Giorgia Fumanti

ngles is sure to add to the soprano’s 21 million lifetime streams and worldwide sales over 1.5 million. The Italian-born, Montreal-based crossover artist and song interpreter, praised by Jose Carreras for her “clear beautiful voice,” Lang Lang as “one of the most beautiful voices in the world” and Michael Bolton as “an amazing talent and voice,” says the 20-track Cinema Collection is the first of two, or potentially more, reinterpretations of movie classics.

“I still have so many songs for the future. That's why we called it Cinema Collection because there will be more collections,” Giorgia says. “There is so much music from movies that is extremely inspiring.”

Produced and arranged by her long-time collaborator and fellow Italian-Canadian Stefano Galante in Montreal, the ambitious project ranges from The Wizard of Oz’ “Over The Rainbow,” Pinocchio’s “When You Wish Upon A Star,” eponymous “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing” and Breakfast At Tiffany’s “Moon River” to Shindler’s List’s “I Won’t Light A Candle,” Top Gun’s “Take My Breath Away,” Out of Africa’s “L’Amore Vincera,” and two from A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, “For Always” and “Where Dreams Are Born.” It ends with a reissue of “Now We Are Free” from Mystic. Her second album, 2007’s From my Heart, included four Ennio Morricone movie themes, reached top 20 on Billboard’s classical crossover chart, and peaked at No. 1on charts in Japan and South Africa.

“When I was a little girl, I was very inspired by the songs from Ennio Morricone and John Williams while I was watching their movies. I didn't know that one day I would be a singer,” Giorgia muses. “The songs remind me of memories from my childhood in Italy. They’re a perfect style for my voice because 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.”

Giorgia is still able to make perennial favourites like “Over the Rainbow” and “When You Wish Upon A Star,” known by millions young and old, her own. “The melodies, you just sing them; they’re not something that you think about,” she says. “You just follow the feelings the music brings. It’s very natural. We actually don't prepare too much. Of course, we did different arrangements; they’re not copies. They’re new versions made by me and my producer.”

The two songs that were something different for her are the pop songs, she says, “Take My Breath Away” and “Calling You.”

“Normally, I sing complicated things and ‘Take My Breath Away’ was so easy. My producer pushed me to do it and he was right because it's a beautiful song,” she says. “‘Calling You’ is a very famous song from the ‘80s, and it’s also a pop song that’s easy for me. But surprisingly, they both brought out a different side from my voice, but always staying in my style.”

Giorgia has been working with Stefano for her last five albums. She calls their decade-long partnership a “beautiful collaboration.” “He knows me very well. It's very respectful and sensitive and easy. It's a big pleasure to work together. I'm very lucky.”

Born in a medieval village of Fivizzano in Tuscany and raised in the town of Aulla and in Monterosso, Giorgia studied voice at the prestigious Conservatorio di Musica Arrigo Boito in Parma, where her soprano voice attracted the attention of record labels. In 2002, she relocated to Montreal, where she landed a record deal with ISBA, and released her debut album, Like A Dream. She then landed her first international deal with Manhattan/EMI and put out From My Heart in 2007. Subsequent albums came out via ISBA, Universal Music Canada, Universal Music China, Musicaroma (S. Korea), and, in recent years, her manager’s label, VEGA2. Over her 20-year career, Giorgia has shared the stage with Michael Bolton; Jose Carreras; Lang Lang; Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward; Italy’s Zucchero, Alessandro Safina, Lucio Dalla, Albano and Gino Paoli; Alain Barriere (France); Mario Frangoulis (Greece); Patrizio Buanne (Austria); The Tenors (Canada); theRedArmyChoir (Moscow) and Maestro Kent Nagano (U.S.). She also recorded a duet of “Nessun Dorma” with Luciano Pavarotti and had the honour to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Driven by a great need to have peace in her personal life and extol joy to others through her music, Giorgia’s other great love is her family. She is a mom of four, three girls, 13, 8 and 5, and a boy, 2, two biological, one adopted, and one she is in the process of fostering with the possibility of adoption. “I touched many aspects of motherhood. My heart is really fulfilled,” she says. Giorgia is also a master reiki and yoga practitioner. “I like everything that calms you and makes you feel good,” she explains.

“Music is definitely one of my biggest therapies to feel better and I pray that this has the same effect on my audience. It's my passion; it's my joy. I worked hard to make this family and it wasn’t always easy; I just want to spend the many years that I still have on Earth to be happy, singing and traveling and with my kids and with my audience.”