Wagner's 'Der Engel' in a programme of sacred songs, the momentary broadening of repertoire is welcome." Read More
Article Excerpt: "Easy as it might be to condescend to Andrea Bocelli in general and to this CD in particular, there's a lot of heart here. There's also a lot of history; this is the sort of material that Beniamino Gigli – and record buyers – loved in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. With a voice like Gigli's, this sort of crooning religiosity was irresistible. Bocelli is no Gigli, but he's at least a Mario Lanza, and that's good enough for me." Read More
