Classical

Carly Paoli Live At Cadogan Hall Out now HHHHH

Carly Paoli is a winning blend of southern Italy and northern England, which is obvious throughout this appealing recording of her stand-out concert at London’s Cadogan Hall that I attended in February. Italian sunshine is everywhere in her magical accounts of songs created from two of Ennio Morricone’s most celebrated film scores; Se Tu Fossi (Cinema Paradiso) and Nella Fantasia (The Mission). ‘Paoli’s striking vocal technique was honed over three years at the celebrated Royal Northern College of Music. Sadly there is only one operatic aria here, Dvorak’s Song To The Moon from Rusalka. But what an aria, and what a performance, with Paoli at her best, displaying not only a near flawless technique, but also her fearlessness, with every phrase, however high-lying, confidently launched and effortlessly achieved. Indeed, throughout this varied programme her attractively fast vibrato imparts warmth and colour to everything she sings. For me she is especially successful in a Disney medley, where Some Day My Prince Will Come from Snow White is delivered with winning simplicity, while I Know You, based on the waltz from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, shows her particular ability with fine classical melodies. Her publicist describes her as ‘the rising star of the commercial classic world’ and so she is. She has worked hard to make herself, at her best, a terrific interpreter of a wide range of music, especially the finest film music. Just listen to her encore here, Harold Arlen’s Over The Rainbow from The Wizard Of Oz, and you will immediately recognise what a special talent she is.