'INSPIRATO', the new album from YANNI
Starring opera superstars Plácido Domingo, Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and many more
On this special album, YANNI’s beautiful instrumental melodies are transformed with lyrics
The haunting instrumental melodies of internationally renowned composer YANNI have gained him over 40 platinum and gold albums throughout the world. His timeless hits have been transformed by the addition of lyrics, many of them written by Plácido Domingo Jr., and Nathan Pacheco. Working in partnership with the legendary operatic superstar Plácido Domingo, YANNI has assembled a stellar line-up of the greatest singers of the opera world to perform on this disc.
Guest artists include:
Renée Fleming, known as ‘America’s Favourite Soprano’. She regularly headlines at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and has perofmred the USA National Anthem during the 2014 NFL Super Bowl broadcast to over 100 million viewers
Vittorio Grigòlo, the Italian tenor who recently made a sensational debut at London’s Royal Opera House
Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón who is regularly hailed as ‘The Next Domingo’
Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins
The UK’s biggest selling male classical singer Russell Watson, affectionately known as ‘The People’s Tenor’
Plácido Domingo Jr.,
The American singer/songwriter Nathan Pacheco
Chloe Lowery
The dazzling young rising opera star, South African soprano Pretty Yende. Yende was a 2011 prize-winner in Domingo’s prestigious Operalia competition
Micaëla Oeste who was a Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist at Washington National Opera
Lauren Jelencovich
Playing a pivotal role in this album is Placido Domingo , one of the most admired operatic singers of all time who has performed more roles than any other tenor in history. He has also had many successes in the field of non-classical music and reached an unprecedented global audience as part of 'The Three Tenors’.
YANNI’s music has crossed all cultural borders and been performed all over the world in more than 40 different countries. He is particularly known for his spectacular concerts at famous landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, the Acropolis, the Kremlin, and China’s Forbidden City. Until recently the self-taught composer and pianist has avoided using words with his melodies, but now felt compelled to explore this exciting new direction. In this project, he has used some of his most successful hits from a career spanning more than thirty years, including ‘Tribute’, ‘End Of August’ and ‘Adagio in C minor’.
Each song has a deeply personal story behind it. ‘Ode alla Grecia’ (which was formerly the instrumental ‘End of August’) was composed when YANNI was at home in Greece, watching all the tourists departing at the end of summer. As he stared at the ocean, he reflected on his love for his homeland, and felt how bittersweet it was to leave to return to his career in the USA.