{{distinguish|Opera (band)}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2007}}{{Infobox album | name = The Opera Band | type = studio | artist = Amici Forever | cover = The_Opera_Band_album_cover.jpg | alt = | released = 2003 | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = Classical | length = 47:46 | label = RCA | producer = Nick Garrett, Nick Patrick, Matt Howe, Rick Blaskey & James Shearman | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = Defined | next_year = 2005 }}
'''''The Opera Band''''' is the debut album by Amici Forever released in 2004.
==Making of the album==
The members of Amici Forever met when rehearsing and performing at opera venues around the world. Tenor Geoff Sewell, originally from New Zealand, came up with the idea of an "opera band" mixing traditional opera with contemporary pop. The band features two tenors, two soprano singers and a bass-baritone singer.
Amici Forever signed with Arista Records and started playing high-profile gigs such as the FA Cup final and the English rugby union final. Nick Patrick, who had produced albums by the Gipsy Kings, Tina Turner and Marvin Gaye produced the band's first album ''The Opera Band''. The album mixes opera classics such as "Nessun Dorma" with pop standards such as "Unchained Melody" and "Requiem for a Soldier" from the Band of Brothers soundtrack.
==Track listing== #"Prayer in the Night" (based on Handel's "Sarabande") #"Senza Catene (Unchained Melody)" #"Canto Alla Vita" #"Vita Mia" #"Requiem for a Soldier " #"Whisper of Angels" (based on Faure's "Pavane") #"The Pearl Fishers" #"Soave Sia Il Vento" #"Nimrod: Lux Æterna" #"Song to the Moon" #"Zadok the Priest" #"Nessun Dorma" #"Adeste Fidelis" #"Olympia: Eternal Flame" (bonus track used as theme to BBC's 2004 Olympic Games coverage)
==Charts== ===Weekly chart=== {| class="wikitable" !Chart (2004) !Peak<br>position |- {{album chart|Australia|2|artist=Amici Forever |album=The Opera Band|access-date=26 December 2021}} |- {{album chart|New Zealand|1|artist=Amici Forever |album=The Opera Band|access-date=26 December 2021}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|26|artist=Amici Forever |album=The Opera Band|access-date=26 December 2021}} |}
===Year-end chart=== {| class="wikitable" !Chart (2004) !Position |- |Australian (ARIA Charts)<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia|edition=PDF|page=14}}</ref> |align="center"|40 |}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Amici Forever|title=The Opera Band|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2004|certyear=2006|type=album|access-date=26 December 2021}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Amici Forever|title=The Opera Band|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2004|certyear=2004|id=2004-12-10|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|type=album}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101003032225/http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg Music Guide The Opera Band page]
==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opera Band, The}} Category:Amici Forever albums Category:2004 debut albums