Product Description

'Beyond Imagination' is the debut album by the opera duo who formerly busked in London's Covent Garden. Karen England and Rebecca Knight found their way into the pop mainstream after singing at an FA Cup Final. Their version of 'Un Bel Di'from Madame Butterfly is the theme to ITV's World Cup 2002 coverage.

Track Listing

1. One Fine Day (Un Bel Di from Madame Butterfly) (featuring Kodo)
2. Sempre Ricordo (Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor)
3. There's A Place (from The New World Symphony)
4. Beyond Imagination (from A Midsummer Night's Dream)
5. O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana)
6. Lakmé H2O (Flower Duet)
7. Ebben?..Ne Andro Lontano (from La Wally)
8. You Live On In My Heart (Cinema Paradiso)
9. Chanson Bohème (from Carmen)
10. Recuérdame
11. Stranger In Paradise (from Kismet)
12. Ode II Joy (from Symphony No. 9)
13. 1001 Nights (from The Nutcracker Suite)
14. Barcarolle (from The Tales Of Hoffmann)
15. Lakmé (VibeTribe Mix)
16. Vittoria! (Aida 2002)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54541 in Music
• Released on: 2002-11-11
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Fresh, Solid & Intelligent
Mezzo Karen England and Soprano Rebecca Knight's debut, supported by perceptive and idiomatic accompaniment, is a solid and impressive recording. The instrumentalists play with great boldness and precision and present the classic works as vibrant music to be taken seriously, not just period pieces.

These compositions pose a range of challenges to the singers. England and Knight respond to the arrangements' disarming freshness and originality with a ready and penetrating intelligence. While they muster ample virtuosic agility of lyric warmth as required, it is their dramatic sense that is most compelling. Knight flings herself passionately into the emotional torrents of "Chanson Boheme," while she delivers her own lyrics in the charming "Ode II Joy" from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with a confident fervor. England sings with pure, attractive tone; her voice has maturity, depth and flexibility, and her diction is impeccable.

All of these songs are of interest in giving us another aspect of each composer's work. Many are achingly lovely -- Catalani's "Ebben?..." and the stirring Cohen/Lew arrangement of "Un bel di," are worth the price of this CD alone. This recital provides abundant evidence that opera (and its babes) has much to offer modern audiences.

classical music lover Yorkshire
This album is refreshing and innovative, as a collector of CDs at first glance the titles inspired little confidence in the contents, just the same old tunes I thought. It is the voices of the singers that transport you onto a journey of discovery, particularly their version of Lakme with a contemporary, upbeat sound. the voices, one a soprano the other a mezzo compliment each other beautifully without either of them being too dominant there is a wide range of material here each given a fresh going over, particularly Ode II Joy where words give the music more impetus and relevance for todays world. I thoroughly enjoyed this CD and look forward to future releases from these artists.