By the evidence of My Secret Passion, Michael Bolton's secret passion is opera.
For several years, he had included arias in his concerts, but he had never recorded them until My Secret Passion.
Bolton's bombastic style is relatively well-suited to arias, since he certainly can project his voice quite powerfully.
He doesn't have the subtlety to deliver this repertoire completely convincingly, but the Philharmonia Orchestra, under the direction of Steven Mercurio, helps camouflage his weaknesses, as does the guest appearance of soprano Renee Fleming.
In other words, My Secret Passion isn't the disaster that Bolton's detractors were expecting, but it isn't a triumph, either.
Instead, it's a welcome change of pace from a singer who has become a touch too predictable.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nessun Dorma!Giacomo Puccini | Michael Bolton | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 2 | Una Furtiva LagrimaGaetano Donizetti | Michael Bolton | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | M'AppariFriedrich von Flotow | Michael Bolton | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 4 | Che Gelida ManinaGiacomo Puccini | Michael Bolton | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | O Soave FanciullaGiacomo Puccini | Michael Bolton, Renée Fleming | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | Vesti la GiubbaRuggero Leoncavallo | Michael Bolton | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 7 | Recondita ArmoniaGiacomo Puccini | Michael Bolton | Play | 02:24 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 8 | É la Solita Storia | Michael Bolton | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | Celeste AïdaGiuseppe Verdi | Michael Bolton | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Pourquoi Me Reveiller | Michael Bolton | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 11 | E Lucevan Lr Stelle | Michael Bolton | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 40 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 204 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Austopchuk | Art Direction |
| 2 | Michael Bolton | Primary Artist, Producer, Tenor (Vocal), Vocals |
| 3 | Alison Booth | Project Coordinator |
| 4 | Gaetano Donizetti | Composer |
| 5 | Andrew Dudman | Assistant Engineer |
| 6 | Renée Fleming | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 7 | Friedrich von Flotow | Composer |
| 8 | Richard Haney-Jardine | Translation |
| 9 | Ruggero Leoncavallo | Composer |
| 10 | Louis Levin | Director |
| 11 | Vladimir Meller | Mastering |
| 12 | Steven Mercurio | Conductor |
| 13 | Sheila Metzner | Photography |
| 14 | Steve Milo | Assistant Engineer |
| 15 | Giacomo Puccini | Composer |
| 16 | Rob Rapley | Editing, Engineer |
| 17 | Dave Reitzas | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 18 | Grace Row | Producer |
| 19 | Alex Scannell | Assistant Engineer |
| 20 | Jim Varvana | Assistant Engineer |
| 21 | Giuseppe Verdi | Composer |
| 22 | Brian Vipperts | Assistant Engineer |
| 23 | Bob Whitney | Editing |
| 24 | Tom Woodruff | Illustrations |
| 25 | Joel Zimmerman | Design |
| 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. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |