Name	Céline Dion
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Céline Marie Claudette Dion
Born	March 30, 1968
Origin	Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada
Spouse	René Angélil
Children	Rene Charles (born 2001) Eddy and Nelson (born 2010)
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Pop, dance-pop, pop rock, soft rock, adult contemporary
Occupation	Singer, songwriter-composer, actress
Years active	1980–present
Label	Sony Music Canada, Epic, 550, Columbia
Networth	over US$250 million (Jan. 2007)
Url

Fountain

, in Geneva (Columbus Day, 1951), rises 140 meters (459 feet) above Lake Geneva]] Palace, the Alhambra, in Granada, Spain ( 1302-1309). The crossing jets of water were added later.]] fountain. San Agustin archaeological site]] A fountain (from the Latin "fons" or "fontis", a source or spring) is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect.

Fountains were originally purely functional, connected to springs or aqueducts and used to provide drinking water and water for bathing, but in ancient Rome they began to be used as decorative elements in gardens and courtyards. The art of fountains reached its peak in the fountains of the palaces of Moorish Spain in the 14th century; in the Italian Renaissance garden in the 15th and 16th century; in the fountains of the Gardens of Versailles in the 17th century; and the decorative fountains of Rome in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Fountains today may be practical, such as drinking fountains and village fountains which provide clean drinking water; or designed for recreation, such as splash fountains, where residents can cool off in summer; or ornamental, decorating city parks and squares and home gardens.

Fountains may be wall fountains or free-standing. In fountains sheets of water may flow over varied surfaces of stone, concrete or metal. Basins may overflow from one into another, or the overflow may imitate a natural cascade. Many fountains are located in small, artificial, ornamental ponds, basins and formal garden pools, and often they include sculpture.

Until the 20th century fountains depended upon gravity to make water spout or spray in the air, but modern fountains can use mechancial pumps. A famous example is the Jet d'Eau in Lake Geneva, which shoots water 140 meters in the air. The highest such fountain in the world is King Fahd's Fountain in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which rises 260 meters (853 feet) above the Red Sea. The musical fountain combines moving jets of water, colored lights and recorded music, controlled by a computer, for dramatic effects.

History of fountains

Ancient Fountains

Fountains, from ancient times until the 19th century, depended upon gravity to make water pour downwards, or, if the source were high enough, to leap into the air. Ancient civilizations invented basins and fountains to hold and distribute precious drinking water, and sometimes for decoration. A carved stone basin, dating to found 2000 B.C., was discovered in the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Lagash in modern Iraq. The ancient Assyrians constructed a series of basins in the gorge of the Comel River, carved in solid rock, connected by small conduits, descending to a stream. The lowest basin was decorated with carved reliefs of two lions.

filling a vessel from a fountain (The Louvre) ]] Attic red-figure hydria, ca. 490 BC. National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid.]] Whether a civilization had fountains depended mostly upon whether its water supply was above or below the level of its cities. The ancient Egyptians had ingenious systems for hoisting water up from the Nile for drinking and irrigation, so they apparently had no need for fountains. The Romans and Greeks brought water down from the mountains via aqueducts; since the source was higher than the outlet, their cities had fountains which spouted or poured water into basins as sources of drinking water. - Fountains existed in Athens, Corinth, and other ancient Greek cities in the 6th century BC as the terminating points of aqueducts which brought water from springs and rivers into the cities. In the 6th century BC the Athenian ruler Peisistratos built the main fountain of Athens, the Enneacrounos, in the Agora, or main square. It had nine large cannons, or spouts, which supplied drinking water to local residents.

Greek fountains were made of stone or marble, with water flowing through bronze pipes and emerging from the mouth of a sculpted mask that represented the head of a lion or the muzzle of an animal. Most Greek fountains flowed by simple gravity, but they also discovered how to use water pressure and the principle of a siphon to make water jet or spout, as seen in pictures on Greek vases (see illustration).

Ancient Roman fountains

(First century AD)]]

The Romans, with an extensive and sophisticated system of aqueducts used to supply their drinking water, irrigation water and water for Roman baths, advanced the art and technology of fountain design. Roman engineers used lead pipes instead of bronze. The excavations at Pompeii, which revealed the city as it was when it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, uncovered free-standing fountains and basins placed at intervals along city streets, fed by siphoning water upwards from lead pipes under the street.

The excavations of Pompeii also showed that the homes of wealthy Romans often had a small fountain in the atrium, or interior courtyard, with water coming from city water supply and spouting into a small bowl or basin.(See illustration).

Rome itself was filled with fountains. According to Sextus Julius Frontinus, the Roman consul who was named curator aquarum or guardian of the water of Rome in 98 AD, Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins, not counting the water supplied to the Imperial household, baths and owners of private villas. Each of the major fountains was connected to two different aqueducts, in case one was shut down for service.

The Romans were able to make fountains jet water into the air, by using the pressure of water flowing from a distant and higher source of water to create hydraulic head, or force. Illustrations of fountains in gardens spouting water are found on wall paintings in Rome from the 1st century BC, and in the villas of Pompeii. The Villa of Hadrian in Tivoli featured a large swimming basin with jets of water. Pliny the Younger described the banquet room of a Roman villa where a fountain began to jet water when visitors sat on a marble seat. The water flowed into a basin, where the courses of a banquet were served in floating dishes shaped like boats.

One original Roman fountain can still be seen today. The Fontana della Pigna is a large bronze pine cone, from the 1st Century AD, which originally spouted water from the top. It originally stood next to the Temple of Isis in the Roman Forum then was moved to the courtyard of the old St. Peter's Basilica, where it was seen and described by Dante. In the 15th century it was moved to a niche in the courtyard between the new Vatican Palace and the Belvedere Palace, on the Cortile della Pigna.

Medieval fountains

(1411–1416) with a fountain in the center]]

, Provence, (12th century)]] next to a fountain (1340–50) (The Louvre) ]] During the Middle Ages, Roman aqueducts were wrecked or fell into decay, and few fountains continued working. Fountains were found mainly in the cloisters of monasteries or the small enclosed gardens of the nobility.

Fountains in the Middle Ages were associated with the source of life, purity, wisdom, innocence, and the Garden of Eden. In illuminated manuscripts like the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1411–1416), the Garden of Eden was shown with a graceful gothic fountain in the center (see illustration).

The cloister of a monastery was supposed to be a replica of the Garden of Eden, protected from the outside world. Simple fountains, called lavabos, were placed inside Medieval monasteries such as Le Thoronet Abbey in Provence and were used for ritual washing before religious services.

Fountains were also found in the enclosed medieval jardins d'amour, "gardens of courtly love" - ornamental gardens used for courtship and relaxion. The medieval romance The Roman de la Rose describes a fountain in the center of an enclosed garden, feeding small streams bordered by flowers and fresh herbs.

Some Medieval fountains, like the cathedrals of their time, illustrated biblical stories, local history and the virtues of their time. The Fontana Maggiore in Perugia, dedicated in 1278, is decorated with stone carvings representing prophets and saints, allegories of the arts, labors of the months, the signs of the zodiac, and scenes from Genesis and Roman history.

Medieval fountains, in the grim times of the Middle Ages, could also provide amusement. The gardens of the Counts of Artois at the Chateau de Herdin, built in 1295, contained famous fountains, called Les Merveilles de Herdin which could be triggered to drench surprised visitors.

Moorish fountains

in the Alhambra (14th century)]]

The palaces of Moorish Spain, particularly the Alhambra in Granada, had famous fountains. The patio of the Sultan in the gardens of Generalife in Granada (1319) featured spouts of water pouring into a basin, with channels which irrigated orange and myrtle trees. The garden was modified over the centuries - the jets of water which cross the canal today were added in the 19th century. The fountain in the Court of the Lions of the Alhambra, built from 1362–1391, is a large vasque mounted on twelve stone statues of lions. Water spouts upward in the vasque and pours from the mouths of the lions, filling four channels dividing the courtyard into quadrants. The basin dates to the 14th century, but the lions spouting water are believed to be older, dating to the 11th century.

Persian, Mughal and Ottoman fountains

in Jerusalem, built by Suleiman the Magnificent (1527)]] in Lahore, Pakistan (1641)]] , (1728), in front of the gates of the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul ]]

Ancient Persian gardens, dating back as far as 4000 BC, are depicted on decorated pottery, and had the cross shape which became the characteristic of the later Islamic garden. Roman soldiers who campaigned in the east brought back descriptions of Persian gardens, and they had some influence on the appearance of Roman gardens.

In the 9th century, the Banū Mūsā brothers, a trio of Persian inventors, were comissioned by the Caliph of Baghdad to collect the engineering knowledge of the ancient Greek and Roman world. They wrote a book entitled the Book of Ingenious Devices, which included both Greek hydraulic inventions and many of their own ideas, including a variety of ingenious fountains which formed water into different shapes and a wind-powered water pump. It is not known if any of their fountains were ever actually built.

The design of the Islamic garden spread throughout the Islamic world, from Moorish Spain to the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. The Shalimar Gardens (Lahore) built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1641, were ornamented with 410 fountains, which fed into a large basin, canal and marble pools.

In the Ottoman Empire, rulers often built fountains next to mosques so worshippers could do their ritual washing. Examples include the Fountain of Qasim Pasha (1527), Temple Mount, Jerusalem, an ablution and drinking fountain built during the Ottoman reign of Suleiman the Magnificent; and the Fountain of Ahmed III (1728), at the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul. Palaces themselves often had small decorated fountains, which provided drinking water, cooled the air, and made a pleasant splashing sound. One surviving example is the Fountain of Tears (1764) at the Bakhchisarai Palace, in Crimea; which was made famous by a poem of Alexander Pushkin.

