Alessandro Safina () is an Italian operatic pop

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

. Born in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, Italy, Safina has sought to combine his interests in

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and modern

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

Music education

Safina began to study music when he was nine years old and attended a music academy at the age of 12. At 17, he was accepted to the Conservatorio di Musica "Luigi Cherubini" in Florence, Italy. In 1989, he won the "Concorso Lirico Internazionale" in Mantova, Italy, and this led to his opera debut. In 1990 he appeared with soprano

Katia Ricciarelli Katiuscia Maria Stella "Katia" Ricciarelli (; born 16 January 1946) is an Italian soprano and actress. Early life and career Born in Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, Ricciarelli struggled during her younger years. She studied at the Be ...

as Rodolfo in

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

''.

Career

In the '90s, Safina began recording with Italian pianist/composer Romano Musumarra and his self-titled debut was issued in September 2001. Safina's single "Luna", released in 1999, reached number 2 in the Dutch charts. In 2001, Safina contributed to the score of

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

's film ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows an English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan ...

'' where he performed

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's "

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in March 1970 ...

" with

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

, and a part of the Elephant Love Medley, sung by Ewan McGregor and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

. That same year, his song Luna was part of the soundtrack of the soap opera ''

O Clone ''O Clone'' (English: ''The Clone'') is a Brazilian telenovela created by Glória Perez and directed by Jayme Monjardim. Produced and aired by Rede Globo, it was aired from 1 October 2001 to 13 June 2002, with 221 episodes. It also was an intern ...

'' from Rede Globo, Safina, also made a guest appearance in the soap opera. In November 2001, Safina sang

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's " Music of the Night" for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during the

Royal Variety Show The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

. By 2002, Safina's album ''Insieme A Te'' sold 700,000 copies worldwide. In March, 2002, he performed "Del Perduto Amore" at the

San Remo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

. He also recorded "

" with

for

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...

, a charity venture to help children. Safina's concert "Only You", featuring

Patricia Manterola Patricia Manterola (; born Bertha Patricia Manterola Carrión) is a Mexican singer and actress born in Mexico City. Background Patricia Manterola Carrion was born to Jorge Manterola and Maria Dolores Carrion, the second of three children. Her ...

, was taped in the amphitheatre El Greco in

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, incl ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in 2001, and was later broadcast in the series ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

'' by American public channel

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

and released in 2003 on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

. Also in 2003, Safina performed the English and Korean vocals for a Korean song called "Hamangyeon" (하망연(何茫然)), part of the soundtrack for ''

Dae Jang Geum ''Jewel in the Palace'' () is a 2003 South Korean historical drama television series directed by Lee Byung-hoon. It first aired on MBC from September 15, 2003, to March 23, 2004, where it was the top program with an average viewership rati ...

'', and he appeared as Mario Cavaradossi in ''Tosca e Altre Due'', a film based on the opera ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' by Puccini. In 2007, he recorded a duet with the British soprano

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

for her album, ''Symphony''. He then joined her for the Symphony World Tour in 2008 where he sang " Canto della Terra" and " Sarai Qui" with Brightman. In June 2017, Safina performed "

'O sole mio "" () is a well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its Neapolitan-language lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua (1865–1917) and Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878–1972).. The title translates ...

" with Italian tenor

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

at the Peoples' Friendship Palace in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

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. Duets: *"Brindisi" from

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's opera '' La traviata'' with opera soprano

Sumi Jo Sumi Jo, OSI (; ; born 22 November 1962) is a South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her Grammy Award-winning interpretations of the bel canto repertoire. Life and career Early life and education Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong in Ch ...

. *"Life Goes On" with Dutch singer Petra Berger. *"Aria e Memoria" with

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

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" with rock musician

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. *"Bile, Bile" with Turkish singer

Sezen Aksu Sezen Aksu (; born Fatma Sezen Yıldırım; 13 July 1954) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and producer. She is one of the most successful Turkish people, Turkish singers, having sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her nicknames include the "Q ...

Discography

* ''Insieme A Te'' (1999) * ''Alessandro Safina'' (2001) * ''Insieme A Te ith Bonus tracks' (2001) * ''Musica Di Te'' (2003) * ''Sognami'' (2007) * ''Dedicated'' (2014) * "La Siete Di Vivere" single (1999) * "Luna" single (2000) * "Life Goes On" single; duet with Petra Berger (2007)

Personal life

Safina was married to Italian dancer Lorenza Mario from 2001 to 2011, with whom he has a son Pietro (born 2002). Currently, Safina and partner Laura Maria Calafeteanu, a marketing consultant, live together in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

with their son, Christian, born in 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Safina, Alessandro Living people Italian operatic tenors Musicians from Siena Opera crossover singers Italian pop singers Italian expatriates in Romania Korean-language singers of Italy English-language singers from Italy French-language singers of Italy Sicilian-language singers Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers