Ave Maria

Ave Maria

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Vittorio Grigolo is renowned for his soaring tenor voice, his handsome stage presence and his unmatched success as an opera star, performing with The Metropolitan Opera and the Los Angeles Opera. He's also appeared on hit television shows including Dancing With the Stars and Good Morning America. But he learned his craft in a very different arena; from the ages of 11 to 14 Vittorio was a chorister with the legendary Sistine Chapel Choir in Rome. He draws on this background to bring a uniquely authentic approach to his intimate album of sacred music, Ave Maria. The album contains many sacred favorites, such as Franck's Panis angelicus, Verdi s Ingemisco, Mozart's Ave verum corpus and both Schubert's and Caccini's Ave Maria. It also includes beautiful music composed specifically for the Sistine Chapel Choir and has never before been recorded or performed outside the ensemble. Additionally, Ave Maria features a new duet of "O Holy Night" with singing sensation Jackie Evancho.<br>On Ave Maria, Vittorio is joined by his friend and former fellow Sistine chorister Fabio Cerrone, conductor of the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, and he teams up once more with the current youngsters of the choir. "When I met the boys during the recording process, I felt for a moment as if I'd stepped back into my past," he says. "I feel Ave Maria is a tribute to all the incredible people who helped me as a boy, and to all the hours we studied and practiced in those little rooms in the chapel. This album is a dream come true for me."