Renaissance fountains (15th–17th centuries)

at Tivoli (1572)]]

In the 14th century, Italian humanist scholars began to rediscover and translate forgotten Roman texts on architecture by Vitruvius, on hydraulics by Hero of Alexandria, and descriptions of Roman gardens and fountains by Pliny the Younger Pliny the Elder, and Varro. The treatise on architecture, De re aedificatoria, by Leon Battista Alberti, which described in detail Roman villas, gardens and fountains, became the guidebook for Renaissance builders.

In Rome Pope Nicholas V (1397–1455), himself a scholar who commissioned hundreds of translations of ancient Greek classics into Latin, decided to embellish the city and make it a worthy capital of the Christian world. In 1453 he began to rebuild the Acqua Vergine, the ruined Roman aqueduct which had brought clean drinking water to the city from eight miles (13 km) away. He also decided to revive the Roman custom of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with a mostra, a grand commemorative fountain. He commissioned the architect Leon Battista Alberti to built a wall fountain where the Trevi Fountain is now located. The aqueduct he restored, with modifications and extensions, eventually supplied water to the Trevi Fountain and the famous baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona.

One of the first new fountains to be built in Rome during the Renaissance was the fountain in the piazza in front of the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, (1472), which was placed on the site of an earlier Roman fountain. Its design, based on an earlier Roman model, with a circular vasque on a pedestal pouring water into a basin below, became the model for many other fountains in Rome, and eventually for fountains in other cities, from Paris to London.

In 1503, Pope Julius II decided to recreate a classical pleasure garden in the same place. The new garden, called the Cortile del Belvedere, was designed by Donato Bramante. The garden was decorated with the Pope's famous collection of classical statues, and with fountains. The Venetian Ambassador wrote in 1523, "...On one side of the garden is a most beautiful loggia, at one end of which is a lovely fountain that irrigates the orange trees and the rest of the garden by a little canal in the center of the loggia... The original garden was split in two by the construction of the Vatican Library in the 16th century, but a new fountain by Carlo Maderno was built in the Cortile del Belvedere, with a jet of water shooting up from a circular stone bowl on an octagonal pedestal in a large basin.

In 1537, in Florence, Cosimo I de' Medici, who had become ruler of the city at the age of only 17, also decided to launch a program of aqueduct and fountain building. The city had previously gotten all its drinking water from wells and reservoirs of rain water, which meant that there was little water or water pressure to run fountains. Cosimo built an aqueduct large enough for the first continually-running fountain in Florence, the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria (1560–1567). This fountain featured an enormous white marble statue of Neptune, resembling Cosimo, by sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati.

Under the Medicis, fountains were not just sources of water, but advertisements of the power and benevolence of the city's rulers. They became central elements not only of city squares, but of the new Italian Renaissance garden. The great Medici Villa at Castello, built for Cosimo by Benedetto Varchi, featured two monumental fountains on its central axis; one showing with two bronze figures representing Hercules slaying Antaeus, symbolizing the victory of Cosimo over his enemies; and a second fountain, in the middle of a circular labyrinth of cypresses, laurel, myrtle and roses, had a statue bronze statue by Giambologna showed the goddess Venus wringing her hair. The planet Venus was governed by Capricorn, which was the emblem of Cosimo; the fountain symbolized that he was the absolute master of Florence.

By the middle Renaissance, fountains had become a form of theater, with cascades and jets of water coming from marble statues of animals and mythological figures. The most famous fountains of this kind were found in the Villa d'Este (1550–1572), at Tivoli near Rome, which featured a hillside of basins, fountains and jets of water, as well as a fountain which produced music by pouring water into a chamber, forcing air into a series of flute-like pipes. The gardens also featured giochi d'acqua, water jokes, hidden fountains which suddenly soaked visitors.

(1546–1549) in its original form]] The Italian Renaissance fountain was introduced into France by Henry II of France (1519–1559) whose wife, Catherine de Medici, was from the same family that had built the great fountains of Florence.

Between 1546-1549, the merchants of Paris built the first Renaissance-style fountain in Paris, the Fontaine des Innocents, to commemorate the ceremonial entry of the King into the city. The fountain, which originally stood against the wall of the church of the Holy Innocents, as rebuilt several times and now stands in a square near Les Halles. It is the oldest fountain in Paris.

Henry constructed an Italian-style garden with a fountain shooting a vertical jet of water for his favorite mistress, Diana de Poitiers, next to the Château de Chenonceau (1556–1559). At the royal Château de Fontainebleau, he built another fountain with a bronze statue of Diane, goddess of the hunt, modeled after Diane de Poitiers.

Later, after the death of Henry II, his widow, Catherine de Medici, expelled Diana de Poitiers from Chenonceau and built her own fountain and garden there.

King Henry IV of France made an important contribution to French fountains by inviting an Italian hydraulic engineer, Tomasso Francini, who had worked on the fountains of the villa at Pratalino, to make fountains in France. Francini became a French citizen in 1600, built the Medici Fountain, and during the rule of the young King Louis XIII, he was raised to the position of Intendant général des Eaux et Fontaines of the KIng, a position which was hereditary. His descendants became the royal fountain designers for Louis XIII and for Louis XIV at Versailles.

In 1630 another Medici, Marie de Medici, the widow of Henry IV, built her own monumental fountain in Paris, the Medici Fountain, in the garden of the Palais du Luxembourg. That fountain still exists today, with a long basin of water and statues added in 1866.

Baroque fountains (17th-18th century)

Fountains of Rome

by Carlo Maderno (1614) and Bernini (1677)]] by Bernini, (1648-51) the River Ganges]] (1730-1762)]] The 17th and 18th century was a golden age for fountains in Rome, which began with the reconstruction of ruined Roman aqueducts and the construction by the Popes of mostra, or display fountains, to mark their termini. The new fountains were expressions of the new Baroque art, which was officially promoted by the Catholic Church as a way to win popular support against the Protestant Reformation; the Council of Trent had declared in the 16th century that the Church should counter austere Protestantism with art that was lavish, animated and emotional. The fountains of Rome, like the paintings of Rubens, were examples of the principles of Baroque art. They were crowded with allegorical figures, and filled with emotion and movement. In these fountains, sculpture became the principal element, and the water was used simply to animate and decorate the sculptures. They, like baroque gardens, were "a visual representation of confidence and power."

The Piazza Navona became a grand theater of water, with three fountains, built in a line on the site of the Stadium of Domitian. The fountains at either end are by Giacomo della Porta; the Neptune fountain to the north, (1572) shows the God of the Sea spearing an octopus, surrounded by tritons, sea horses and mermaids. At the southern end is Il Moro, possibly also a figure of Neptune riding a fish in a conch shell. In the center is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, (The Fountain of the Four Rivers) (1648–51), a highly theatrical fountain by Bernini, with statues representing rivers from the four continents; the Nile, Danube, Plate River and Ganges. Over the whole structure is a Egyptian obelisque, crowned by a cross with the emblem of the Pamphili family, representing Pope Innocent X, whose family palace was on the piazza. The theme of a fountain with statues symbolizing great rivers was later used in the Place de la Concorde (1836–40) and in the Fountain of Neptune in the Alexanderplatz in Berlin (1891). The fountains of Piazza Navona had one drawback- their water came from the Acqua Vergine, which had only a drop from the source to the fountains, which meant the water could only fall or trickle downwards, not jet very high upwards.

The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most spectacular of Rome's fountains, designed to glorify the three different Popes who created it. It was built beginning in 1730 at the terminus of the reconstructed Acqua Vergine aqueduct, on the site of Renaissance fountain by Leon Battista Alberti. It was the work of architect Nicola Salvi and the successive project of Pope Clement XII, Pope Benedict XIV and Pope Clement XIII, whose emblems and inscriptions are carried on the attic story, entablature and central niche. The central figure is Oceanus, the personification of all the seas and oceans, in an oyster-shell chariot, surrounded by Tritons and Sea Nymphs.

In fact, the fountain had very little water pressure, because the source of water was, like the source for the Piazza Navona fountains, the Acqua Vergine, with a drop. Salvi compensated for this problem by sinking the fountain down into the ground, and by carefully designing the cascade so that the water churned and tumbled, to add movement and drama. Wrote historians Maria Ann Conelli and Marilyn Symmes, "On many levels the Trevi altered the appearance, function and intent of fountains and was a watershed for future designs."

Fountains of Versailles

Beginning in 1662, King Louis XIV of France began to build a new kind of garden, the Garden à la française, or French formal garden, at the Palace of Versailles. In this garden, the fountain played a central role. He used fountains to demonstrate the power of man over nature, and to illustrate the grandeur of his rule. In the Gardens of Versailles, instead of falling naturally into a basin, water was shot into the sky, or formed into the shape of a fan or bouquet. Dancing water was combined with music and fireworks to form a grand spectacle. These fountains were the work of the descendants of Tommaso Francini, the Italian hydraulic engineer who had come to France during the time of Henry IV and built the Medici Fountain and the Fountain of Diana at Fontainebleau.

Two fountains were the centerpieces of the Gardens of Versailles, both taken from the myths about Apollo, the sun god, the emblem of Louis XIV, and both symbolizing his power. The Fontaine Latone (1668–70) designed by André Le Nôtre and sculpted byGaspard and Balthazar Marsy, represents the story of how the peasants of Lycia tormented Latona and her children, Diana and Apollo, and were punished by being turned into frogs. This was a reminder of how French peasants had abused Louis's mother, Anne of Austria, during the uprising called the Fronde in the 1650s. When the fountain is turned on, sprays of water pour down on the peasants, who are frenzied as they are transformed into creatures.

The other centerpiece of the Gardens, at the intersection of the main axes of the Gardens of Versailles, is the Bassin d'Apollon (1668–71), designed by Charles Le Brun and sculpted by Jean Baptiste Tuby. This statue shows a theme also depicted in the painted decoration in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles: Apollo in his chariot about to rise from the water, announced by Tritons with seashell trumpets. Historians Mary Anne Conelli and Marilyn Symmes wrote, "Designed for dramatic effect and to flatter the king, the fountain is oriented so that the Sun God rises from the west and travels east toward the chateau, in contradiction to nature."

(See Gardens of Versailles)

Fountains of St. Petersburg

, Russia (1800-1802)]] In Russia, beginning in 1709, Peter the Great began constructing a Garden à la française with fountains at Peterhof Palace, alongside the Gulf of Finland, near his new capital of St. Petersburg. After visiting France in 1717 and seeing the gardens at Versailles, Marly and Fontainebleau, he made its central feature a water cascade, modeled after the cascade at the Château de Marly of Louis XIV, built in 1684. In 1800-1802 a fountain was added, depicting Samson prying open the mouth of a lion, representing Russia's victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War in 1721. The garden also contained hidden fountains which could be turned on to drench unsuspecting visitors, a popular feature of the Italian Renaissance garden. The fountains were fed by reservoirs in the upper garden, while the Samson fountain was fed by a specially-constructed aqueduct four kilometers in length.

19th century fountains

Fountains of London

, (1845).]] , London. (1893)]]

In the 19th century, major European cities, led by London and Paris, began to use aqueducts, artesian wells and steam pumps to supply drinking water directly to homes. Fountains gradually ceased to be sources of drinking water and became public monuments in city squares and parks, honoring national heroes and events.

The fountains in Trafalgar Square were not part of the original design of the square, which was created beginning in 1826 to commemorate the victory of Lord Nelson over the fleet of Napoleon Bonaparte 1805. The fountains were added in 1845 by architect Charles Barry, famous for designing the Houses of Parliament, to break up the vast open space of the square and also to reduce the space available for unruly street demonstrations. The fountains were powered by a steam engine behind the National Gallery, which pumped water that came from an Artesian Well.

The original fountains were replaced in 1938-47 with two new fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with sculptures by Sir Charles Wheeler and William McMillian, as monuments to two British naval heroes of the First World War, Lord John Jellicoe and Lord David Beatty. They were rebuilt again, with new pumps and lighting, in 2009.

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Picadilly Circus, London.by Alfred Gilbert, features an aluminum statue of Anteros representing "The Angel of Christian Charity." It was built in 1893 to honor the British philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury, but instead it scandalized Londoners, who thought it was a statue of Eros.

Fountains of Paris (1800–1900)

(1836-1840)]] , Place Saint-Michel, (1858-1860), Gabriel Davioud, architect.]] , (1867-1874), Jardin du Luxembourg, Gabriel Davioud, architect.]] , architect.]] , Pont Neuf, (1872), one of 66 such cast-iron fountains placed around Paris by British industrialist and temperance activist Sir Richard Wallace.]] The supply of water and the building of fountains in Paris was a subject of prime concern for the new First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, beginning in 1799. In 1802 Napoleon ordered the construction of the first canal bringing water from a river outside the city, the canal d'Ourcq, which was finished in 1822. Napoleon also started construction of the Canal Saint-Denis (finished in 1821), and the Canal Saint-Martin (finished in 1825) which brought enough water for both drinking fountains and decorative fountains.

Napoleon then turned his attention to the fountains. In a decree issued May 2, 1806, he announced that it was his wish "to do something grand and useful for Paris" and proposed building fifteen new fountains. He also ordered the cleaning, repair or rebuilding of the many old fountains which had fallen into ruin, such as the Fontaine des Quatre-Saisons and the Medici Fountain. His engineers built new fountains in the city's major outdoor markets, and installed several hundred bornes-fontaines, simple stone blocks with a water tap, all over the city. In 1812, he issued a decree that the distribution of water from fountains would be free, and anyone who speculated in drinking water would be severely punished.

The early Napoleonic fountains, built before the canals were finished, were modest in scale and supplied with a limited amount of water, which poured through the traditional masquerons, or spouts. The later fountains by Napoleon, including the fountain in the Place de Vosges and the Chateau d'eau, were not used primarily for drinking water, and had water shooting into the air and cascading from the vasques into the basins below.

The fountain of the Chateau d'eau on boulevard Bondi (1812) was the first fountain in Paris where the water itself, and not the sculpture, was the chief decorative element. The Chateau d'eau fountain was also the first monumental fountain in Paris to feature two circular vasques, or stone basins, one above the other on a column, with water overflowing the basins and falling into a larger circular basin below. The novelty and scale of this fountain made it a popular promenade destination of Parisians. The fountain was moved in 1867, and today is located in front of the former Halle from the demolished Paris market of Les Halles located in la Villette.

The constitutional monarchy of King Louis-Philippe (1830–1848) was a brilliant age for Parisian fountains. The new Prefet of the Seine, Rambuteau, ordered the construction of two hundred kilometers of new water pipes and the installation of 1700 borne-fontaines, the simple blocks with water taps introduced by Napoleon. Thanks to these new fountains, which supplied drinking water to the population, the city's architects had the freedom to design new monumental fountains that were purely ornamental in the city's squares.

The Fontaines de la Concorde (1836–1840) in the Place de la Concorde are the most famous of the fountains built during the time of Louis-Philippe, and came to symbolize the fountains of Paris. They were designed by Jacques-Ignace Hittorff, a student of the neoclassical sculptor Charles Percier at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, who had served as the official Architect of Festivals and Ceremonies for the deposed King, and had spent two years studying the architecture and fountains of Italy. Hittorff's two fountains are both on martime themes, because of their proximity to the Ministry of Navy on the Place de la Concorde, and to the Seine. Their form and arrangement, on a north south axis aligned with the obelisque of Luxor and the Rue Royale; were influenced by the arrangement of the fountains in the Piazza Navona and Piazza San Pietro in Rome.

Several notable fountains were built in this period by the architect Louis Visconti, who later because famous as the architect of Napoleon's Tomb in the Invalides. His major works are the Fontaine Louvois (1839), in the new Place Louvois; with four female figures representing the rivers Seine, Loire, Garonne and Saône; the Fontaine Cuvier (1840–1846), dedicated to Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), the naturalist, and pioneer of paleontology and comparative anatomy, located near the Jardin des Plantes and the museum of natural history, where Cuvier had worked; the Fontaine Molière. (1841–44), near the site of the original theater of the Comédie Française, which features a statue of the playwright and two statues representing Light Comedy and Serious Comedy; and the Fountain Saint-Sulpice, (1843–1848), in front of the church of Saint-Sulpice, which honored four famous religious orators of the 17th century; Bossuet, Fénelon, Fléchier, and Massillon.

The Second French Republic (1848–1850) and subsequent Second Empire of Louis-Napoleon (1851–1870) was also a glorious age for Paris fountains. One of his highest priorities as Emperor was improving the quality of the water supply. At the time Paris had about sixty fountains supplying drinking water for the population, and a dozen fountains which were purely ornamental. Under his new prefet of the Seine, Baron Haussmann, and his new chief of the waters of Paris, Belgrand, the Paris water system was reconstructed so that water from springs, brought by acqueducts, was used exclusively for drinking water, while less healthy river water was used for washing the streets, watering gardens and parks, and for fountains. Historic fountains, including the Medici Fountain and Fontaine des Innocents, were rebuilt and moved to new locations. New fountains were built to decorate Haussmann's new squares and boulevards.

Most of the new monumental fountains built during the reign of Louis Napoleon were the work of a single architect, Gabriel Davioud. Davioud was architect of the service de promenades et plantations of the prefecture of the Seine. He was responsible for the design of many of the squares, gates, benches, pavilions, and other decorative architecture of the Second Empire. His most famous work is Fontaine Saint-Michel (1860). It was intended be the chief ornament of the enlarged Place Pont-Saint-Michel created by the new boulevard Sebastopol-rive gauche, now Boulevard Saint-Michel). Davioud's first design for the fountain had a statue of a woman symbolizing peace. This was changed to a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, but when aroused opposition from enemies of Louis Napoleon, it became a statue of the Archangel Michael wrestling with the devil. Nine sculptors worked on the different figures in the composition. It was the last monumental fountain in Paris built against a wall.

After Louis Napoleon fell from power in 1870, the new government of the Third Republic kept Davioud as the chief architect of the city's fountains. His first task was to repair the damage caused to the fountains by the German siege of Paris and the fighting during the suppression of the Paris Commune, which had destroyed the Tuilieries Palace and the Hôtel de Ville.

Davioud completed two monumental fountains begun under the Second Empire. The most famous is the Fontaine de l'Observatoire, located between the Luxembourg Gardens and the Paris Observatory, which features four figures representing the four corners of the world holding up a celestial sphere. The sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Carpeaux, who had earlier made the sculptures of La Danse on the façade of the Paris Opera; aused a scandal with the realistic and expressive figures of the statues in the fountain, much different from the neo-classical sculptures of early 19th century.

Davioud also created two of the best-loved sculptures in Paris, the two fountains in the place André Malreaux, between the Louvre and the Comédie-Française, one a statue of a sea nymph and a one a river nymph, (1874).

Paris was also home to the Wallace fountains, donated to the city in 1872 by a British millionaire, temperance advocate and philanthropist, Sir Richard Wallace, who had spent much of his youth in Paris. Following a program he had already begun in London, he donated fifty cast-iron drinking fountains to the city of Paris to give the working classes a free source of water and to turn them from drinking alcohol. The sculptor of the fountains was Charles-Auguste Lebourg, a student of François Rude. The fountains were a popular success, and new ones were still being installed until the beginning of the First World War.

Fountains in the United States (1800-1900)

in Central Park, New York (1873)]] in Washington D.C. is by French-trained sculptor Roland Hinton Perry. (1895).]]

The first monumental fountains in the United States were built to mark the termini of aqueducts bringing fresh drinking water into New York City. A cholera epidemic in 1832 and a disastrous fire in 1835 persuaded the government of New York City to build an aqueduct to bring abundant fresh water into the city. The Croton Dam, aqueduct and reservoir in New York were finished in 1841, bringing water forty miles from the Croton River to New York City. The first fountain in the U.S., the Groton Fountain in City Hall Park, was turned on on October 14, 1842, and jetted water fifty feet into the air. A second fountain in Union Square was also connected to the system. The first fountains were very simple, without sculpture, simply spouting water up into the air. The fountains no longer exist, though vestiges of the original water system remain.

In 1848 Boston completed its own new water system, an aqueduct from Lake Cochituate twenty miles (32 km) to the Boston Common, where the first fountain was located. A parade and festival were held to mark the opening of the fountain on October 25, 1848. The ceremony included schoolchildren singing an ode written by American poet James Russell Lowell for the event. The ode began:

"My name is Water: I have sped through strange dark ways untried before, By pure desire of friendship led, Cochituate's Ambassador: He sends four gifts by me, Long life, health, peace, and purity."

The first American fountains were simple and functional. Later, in the 1850s, new more decorative fountains appeared as part of a nationwide effort to beautify American cities by building parks, squares and fountains, inspired by European models.

The Bethesda Fountain was created to adorn New York City's new Central Park, which had been begun in 1858 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, to create a vast natural landscape in the heart of the city. In the middle of the park was one formal element; a mall with elm trees, and a terrace with views over a lake. In 1863 the Park Commissioners decided to build a monumental fountain for the central basin in the middle of th mall. The architect was a little-known American sculptor, Emma Stebbins, whose brother was the head of the New York Stock Exchange and President of the Board of Commissioners, who lobbied on her behalf. Her fountain was based on the biblical verse from the Gospel of Saint John, in which an Angel touched, or "troubled" the waters of the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, giving it healing powers. She wrote about the fountain: "We have no less healing, comfort and purification freely sent to us through the blessed gift of pure, wholesome water, which to all the countless homes of this great city comes like an angel visitant." It was criticized by some writers when it was opened in 1873- the New York Times called it "a feebly-pretty idealess thing", but gradually the fountain became a popular favorite, featured in many films and in recent times in the play Angels in America by Tony Kushner.

International Exposition fountains (1851-1937)
, London Great Exhibition of 1851.]] from the Philadelphia Bicentennial Exposition of 1876, now in Washington D.C. Its sculptor later made the Statue of Liberty]]

Some of the most innovative fountains ever made were temporary, created for international expositions between 1855 and 1964, designed to highlight the technology of their time. The first illuminated fountains and the first fountains designed to perform with music were introduced at international exhibitions.

The Crystal Fountain was the first of these fountains. Designed by Follett Osler, it was the world's first glass fountain, made of four tons of pure crystal glass. It was displayed in the central court of the Crystal Palace of the London Great Exhibition of 1851. It was destroyed by fire, along with the Crystal Palace, in 1936. The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition wrote in 1851 that the fountain was "perhaps the most striking object in the exhibition; the lightness and beauty, as well as the perfect novelty of the design, have rendered it the theme of admiration with all visitors. The ingenuity with which this has been effected is very perfect; it is supported by bars of iron, which are so completely embedded in the glass shafts, as to be invisible, and in no degree interfering with the purity and crystalline effect of the whole object.

*The 1876 Centennial Exposition, in Philadelphia, celebrating the 100th birthday of the United States, featured the Bartholdi Fountain, made by the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who later created the Statue of Liberty. Its vasque had a circle of gas lamps which shone on the cascading water, making it one of the first fountains to be illuminated. After the exposition the fountain was purchased by the United States Congress. It is now located now located at the corner of Independence Avenue and First Street, in the United States Botanic Garden, on the grounds of the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

Eight universal expositions took place in Paris between 1855 and 1937, and each included fountains, both for decoration and for sale, which demonstrated the latest in technology and artistic styles. They introduced illuminated fountains, fountains which performed with music, fountains made of glass and concrete, and modern abstract fountains to Paris.

*The Exposition Universelle (1889) which celebrated the 100th anniverary of the French Revolution. featured the Eiffel Tower, and a fountain illuminated by electric lights shining up though the columns of water, a method first developed in England in 1884. The fountains, located in a basin forty meters in diameter, were given color by plates of colored glass inserted over the lamps. The Fountain of Progress gave its show three times each evening, for twenty minutes, with a series of different colors.

*The Exposition Universelle (1900) featured the Temple of Electricity, near the Champs Elysees, which had a series of illuminated fountains in front, with lamps shining blue, white and red light. The innovation of 1900 was a keyboard which allowed changing the colors in rapid succession.

*The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925). This fair introduced the first fountains made of modern materials and in the modernist style of the 20th century. The fountain by sculptor Gabriel Guevrekian was composed of four triangular basins, colored blue or red, and a fountain of glass in the center, surrounded by triangles of grass and flowers. It was the first fountain in Paris composed like a cubist painting.

The most original fountain in the exposition was Les Sources et les Rivières de France, made by René Lalique. It was a column of glass five meters high, made up of 128 caryatids of glass, each with a different decoration and size, each spraying a thin stream of water into the fountain below. At night the column was illuminated from within, and could change color. It was placed on a cross of concrete covered with decorated plates of glass, and in an ocagonal basin also decorated with colored and black tiles of glass.

'The Paris Colonial Exposition of 1931 introduced neon lights and the indirect outdoor lighting of Paris buildings, and featured eight different illuminated fountains.

*The Théâtre d'eau, or water theater, located on one side of the lake, covering an arc of a circle of about 80 meters, created a performance of dancing water, forming changing bouquets, arches, and curtains of water from its jets and nozzles. It was the ancestor of the modern musical fountain.

*The Pont d'eau was made by jets of water from both sides of Lake Daumesnil, which formed an illuminated water "bridge" forty meters long and six meters wide.

Only a handful of fountains were built in Paris between 1940 and 1980. The most important ones built during that period were on the edges of the city, on the west, just outside the city limits, at La Defense, and to the east at the Bois de Vincennes. Then, between 1981 and 1995, during the terms of President Francois Mitterrand and Culture Minister Jack Lang, and of Mitterrand's bitter political rival, Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac the city experienced a program of monumental fountain building that exceeded that of Napoleon Bonaparte or Louis Philippe. More than one hundred fountains were built in Paris in the 1980s and 1990s, mostly in the neighborhoods outside the center of Paris, where there had been few fountains before. The Stravinsky Fountain, the Fountain of the Pyramid of the Louvre, the Buren Fountain and Les Sphérades fountain in the Palais Royale, the Fontaine du Parc Andre-Citroen, and new fountains at Les Halles, the Jardin de Reuilly, and beside the Gare Maine-Montparnasse were all built under President Mitterrand and Mayor Chirac.

Many of the fountains were designed by famous sculptors or architects, such as Jean Tinguely, I.M. Pei, Claes Oldenburg and Daniel Buren, who had radically different ideas of what a fountain should be. Some of them, like the Pyramide de Louvre fountain, had glistening sheets of water; while in the Buren Fountain in the Palais Royale, the water was invisible, hidden under the pavement of the fountain. Some of the new fountains were designed with the help of noted landscape architects and used natural materials, such as the fountain in the Parc Floral in the Bois de Vincennes by landscape architect Daniel Collin and sculptor François Stahly. Some were solemn, and others were whimsical. Most made little effort to blend with their surroundings - they were designed to attract attention.

(See Fountains in Paris.)

Fountains in the United States (1900-2000)
(1997) in Washington D.C.]] style Fountain of Prometheus at Rockefeller Center, New York City (1933)]] of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, with pivoting nozzles to vary the patterns of the water, controlled by computers and accompanied by music]]

Fountains built in the United States between 1900 and 1950 mostly followed European models and classical styles. The handsome Samuel Francis Dupont Memorial Fountain, in Dupont Circle, Washington D.C., was built by Henry Bacon and Daniel Chester French, the architect and sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, in 1921, in a pure neoclassical style.(see gallery below) The Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park in Chicago was one of the first American fountains to use powerful modern pumps to shoot water as high as 150 feet (46 meters) into the air.(see gallery below) The Fountain of Prometheus, built at Rockefeller Center in New York City in 1933, was the first American fountain in the Art-Deco style.

After World War II, fountains in the United States became more varied in form. Some, like the Vaillancourt Fountain in San Francisco (1971), were pure works of sculpture. The modernist French-Canadian Armand Vaillancourt built his monumental fountain at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco in a cubist style, though it was intended as a political statement - the official title is "Quebec Libre!" and the artist was arrested at the time of the opening for painting political slogans on his own fountain.

Other fountains, like the Frankin Roosevelt Memorial Waterfall (1997), by architect Lawrence Halprin, were designed as landscapes to illustrate themes. This fountain is part of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington D.C., which has four outdoor "rooms" illustrating his Presidency. Each "room" contains a cascade or waterfall; the cascade in the third room illustrates the turbulence of the years of the World War II. Halprin wrote at an early stage of the design; "the whole environment of the memorial becomes sculpture: to touch, feel, hear and contact - with all the senses."

One of the most unusual modern American fountains is the Civil Rights Memorial (1989) at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, designed by Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.. This fountain features a low elliptical black granite table, with a thin surface of water flowing over the surface, over the inscribed names of civil rights leaders who lost their lives, illustrating the quotation from Martin Luther King Jr.: "...Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Visitors are invited to touch the names through the water. "The water is as slow as I could get it," Lin wrote. It remains very still until you touch it. Your hand carves ripples, which transform and alter the piece, just as reading the words completes the piece." (See gallery below)

Contemporary Fountains (2001-2009)
(2005)]] The fountain called Bit.Fall by German artist Julius Popp (2005) uses digital technologies to spell out words with water. The fountain is run by a statistical program which selects words at random from news stories on the Internet. It then recodes these words into pictures. Then 320 nozzles inject the water into electromagnetic valves. The program uses rasterization and bitmap technologies to synchronize the valves so drops of water form an image of the words as they fall. According to Popp, the sheet of water is "a metaphor for the constant flow of information from which we cannot escape."

Crown Fountain is an interactive fountain and video sculpture feature in Chicago's Millennium Park. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of glass brick towers. The towers are tall, and they use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to display digital videos on their inward faces. Construction and design of the Crown Fountain cost $17 million. Weather permitting, the water operates from May to October, intermitently cascading down the two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower's front face.

Legendary fountains

Fountain of Youth

Hippocrene Fountain
The Fountain of Life, or in its earlier form, the Fountain of Living Waters, is a Christian iconography symbol associated with baptism, first appearing in the 5th century in illuminated manuscripts and later in other art forms such as panel paintings. Christian allegory made much use of the concept of the fountain, specifically the Fountain of Life, associated with the rebirth that was intended to be experienced at the Baptismal font. Many also believe that the Fountain of Living Water is a representation of the Spirit of God illustrating the source of spiritual life is found through Christ [John 6:6-30 KJV]. The Fountain of Life appears in Christian illuminated manuscripts of Late Antiquity, and elaborate Gothic fountains formed centerpieces for exclosed gardens.

Splash fountains
, United States was designed specifically as a bathing fountain and includes a large nonslip play area, with speakers for music.]]

A splash fountain or bathing fountain is intended for people to come in and cool off on hot summer days. These fountains are designed to allow easy access, and feature nonslip surfaces, and have no standing water, to eliminate possible drowning hazards, so that no lifeguards or supervision is required. These splash pads are often located in public pools, public parks, or public playgrounds (known as "spraygrounds"). In some splash fountains, such as Dundas Square in Toronto, Canada, the water is heated by solar energy captured by the special dark colored granite slabs. The fountain at Dunas Square features 600 ground nozzles arranged in groups of 30 (3 rows of 10 nozzles). Each group of 30 nozzles is located beneath a stainless steel grille. Twenty such grilles are arranged in two rows of 10, in the middle of the main walkway through Dundas Square.

Drinking fountains
A water fountain or drinking fountain is designed to provide drinking water and has a basin arrangement with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and swallows water directly from the stream. Modern indoor drinking fountains may incorporate filters to remove impurities from the water and chillers to reduce its temperature. In some regional dialects, water fountains are called bubblers. Water fountains are usually found in public places, like schools, rest areas, libraries, and grocery stores. Many jurisdictions require water fountains to be wheelchair accessible (by sticking out horizontally from the wall), and to include an additional unit of a lower height for children and short adults. The design that this replaced often had one spout atop a refrigeration unit.

In 1859, The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association was established to promote the provision of drinking water for people and animals in the United Kingdom and overseas. More recently, in 2010, the FindaFountain campaign was launched in the UK to encourage people to use drinking fountains instead of environmentally damaging bottled water. A map showing the location of UK drinking water fountains is published on the FindaFountain website.

The technology of fountains
(1709) showed different types of fountain nozzles which would create different shapes of water, from bouquets to fans.]]

From Roman times until the 20th century, fountains operated by gravity, requiring a source of water higher than the fountain itself to make the water flow. The greater the difference between the elevation of the source of water and the fountain, the higher the water would go upwards from the fountain.

In Roman cities, water for fountains came from lakes and rivers and springs in the hills, brought into city in acqueducts and then distributed to fountains through a system of lead pipes.

From the Middle Ages onwards, fountains in villages or towns were connected to springs, or to channels which brought water from lakes or rivers. In Provence, a typical village fountain consisted of a pipe or underground duct from a spring at a higher elevation than the fountain. The water from the spring flowed down to the fountain, then up a tube into a bulb-shaped stone vessel, like a large vase with a cover on top. The inside of the vase, called the bassin de répartition, was filled with water up to a level just above the mouths of the canons, or spouts, which slanted downwards. The water poured down through the canons, creating a siphon, so that the fountain ran continually.

In cities and towns, residents filled vessels or jars of water from the canons of the fountain or paid a water porter to bring the water to their home. Horses and domestic animals could drink the water in the basin below the fountain. The water not used often flowed into a separate series of basins, a lavoir, used for washing and rinsing clothes. After being used for washing, the same water then ran through a channel to the town's kitchen garden. In Provence, since clothes were washed with ashes, the water that flowed into the garden contained potassium, and was valuable as fertilizer.

The architects of the fountains at Versailles designed specially-shaped nozzles, or tuyaux, to form the water into it into different shapes, such as fans, bouquests, and umbrellas.

Beginning in the 19th century, fountains ceased to be used for drinking water and became purely ornamental. By the beginning of the 20th century, cities began using steam pumps and later electric pumps to send water to the city fountains. Later in the 20th century, urban fountains began to recycle their water through a closed . An electric pump, often placed under the water, pushes the water through the pipes. The water must be regularly topped up to offset water lost to evaporation, and allowance must be made to handle overflow after heavy rain.

In modern fountains a water filter, typically a media filter, removes particles from the water—this filter requires its own pump to force water through it and plumbing to remove the water from the pool to the filter and then back to the pool. The water may need chlorination or anti-algal treatment, or may use biological methods to filter and clean water.

The pumps, filter, electrical switch box and plumbing controls are often housed in a "plant room". Low-voltage lighting, typically 12 volt direct current, is used to minimise electrical hazards. Lighting is often submerged and must be suitably designed. Floating fountains are also popular for ponds and lakes they consist of a float pump nozzle and water chamber.

Water quality and legal liability issues concerning fountains
, Switzerland.]] There is a need for good water quality in contemporary fountains, regardless of their avowed intended use. Regardless of the fact that some fountains are designed and built not as bathing fountains, but are rather used simply as architectural decor, people will often drink from, bathe or wash their hands in any fountain. Additionally, fountain spray can contain legionella bacteria and has been linked to legionnaires' disease outbreaks. Therefore, minimum water quality standards are necessary, regardless of intended use. Guidelines have been developed for control of legionella in ornamental fountains.

In theory, a free-standing water feature should not have a bather load, and consequently, many builders would not choose to install filters or sanitation devices. In reality, however, people will interact with ornamental water fountains in the most surprising ways. In Disneyland, for example, people have been reported to change their babies' diapers and then wash their hands in the water fountain (thus adding unexpected bacteria and organics into the water).

In July 1997, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis was connected to an ornamental fountain at the Minnesota Zoo, which did not have proper filtration and water treatment. Children played in fountains and swallowed water, and spurted the water out of their mouths to mimic the way nozzles in the fountain spurted the water. It was therefore necessary to put a fence around the fountain to keep people away.

In the United States fountain operators and owners are legally liable for failure to either fence-in fountains, or to properly filter, chlorinate or otherwise treat the water, if the fountains are not fenced in. If the water is unsafe, fences must be designed to keep people far enough away, so that they cannot touch the water, otherwise children get water on their hands, and put their fingers into their mouths, and end up getting sick, thus subjecting owners and operators to legal liability.

The Tallest Fountains in the World

Image:Karachibeach with new fountain jet.jpeg|The Port Fountain (2006), near the harbor of Karachi, Pakistan, 190 meters (620 feet.)

File:Fountainhill az fountain.jpg|Fountain Park, Fountain Hills, Arizona (1970). 171 meters, (582 feet).

Image:Dubai_Fountain_performing_"Bassbor_Al_Fourgakom".jpg|Dubai Fountain, (2008) 150 meters.

File:Cptn Cook Fountain Canberra-01JAC.jpg|The Captain Cook Memorial Jet in Canberra (1970), 147 meters

File:Jet-d'eau-Genève.jpg|The Jet d'eau, in Geneva (1951),140 meters (459 feet)

The title of the second-tallest fountain in the world is claimed by the World Cup Fountain in the Han-gang River in Seoul, Korea. (2002), 202 meters (663 feet). (no picture yet posted.)

Gallery of notable fountains around the world

Fountains in Europe
See also:
Fountains in Paris

List of fountains in Rome

Fountains in the United States and Canada

Fountains in the Middle East
Opened in 1985, it reaches a height of 260 meters, or 853 feet, above the Red Sea on a calm day.

Fountains in Russia
(See also Fountains in Moscow)

Image:Samson and Lion Fountain.jpg|The Samson and the Lion Fountain (1800-1802), by Mikhail Kozlovsky, symbolizes Russia's Victory over Sweden in 1709 during the Great Northern War.

File:Russia-Moscow-VVC-DruzhbaNarodov.jpg|Fountain of Nationalities in the former Park of Soviet Economic Achievements, now the All-Russia Exhibit Center, Moscow (1960s) File:Horses Fountain Alexander Gardens Moscow.jpg|Fountain of Horses by Zurab Tsereteli in Alexander Gardens, Moscow (1996) File:Alexander Bourganov Turandot Fountain.jpg|Princess Turandot Fountain, Old Arbat Street, Moscow, by Alexander Bourganov (1997)

File:Bourganov Fountain Moscow.jpg| Fountain "Youth" on Ukrainsky Boulvar, Moscow by Alexander Bourganov (2005)

Image:Reutov fountain.jpg|Fountain in the Moscow suburb of Reutov, Russia.

Fountains in Africa

Fountains in Asia

Fountains in Australia

Fountains in Latin America

See also

Spray pool

Water feature

Bibliography

Helen Attlee, Italian Gardens - A Cultural History. Frances Lincoln Limited, London, 2006.

Paris et ses Fontaines, del la Renaissance a nos jours, edited by beatrice de Andia, Dominique Massounie, Pauline Prevost-Marcilhacy and Daniel Rabreau, from the Collection Paris et son Patrimoine, Paris, 1995.

Les Aqueducs de la ville de Rome, translation and commentary by Pierre Grimal, Société d'édition Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1944.

Louis Plantier, Fontaines de Provence et de Côte deAzur, Édisud, Aix-en-Provence, 2007

Frédérick Cope and Tazartes Maurizia, Les fontaines de Rome, Editions Citadelles et Mazenod, 2004

André Jean Tardy, Fontaines Toulonnaises, Les Editions de la Nerthe, 2001. ISBN 2-913483-24-0

Hortense Lyon, La Fontaine Stravinsky, Collection Baccalaureat arts plastiques 2004, CEntre national de documentation pedagogique

Marilyn Symmes (editor), Fountains-Splash and Spectacle- Water and Design from the Renaissance to the Present. Thames and Hudson, in cooperation with the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (1998).

References

External links

The Bit.Fall by Julius Popp (2005)

FindaFountain website, listing drinking fountains in the UK

Fountains of Peterhof

Kansas City, "City of Fountains"

Fountain Information for Professionals

Oregon Museum of Science and History WaterWorks page

Ontario Science Centre's main fountain (hydraulophone)

Public fountains in Adelaide, Australia

15 Famous, Fabulous Fountains - slideshow by LIFE magazine

Category:Water Category:Garden features Category:Landscape architecture Category:Landscape gardens Category:Architectural elements Category:Old French loanwords Category:Outdoor sculptures Category:Public art

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.

Name	Sarah Brightman
Background	solo_singer
Born	August 14, 1960
Origin	Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England
Genre	Classical crossover, operatic pop, symphonic rock, pop, New Age, rock, dance, electronica, techno, folk, traditional
Voice type	Lyric-coloratura soprano
Instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Occupation	Singer, actress, songwriter, dancer
Years active	1976–present
Label	A&M; (1993) East West (1995–2001) Angel/EMI (1997–2007) Manhattan/EMI (2008–present)
Url	http://www.sarah-brightman.com

Name	Clint Mansell
Background	non_performing_personnel
Birth name	Clinton Darryl Mansell
Born	January 07, 1963
Origin	Coventry, England
Genre	Classical Contemporary classical Electronic Alternative
Occupation	Musician, Composer
Years active	1981–present
Associated acts	Pop Will Eat Itself
Url	clintmansell.com
Type	single
Filename	Clint Mansell Lux Aeterna.ogg
Format	Ogg
Title	Clint Mansell - "Lux Aeterna"}}

Sarah Brightman

Name Sarah Brightman
Background solo_singer
Born August 14, 1960
Origin Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England
Genre Classical crossover, operatic pop, symphonic rock, pop, New Age, rock, dance, electronica, techno, folk, traditional
Voice type Lyric-coloratura soprano
Instrument Vocals, piano, keyboards
Occupation Singer, actress, songwriter, dancer
Years active 1976–present
Label A&M; (1993)
East West (1995–2001)
Angel/EMI (1997–2007)
Manhattan/EMI (2008–present)
Url http://www.sarah-brightman.com

Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She began her career as a member of the dance troupes Pan's People and Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made her musical theatre debut in Cats and met composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, whom she married. She went on to star in several Broadway musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera, where she played the role of Christine Daaé.The Original London Cast Album of the musical was released in CD format in 1987 and sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album of all time.

After retiring from the stage and divorcing Lloyd Webber, Brightman resumed her music career with former Enigma producer Frank Peterson, this time as a classical crossover artist. She is among the most prominent performers in the genre, with worldwide sales of more than 26 million albums, with over 5 million (Platinum x 1, Gold x 8) in album sales in the United States. and over 2 million DVDs. The Recording Industry Association of America has named her the best-selling female classical artist of the twenty-first century in the United States.

Her duet with the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, "Time To Say Goodbye" became the highest and fastest selling single of all times in Germany with over 3 million copies sold in this country. and subsequently became an international success with over 5 million copies worldwide. She has now collected over 180 gold and platinum sales awards in 38 different countries,

Apart from music, Brightman has begun a film career, making her major debut in Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008), a rock opera-musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, And in summer 2009, she completed filming Stephen Evans' "Cosi" or "First Night" in which she plays the role of a conductor, opposite Richard E. Grant. In addition, she recently formed her own production company, Instinct Films, where her first film is in pre-production.

Family and early life
Brightman, the eldest of six children, was born to businessman Grenville Geoffrey Brightman (1934–1992) and Paula Brightman (née Hall). She was raised in Little Gaddesden, a village near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, and lived in John O'Gaddesden House in the village. At age three, she began taking dance classes at the Elmhurst School for Dance in Camberley, Surrey. and went on to perform in local festivals and competitions. At age 11, she successfully auditioned for The Arts Educational School, Tring Park, a boarding school specialising in performing arts. Brightman continued to study dance, particularly jazz, as a pupil of choreographer Arlene Phillips.

In 1976, she joined the dance group Pan's People and appeared on the BBC series Top of the Pops. She left a year later to lead Phillips' troupe Hot Gossip. More provocative than Pan's People, the group had a disco hit in 1978 with "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper", which sold half a million and reached number six on the UK charts. Hot Gossip released a follow-up single, "The Adventures of the Love Crusader", six months later, but it failed to chart. Brightman, now solo, released more disco singles under Whisper Records, such as "Not Having That!" and a cover of the song "My Boyfriend's Back".

1981–1989: Stage career
In 1981, Brightman auditioned for the new musical Cats and was cast as Jemima. In rehearsals she met Andrew Lloyd Webber. The two married in 1984, and Brightman appeared in many of Lloyd Webber's subsequent musicals including Song and Dance and the mass Requiem, the latter written for her. With Requiem she earned her first Grammy nomination.

Brightman starred as Christine Daaé in Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. The role of Christine was written specifically for her.

After leaving Phantom, she performed in a tour of Lloyd Webber's music throughout England, Canada, and the United States, and performed Requiem in the Soviet Union. Studio recordings from this time include the single "Anything But Lonely" from Aspects of Love and two solo albums: the 1988 album The Trees They Grow So High, a compilation of folk songs accompanied by piano, and the 1989 album The Songs That Got Away, a musical theatre compilation of songs cut from shows by composers such as Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim.

By 1990, Brightman and Lloyd Webber separated. After their divorce, Brightman played the lead in Lloyd Webber's Aspects in London opposite Michael Praed, before transferring to Broadway.

Fly (1995), a pop rock album and her second collaboration with Peterson, propelled Brightman to fame in Europe with the hit "A Question of Honour". The song, introduced at the World Boxing Championship match between Germany's Henry Maske and Graciano Rocchigiani, combined electronic dance music, rock elements, classical strings, and excerpts from the aria "Ebben? ... Ne andrò lontana" from Alfredo Catalani's opera La Wally.

"Time to Say Goodbye" ("Con te partirò") was the second Brightman song debuted for Maske, this time at his retirement match. This duet with tenor Andrea Bocelli became an international hit and sold more than 3 million copies in Germany alone,

Brightman's mainstream exposure in the United States also began around this time, starting with an appearance on Bocelli's December 1997 PBS television special, duetting "Time to Say Goodbye"; later, in March 1998, her own PBS special, Sarah Brightman in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, marked the point when she crossed from Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart to the Billboard 200 chart, with Time to Say Goodbye. In 1999, she appeared on the album I Won't Forget You by Princessa, another artist with whom Peterson had worked.

2000–2003: Further mainstream success
Later albums included Eden (1998) (the title track of which was a cover of a song by Belgian band Hooverphonic), and La Luna (2000). These albums, unlike Time to Say Goodbye, incorporated more pop music elements. Reviews were mixed – LAUNCHcast deemed Eden "deliriously sappy", while Allmusic called Eden "a winning combination" and La Luna "a solid, stirring collection".

Eden reached #65 on the Billboard 200 charts (certified Gold for selling over 500,000 copies), and La Luna peaked at #17 (La Luna has scanned 873.000 copies sold in the U.S.).

In 2001, Brightman released Classics (certified Gold for selling over 500,000 copies In United States), an album of operatic arias and other classical pieces including a solo version of "Time to Say Goodbye". Entertainment Weekly, although calling Brightman a "stronger song stylist than a singer", gave the album a grade of B-.

In 2002, Brightman released "The secret" on SASH!'s fourth studio album S4!Sash!. This song was re-released in 2007 as "The secret 2007 (Unreleased)" on SASH!'s sixth album 10th Anniversary.

Her 2003 album Harem represented another departure: a Middle Eastern-themed album influenced by dance music. On Harem, Brightman collaborated with artists such as Ofra Haza and Iraqi singer Kazem al-Saher. Nigel Kennedy contributed violin tracks to the songs "Free" and "The War is Over", and Jaz Coleman contributed arrangements. #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart, and yielded a #1 dance/club single with the remix of the title track. Some time later, another single from the album (the ballad "Free", cowritten with Sophie B. Hawkins) became a second Top-10 hit on this chart.

The albums Eden, La Luna and Harem were accompanied by live world tours which incorporated the theatricality of her stage origins. Brightman acknowledged this in an interview, saying, "They're incredibly complicated...[but also] natural. I know what works, what doesn't work, all the old tricks." In both 2000 and 2001, Brightman was among the top 10 most popular British performers in the U.S., with concert sales grossing $7.2 million from 34 shows in 2000 and over $5 million from 21 shows in 2001. In contrast, a reviewer from the Boston Globe deemed the Harem tour "unique, compelling" and "charmingly effective."

Television specials on PBS were produced for nearly every Brightman album in the U.S.; a director of marketing has credited these as her number-one source of exposure in the country.

2006–2008: Diva and Symphony
Brightman released a DVD collection of her music videos on 3 October 2006 under the title of Diva: The Video Collection. is the accompanying CD, released on the same date. The album marked the first time Brightman has released a greatest hits album in the United States; it reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart. (Classics, from 2001, featured seven new recordings in addition to the previously-released material, and her other reflective offering, The Best of 1990–2000, was a European-only release.) Diva was intended as a marketing strategy to bridge the gap between Brightman's previous 2003 album Harem and her next album that would be released on early 2008.

Brightman was one of the artists featured on the January 2007 series of the prime time BBC One show Just the Two of Us, partnered with English cricketer Mark Butcher. The pair finished the competition in third place.

Subsequent appearances include the Concert for Diana in July 2007, where she sang "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera with Josh Groban, Around 15 million people from across the UK watched Concert for Diana at home, and it was broadcast to over 500 million homes in 140 countries; 7 July 2007 Chinese leg of Live Earth in Shanghai, where she performed four songs ("Nessun Dorma", "La Luna", "Nella Fantasia" and "Time to Say Goodbye") and debuted her single "Running" at the 2007 IAAF Championships in Osaka, Japan on 25 August. She also participated at the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, where she performed "The Journey Home" on the Jolly Polly Pirate Ship. She recorded a duet with Anne Murray singing "Snowbird" on Murray's 2007 album .

On 29 January 2008, Brightman released her first album in five years: Symphony, influenced by gothic music. The Title track of the album "Symphony" is a cover of "Symphonie" by the German band Silbermond. In the United States it became Brightman's most successful chart entry and also her highest ranked album on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums". It was also a #1 album on two other Billboard's charts: "Top Internet Albums" and "Top Classical Crossover Albums". The album moved there 31,463 copies in first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan. Nevertheless, the album flopped in the american album charts lasting only 11 weeks in the Billboard top 200 list. In contrast, in Canada the album debuted and peaked at #4 and in Mexico it entered at #9, where it peaked at #5; In both places, the median success that the album experienced was awarded with Gold Disc certifications.

Featured on the album are artists Andrea Bocelli, Fernando Lima, and KISS vocalist Paul Stanley, who duets with Brightman on "I Will Be with You", the album version of the theme song to the 10th Pocket Monsters motion picture, (Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai). On 16 January 2008, she also appeared in concert at Vienna’s Stephansdom Cathedral performing songs from her new album. Special guests that sang duets with Sarah include Italian tenor Alessandro Safina, Argentinean countertenor Fernando Lima, and British singer Chris Thompson. Brightman made several appearances on television in the United States to promote Symphony, including Fashion on Ice on NBC on 12 January, The View on 30 January, Martha on 31 January and Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel.

She performed two songs, "Pie Jesu" and "There You'll Be", at the United States Memorial Day concert on 25 May 2008 held on the west lawn of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.. The top-rated show was broadcast live on PBS before a concert audience of 300,000 and millions more at home, as well as to American troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network. Brightman made her feature film debut as Blind Mag in the rock musical film Repo! The Genetic Opera which was released on 7 November 2008. Brightman was cast in the film at the last minute after the original actress who was cast for the role was dropped.

On 4 November 2008, Brightman released her first holiday album, entitled A Winter Symphony. To accompany Symphony and A Winter Symphony, Brightman embarked on a tour in Autumn 2008; "The Symphony World Tour" featured new and groundbreaking technology, with virtual and holographic stage sets that had never been seen before in any touring concert production. It grossed over $13 million in the first North American leg with 32 shows overall, cited as one of the top-grossing tours of the 2008 holiday season in North America. In addition to the tour, there were other appearances to promote the Christmas album such as the Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas parade where Sarah sang "Silent Night" airing on ABC in the Christmas Morning. Sarah also performed in the Japanese TV show Happy Xmas Show (Nippon Television Network) which was aired on NTV(Japan) on December 23. Filmed at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Los Angeles, the songs performed included Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" and "Symphony". Finally, the "I Believe in Father Christmas" music video was premiered on Amazon as part of their Twelve Days of Christmas program. The video was featured on the Music Homepage.

According to an article posted on Billboard, Brightman and EMI parted ways shortly after her Symphony: Live in Vienna was released. The album Symphony sold only 145,000 copies in the United States and over 700,000 worldwide, compared to her 1997' debut album in America, Timeless which sold 1,4 million in the United States and 3,5 million worldwide. Stated in the cited article, "The buzz about Brightman's exit was fueled earlier this week when her picture disappeared online and Billboard, citing unnamed sources, reported Friday that Brightman, 49, dropped the label.

2009-Present
Following her performance at the Beijing Olympics, Sarah was appointed as the Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain. In anticipation of the Expo, she launched "Shanghai Week in London", which showcases the city's heritage and culture.

The music of Brightman was featured in the movie Amarufi: Megami no hôshû (international title: ), which was a special production to mark Fuji Television's 50th anniversary. The first Japanese movie to be shot entirely on location in Italy. In conjunction with the release of the movie Amalfi, Sarah released only in Japan an album titled Amalfi – Sarah Brightman Love Songs which reached Gold status in the aforementioned country.

, Mexico.]]

Autumn 2009 saw Brightman starting a new concert tour called "Sarah Brightman In Concert" covering Latin America with 13 sold-out performances in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. The last venue of the tour was at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza. Called "The Concert of the Pyramid", the event meant Brightman becoming the first woman to give a concert at this new wonder of the world.

On November 2009, Brightman was in charge of the main theme song for the historical drama series Saka no Ue no Kumo. The song's lyrics are entirely in Japanese. Titled "Stand Alone," the song was composed by Joe Hisaishi and written by Kundo Koyama. It was included on the drama's soundtrack album, released on 18 November 2009.

On January 2010, Panasonic Corporation launched the song "Shall Be Done" performed by Brightman at Panasonic's Olympic Pavilion at LiveCity Yaletown, official celebration site of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

Brightman's career is now expanding into other disciplines. In summer 2009, she completed filming Stephen Evans' "Cosi," in which she plays the role of a conductor, opposite Richard E. Grant.

On 15 September 2010, Brightman appeared on America's Got Talent's finale episode before that season's winner was revealed. The soprano was the celebrity guest duetting with ten year old favorite contestant Jackie Evancho.

Given the increasing popularity of Brightman in Japan, the artist's record company prepared a tour to the Nippon country with 5 gigs in Tokyo alone, followed by presentations on Kanazawa, Nagoya, Osaka. Subsequentely the singer headed to perform in Canada, Macau, South Korea and Ukraine as well.

On November 3, 2010, just days before the onset of the Asian tour, Sarah was invited to sing at the Tōdai-ji Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara".

Legal action against YouTube
Frank Peterson, a German composer, producer and copyright holder for several of Sarah Brightman's performances, sued YouTube in Germany for allowing Brightman's work to be posted by users. The Hamburg state court has now ruled that Google Inc.'s subsidiary YouTube LLC must pay.

Music and voice
performing "You and Me" the Beijing Olympic theme song.]] Brightman underwent vocal training first with Elizabeth Hawes, head of the Trinity Music College in London, and later with Ellen Faull of Juilliard. She currently studies with internationally known voice teacher David Romano. She has a three-octave vocal range. According to Brightman, her voice sometimes reaches an F6. However, her highest note sung in public and in studio is the E6 final of "The Phantom of the Opera".

David Caddick, a conductor of Phantom, has stated:

"What is amazing about Sarah is that she has two voices, really. She can produce a pop, contemporary sound, but she can also blossom out into a light soprano. The soprano part of her voice can go up to an E natural above high C. She doesn’t sing it full out, but it is there. Of course, she has to dance while she is singing some of the time, so it’s all the more extraordinary." Her personal influences include '60s and '70s musicians and artists such as David Bowie and Pink Floyd, The material on her albums ranges from versions of opera arias from composers such as Puccini (on Harem, Eden, and Timeless), to pop songs by artists such as Kansas ("Dust in the Wind" on Eden), Dido ("Here with Me" on La Luna), and Procol Harum ("A Whiter Shade of Pale" on La Luna). She sings in many languages which are English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.

Personal life
At age 18, in 1979, Brightman married Andrew Graham-Stewart, who then managed the German band Tangerine Dream. In 1980 they moved into The Manor House in Little Gaddesden. In 1983, she divorced Graham-Stewart. She met Andrew Lloyd Webber when she performed in Cats, and Lloyd Webber later divorced his first wife, Sarah Hugill, to marry her on 22 March 1984. in Hampshire. Their marriage saw intense media and tabloid scrutiny. Brightman acknowledged the marriage in a 1999 interview as a "difficult time" but also one of much creative output. in Hertfordshire after divorce and financial issues. Later, she experienced an ectopic pregnancy and two miscarriages with Peterson.

