Luciano Pavarotti sang “Nessun Dorma” with her, José Carreras praised her “clear and beautiful” voice, and Lang Lang called hers “one of the most beautiful voices in the world.” Now Giorgia Fumanti is sharing her most personal album yet. The Italian-born soprano now lives in Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs in Quebec’s Laurentians, north of Montreal. She releases ‘Enchanted Garden’ out now through Virgin Music, led by a lush new recording of “La Vie En Rose” and its accompanying music video.
The 12-track album pairs some of the most enduring melodies of the 20th century with five original compositions. Two of those originals, the title track and “Harmony,” Fumanti wrote herself. Her recent albums, ‘Cinema Collection’ and ‘Cinema II,’ were built on film music. ‘Enchanted Garden’ turns toward everyday life: love, family, childhood, nature, and hope.
“La Vie En Rose” sets the tone. Édith Piaf wrote the lyrics in 1945 to music by Louiguy, and the song became her signature and a postwar anthem of love’s power to change how the world looks. Fumanti sings Mack David’s English lyrics, carried by a full orchestral arrangement from her longtime producer, Stefano Galante. For her, the song carries a belief that even in life’s hardest moments, love can change how we see everything.
The rest of the album reads like a love letter to the movies and the stage. Michel Legrand’s Oscar-nominated “I Will Wait For You” comes from ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.’ “My Own True Love” sets words to Max Steiner’s sweeping “Tara’s Theme” from ‘Gone with the Wind,’ with lyrics by Mack David, who also wrote the English words for “La Vie En Rose.” “Un Giorno Per Noi” is the Italian version of Nino Rota’s love theme from Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ “Once Upon A Dream,” the Tchaikovsky-inspired waltz from Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ leads into “Voilà,” the song that carried France’s Barbara Pravi to second place at Eurovision 2021.
Between those songs, the garden grows new music. Galante wrote “The Ocean’s Song” and “Now Is The Time,” and Jack Lentz wrote “Angel Watching Over Me.” Fumanti’s own “Enchanted Garden” and “Harmony” close the album, letting listeners hear the composer behind the voice for the first time.
That voice sits in a place all its own. “It’s not opera; it’s not pop; it’s in between, so I can start like a pop singer, then go high like a soprano,” says Fumanti.
Fumanti was born in the medieval village of Fivizzano and raised in Aulla, both in Tuscany. She trained at the Conservatorio di Musica Arrigo Boito in Parma before moving to Montreal in 2002, where she began working with her producer and worldwide manager, Maurice Velenosi.
Her international breakthrough came with ‘From My Heart’ on Manhattan/EMI. The album charted on Billboard’s classical crossover chart and reached #1 in Japan and South Africa. She has since sold more than 1.5 million albums and performed on five continents, from London’s Royal Albert Hall to the Athens Arena and China’s biggest television networks. Her audience keeps growing online, too. On Spotify, she draws 60,000 monthly listeners and has passed 50 million plays, and her Apple Music streams have built steadily over the last couple of years to 40,000 a month.
She has shared stages with Michael Bolton, who called her “an amazing talent and voice,” along with Zucchero, Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Lucio Dalla, Alessandro Safina, The Tenors and the Red Army Choir. She has also met Pope Francis at the Vatican.
At home, Fumanti is a mother, a yoga practitioner, and a Reiki master. Those parts of her life shape every note on the new album. “Music is definitely one of my biggest therapies to feel better, and I pray that this has the same effect on my audience,” she says. “It’s my passion; it’s my joy.”
On ‘Enchanted Garden,’ the voice Pavarotti chose to sing beside finally sings words of her own. And “La Vie En Rose” asks listeners to step inside and see the world, for a little while, through rose-coloured glasses.
‘Enchanted Garden’ Track Listing:
“La Vie En Rose” (English Version)
“I Will Wait For You”
“My Own True Love”
“Un Giorno Per Noi”
“Once Upon A Dream”
“Angel Watching Over Me”
“Where Children Play”
“Voilà” (Edit)
“The Ocean’s Song”
“Now Is The Time”
“Enchanted Garden”
“Harmony”