For her audition on the TV show "Holland's Got Talent," nine-year-old Amira Willighagen sang Puccini's O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi and went on to win the competition with Nessun dorma! from Turandot, stunning listeners with her remarkably outsized and expressive voice.
Her debut album for Sony Masterworks, Amira, includes these arias and offers eight other selections, including Mozart's Voi che sapete from Le nozze di Figaro, the Gounod-Bach Ave Maria, Handel's Ombra mai fu from Serse, and Orff's In trutina from Carmina Burana.
Self-taught by singing along with YouTube videos, she has since received professional training, and it shows in her improved breath control and the steadiness of her tone, which makes her voice pleasant to hear and her high notes surprisingly pure and compelling.
This is a promising start for Willighagen's career, and with the proper guidance and care of her voice, this should be the first of many appealing albums.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | O mio babbino caroGiovacchino Forzano, Giacomo Puccini, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 2 | Nella fantasiaChiara Ferrau, Ennio Morricone, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Voi che sapeteWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lorenzo da Ponte, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 4 | Caro mio benGiuseppe Giordani, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 5 | Song to the MoonAntonin Dvorák, Jaroslav Kvapil, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 24 MB |
| 6 | Ave MariaJohann Sebastian Bach, Charles Gounod, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 05:09 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Ombra mai fuGeorge Frederick Handel, Nicolo Minato, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 8 | In trutinaCarl Orff, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 02:04 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 9 | Nessun dormaGiacomo Puccini, Amira Willighagen | Amira Willighagen | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 10 | Pie Jesu | Amira Willighagen | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 33 mins | 77 MB | |||||
| 33 mins | 163 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily Atkins | Choir/Chorus |
| 2 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Composer |
| 3 | Richard Burne | Mastering |
| 4 | City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | Primary Artist |
| 5 | Rachel Connell | Choir/Chorus |
| 6 | Lorenzo da Ponte | Composer, Librettist |
| 7 | Antonin Dvorák | Composer |
| 8 | Chiara Ferrau | Composer, Lyricist |
| 9 | James Fitzpatrick | Orchestra Contractor |
| 10 | Giovacchino Forzano | Composer, Librettist |
| 11 | Giuseppe Giordani | Composer |
| 12 | Charles Gounod | Composer |
| 13 | Dimitry Hamelink | Artwork, Design |
| 14 | George Frederick Handel | Composer |
| 15 | William Hayward | Arranger, Conductor |
| 16 | Jan Holzner | Engineer |
| 17 | Katherine Jenkins | Arranger |
| 18 | Jaroslav Kvapil | Composer, Librettist, Libretto Translation |
| 19 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Composer |
| 20 | Nicolo Minato | Composer, Librettist |
| 21 | Niki Moloney | Choir/Chorus, Leader |
| 22 | Ennio Morricone | Composer |
| 23 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Composer |
| 24 | Laura Oldenbroek | Photography |
| 25 | Carl Orff | Composer |
| 26 | Nick Patrick | Arranger, Producer |
| 27 | Giacomo Puccini | Composer |
| 28 | Phoebe Roberts | Choir/Chorus |
| 29 | Peter Schwier | Mixing |
| 30 | St. Joseph's Youth Choir | Guest Artist |
| 31 | Phoebe Street | Choir/Chorus |
| 32 | Lucie Svehlová | Concert Master |
| 33 | Hannah Wardman | Choir/Chorus |
| 34 | Lucy Wardman | Choir/Chorus |
| 35 | Amira Willighagen | Composer, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Soprano (Vocal) |
Amira Willighagen
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |