Browsing Tag

Operatic

Paul Ettore Tabone takes us to ‘Heaven’

Posted on 21 April 2021

Opening up with some Spanish guitar, Paul Ettore Tabone – a.k.a. The Tenor From Oz – brings us an Italian language operatic version of Bryan Adams’ ‘Heaven’, as a sampler from his new album ‘This Is Me’.

Paul was given the prestigious ‘Most Promising Voice For Music Theatre’ in both 2007 and 2009 at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music, before making his operatic debut in Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’, a period in West Side Story and Puccini’s ‘Madame Butterfly’, and a four year West End run in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom Of The Opera’. That operatic heritage and training has stood Tabone in good stead here, his deep, rich resonant tenor voice carrying the song beautifully, the combination with the Italian language lyrical translation transforming a pop-rock classic into something much deeper and more emotional.

You can hear ‘Heaven (Paradiso)’ on Soundcloud; order Paul’s debut album, ‘This Is Me’, from Paul’s website.

Review by Alex Holmes

John Riesen and Neill Campbell – Oh Holy Night: A stunning Classical showcase of nocturnal piety

Posted on 22 December 2020

Plenty of people will be making difficult compromises this Christmas, one thing which we definitely don’t have to compromise on, thanks to artists such as John Riesen and Neill Campbell, is festively enrapturing music.

Their Classical cover album, Christmas at Home, is a collection of the most revered Christmas songs from across the decades, revived by award-winning Tenor, John Riesen. During the soul-melting crescendos, drinking in his theatrically transfixing vocal timbre becomes more important than breathing. Their ardent operatic stretches perfectly compliment the arcanely uplifting Classical score which is breath-taking enough to abstract you from the fact that Christmas 2020 might be a little bleaker this year.

Oh Holy Night is available to stream via Spotify along with the rest of John Riesen and Neill Campbell’s Christmas album, Christmas at Home.

Review by Amelia Vandergast