Opera Babes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Opera Babes are a classical music group consisting of Karen England (born 1974), Mezzo Soprano, and Rebecca Knight (born 1970), Soprano. England studied at Leeds University and London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Knight, whose mother is the opera singer Gillian Knight, wrote for children's television early in her career. Both women have performed with the English touring company Opera della Luna and at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.
[edit] Background and history
The Opera Babes met in Cambridge while performing Mozart’s The Magic Flute in a touring opera company. They began busking together in 2001 on London's famous Covent Garden. They were spotted by a Sony executive and became famous for singing "Un bel dì vedremo" ("One fine day we shall see" from the opera Madame Butterfly), the song that ITV used for their World Cup 2002 programmes, at the FA Cup final and at the UEFA Champions League final in Milan.
The Opera Babes released their first album, Beyond Imagination in 2002 (ranking No. 1 on the UK classical charts for 11 weeks, and No. 4 on the US billboard charts), contained classical and "crossover" numbers. Knight explained the group's strategy to BBC News as follows: "...we have tried to maintain the classical integrity while making these things more appealing to a wider audience."[1] They soon had a falling out with their producer, SonyBMG, which asked them to concentrate on studio work, rather than performing live. "We were originally discovered busking... so I would have thought it was obvious that we loved performing live, yet Sony weren't interested," said Karen England. The Opera Babes' second album, Renaissance, another classical and "crossover" collection, was released in 2006 by Instant Karma UK.[2] Swansea's Home Front magazine wrote, "Renaissance is really superb. Tracks include 'Casta Diva' [from the opera Norma,] 'Pie Jesu,' 'Clair de Lune,' and Stephen Sondheim’s 'Send in the Clowns'.... If you only buy one classical album, buy this one!"[3]
The Opera Babes have performed in concert with orchestras such as the Philharmonia, the Halle, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, among others. They also performed for Queen Elizabeth II at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, the launch of the Commonwealth Games at Buckingham Palace, and Proms at the Palace for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. They have also performed at the Los Angeles Opera House with Placido Domingo and were the first British classical act to perform in Las Vegas. They have performed on GMTV, Des & Mel, Good Morning America and Fox and Friends. The Opera Babes have also been the subject of three UK documentaries and one US documentary.
The Opera Babes' 2006 "Renaissance" concert tour songs from both of their albums performed with multi-media special effects and visuals, as well as dancers costumed by designer Elizabeth Emanuel.[4] In December, they were featured on the UK's Songs of Praise programme recorded at Lichfield Cathedral, with two more programs to be aired. In the spring of 2007, they continue to tour in the UK and the U.S.
[edit] Recordings
- Beyond Imagination by Opera Babes (Audio CD - 2002) Sony, ASIN B00007MB2F
- Renaissance by Opera Babes (Audio - CD 2006) Instant Karma UK, ASIN B000EPR7PW
