(06 July 2002) The third album by soprano Filippa Giordano, Italy's premier female contemporary-classical crossover artist, is a lush 16-track collection entitled Il Rosso Amore (Warner Music (UK) 0927 45740 2 LC4281, 2002). It is released on the success of the singer's stunning debut self-titled recording (review) and follow-up album Passioni (review). As with her former recordings, the new album contains a variety of classical and contemporary tracks sung in English and Italian. The artist's music will appeal to Sarah Brightman (Classics review), Emma Shapplin (reviews) and Izzy (Ascolta review) enthusiasts.

Mixing contemporary compositions with reworked opera arias, Filippa Giordano's Il Rosso Amore continues the direction established by her eponymous debut disc. Giordano hails from Palermo, Italy and grew up amid a highly musical family--her brother is a conductor, her parents both classical singers.

As a young woman she was drawn to the spontaneity of the performances of pop idols as Madonna, George Michael and Whitney Houston. Her solution has been to develop a fusion of classical and commercial styles, mixing orchestral arrangements with pop production techniques--like Sasha Lazard (review)--on this new release offering four opera-based pieces and twelve new songs.

Pitched between Broadway and Hollywood, with a dash of the pop diva histrionics of Whitney Houston, this is pure melodrama. Mentor and celebrated Italian film composer, Ennio Morricone contributes two tracks from the film Aida degli Alberi (2001), "I'abla verrà" and the brief Disney style number" Il canto della terra." "Up to the Light" is a bombastic showstopper featuring stratospheric vocals and blockbuster production values, so that against these Puccini's "Un bel dì" and "Coro a bocca chiusa" from Madam Butterfly sound decidedly out of place, despite being garbed in luxurious 21st-century studio clothes.

Filippa Giordano's new album is certain to delight her existing fans and bring her many new ones.Read further reviews, listen to soundbites and order the album from amazon.comhere. Clearly worth a trans-Atlantic journey, the album is a must listen!