Her personal assets have been estimated to be around £30m (about US$49m).

Awards

* 1986 Grammy Nomination, Best Classical Artist, USA

* 2009 The 23th Japan Gold Disc Award 2009: Classic Album of the Year A Winter Symphony

* 2010 The 24th Japan Gold Disc Award 2010: Classic Album of the Year Amalfi - Sarah Brightman Love Songs

*Golden Key to the city of Chicago

*Golden Key to the city of Istanbul

Stage credits

Musicals

I and Albert (as Vicky and street waif), 1973 Picadilly Theatre, London

Cats (as Jemima), 1981 New London Theatre

The Pirates of Penzance (as Kate), 1982

Masquerade (as Tara Treetops), 1982

Nightingale (as Nightingale), 1982 Buxton Festival and the Lyric, Hammersmith

Song and Dance (as the girl, named: Emma), Palace Theatre in London on 28 April 1984

The Merry Widow (as Valencienne), 1985

The Phantom of the Opera (as Christine Daaé), 1986 Her Majesty's Theatre London, 1988 Broadway

Aspects of Love (as Rose Vibert), 1990

Plays

Trelawny of the Wells (as Rose Trelawney), 1992

Relative Values (as Miranda Frayle), 1993 Chichester Festival and Savoy Theatre

Dangerous Obsession (as Sally Driscoll), 1994 Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke

The Innocents (as Miss Giddens), 1995 Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke

Filmography

Granpa, 1989 animated children's film, singing "Make Believe" over the end credits

Zeit der Erkenntnis, 2000 feature film (Germany), as herself

Repo! The Genetic Opera, 2008 feature film, as Blind Mag

(Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess), 2009 feature film (Japan), as herself

First Night (aka Cosi), 2010 feature film, as Celia

Selected discography

Selected albums

Dive (1993)

Fly (1995)

Time to Say Goodbye (1997)

Eden (1998)

La Luna (2000)

Classics (2001)

Harem (2003)

Symphony (2008)

A Winter Symphony (2008)

Cast recordings

Cats – Original London Cast (1981)

Nightingale – Original London Cast (1983)

Song and Dance – Sarah Brightman & Wayne Sleep (1984. Re-released 2007)

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem – Domingo, Brightman, ECO, Maazel (1985)

The Phantom of the Opera – Original London Cast (1986)

Carousel – Studio Cast (1987)

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Tours

"A Timeless Evening With Sarah Brightman" (UK and Germany) 1997

"One Night In Eden Tour" 1999

"La Luna World Tour" 2000–2001

"Harem World Tour" 2004–2005 (2004: Worldwide, 2005: Mini-Tour in Japan)

"The Symphony World Tour" 2008–2009

"Sarah Brightman In Concert" October 2009 (Latin America)

"Sarah Brightman In Concert With Orchestra" October 2010 (Japan, Korea and Macau)

Duets

Andrea Bocelli - "Time to say Goodbye", "Canto Della Terra"

Plácido Domingo - Requiem (Lloyd Webber), "The Closing of the year", "La ci darem la mano", "Love Unspoken", "Time to say goodbye", "La Traviata: Libiamo ne' lieti calici... Brindisi", "Die Lustige Witwe - Lippen Schweigen","The Phantom Of The Opera: All I Ask Of You", "West Side Story: Maria & Tonight"

José Carreras - "Amigos para Siempre ", "Love Unspoken", "La Traviata: Libiamo ne' lieti calici... Brindisi"", "Subaru"

Michael Crawford - The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber)

José Cura - "Just Show Me How to Love You", "There for Me"

Josh Groban - "There for Me", "All I Ask of You"

Andrew Lloyd Webber - "Whistle Down the Wind"

Tom Jones - "Something in the Air"

Antonio Banderas - "The Phantom of the Opera"

Cliff Richard - "All I Ask of You", "Only You"

Gregorian - "Moment of Peace", "Join Me", "Héroes", "When A Child is Born", "Send Me An Angel", "Voyage Voyage", "Eden", "Don’t Give Up"

Riccardo Cocciante - "Frohlice Weihnacht", "Cantemos Rapaces", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Silent Night"

Kazem Al Sahir - "The War is Over"

Nigel Kennedy - "Free"

Ofra Haza - "Mysterious Days"

Chris Thompson - "How Can Heaven Love Me", "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)", "The Phantom of the Opera"

Fernando Lima - "Pasión", "Ave Maria"

Alessandro Safina - "Sarai Qui", "Canto Della Terra", "The Phantom of the Opera" (Symphony World Tour - México, Asia)

Mario Frangoulis - "Carpe Diem", "Sarai Qui", "Canto Della Terra", "The Phantom of the Opera" (Symphony World Tour - EE.UU., Canadá)

Paul Stanley - "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)"

Liu Huan - "You And Me"

Dj Schiller - "The Smile", "I've Seen it All"

Sash! - "The Secret Still Remains"

Michael Ball - "All I Ask of You"

Richard Armitage - "Desert Fantasy"

Andrzej Lampert - "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)"

Sergey Penkin - "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)"

I Muvrini - "Tu Quieres Volver"

Eric Adams - "Where The Eagles Fly"

Jacky Cheung - "There For Me"

Steve Harley - "The Phantom of the Opera"

Erkan Akin - "Just Show Me How To Love You","The Phantom of the Opera", "Canto della Terra" and "Sarai Qui" in "Sarah Brightman In Concert 2009" a Tour in South America "Latin American Tour".

Paul Miles-Kingston - "Pie Jesu"

Connar Burrowes: "Pie Jesu" (This Is Your Life: Andrew Lloyd Webber, 1994)

Adam Clack: "Pie Jesu" (In Concert "At The Royal Albert Hall" - 1997)

Ben De'Ath: "Pie Jesu" (The Andrew Lloyd Webber Celebration, 1998)

Andrew Swait: "Pie Jesu" (The Classical Brit Awards - May 8, 2008)

Eric Scott Kincaid - "The Phantom of the Opera"

David Malek - "The Phantom of the Opera: All I Ask Of You"

Mark Butcher - "Take The Weather With You", "Heroes", "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "Let's Face The Music And Dance", "Music Of The Night", " Ain't No Sunshine", "The Rose", "Moon River"

Anne Murray - "Snowbird"

Lesley Garrett - "Abide with me" (FA Cup Final May 19, 2007)

Betty Buckley - "Memory" (Kennedy Center Honor - 3 December 2006)

This Duets was announced but were never made:
Florent Pagny - "Just Show Me How To Love You"

Biondo - "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)"

See also

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

List of Operatic Pop artists

References

External links

Category:1960 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Arts Educational Schools Category:English dancers Category:English female singers Category:English-language singers Category:English musical theatre actors Category:English rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English sopranos Category:English stage actors Category:Female rock singers Category:French-language singers Category:German-language singers Category:Italian-language singers Category:Opera crossover singers Category:People from Berkhamsted Category:Spanish-language singers

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.

Sara Lov

Singer/songwriter Sara Lov was born in Hawaii and later was raised by her mother in Los Angeles after the divorce of her parents. At the age of four she was kidnapped by her father and taken to Israel. Sara Lov lived there with an international fugitive from justice until a decade later when an uncle brought about her repatriation to the United States.
In 1998 Lov formed the dream pop duo Devics alongside pianist Dustin O'Halloran. In 2001, the group signed with Bella Union, a U.K.-based record label run by Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde, and moved to Italy. Lov later decided to pursue a solo career and partnered with producer Zac Rae on a full-length album. In order to complete the work on the record, Lov relocated back to the Los Angeles area; she also toured with Sea Wolf and performed at a number of L.A. venues.

Lov's song, "Connected By A String," was inspired by events in her life. As a girl, she was kidnapped by her father during a custody battle and taken away to live in Israel. “Everywhere he went, he’d leave a path of destruction,” Lov said, “but music was my sanity. It was the thing I could turn to to escape.” Sara came back to America when she was older, but her sister stayed behind. Thus the line, "never mind the bombs in Tel Aviv" (which is a city in Israel) and Sara's statement that, "I will not go back there, and she will never leave." Her debut The Young Eyes EP was released January 20, 2009 through Nettwerk. The EP contains two cover songs: "My Body Is A Cage" by Arcade Fire, and "Timebomb" by Beck. A full length album, Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming was released in March 2009, also through Nettwerk. Her single "Fountain" was featured during the climax of a scene in Fox's Bones TV series.

Discography

2009 The Young Eyes EP (EP, Nettwerk)

2009 Seasoned Eyes were Beaming (LP, Nettwerk)

References

External links

Official website

Myspace

Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming Review

Interview from L.A. Weekly

Category:Living people Category:Female rock singers

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.

Clint Mansell

Name Clint Mansell
Background non_performing_personnel
Birth name Clinton Darryl Mansell
Born January 07, 1963
Origin Coventry, England
Genre Classical
Contemporary classical
Electronic
Alternative
Occupation Musician, Composer
Years active 1981–present
Associated acts Pop Will Eat Itself
Url clintmansell.com
Type single
Filename Clint Mansell Lux Aeterna.ogg
Format Ogg
Title Clint Mansell - "Lux Aeterna"}}
}}
Clinton Darryl "Clint" Mansell, (born 7 January 1963) is an English musician, composer, and former lead singer and guitarist of the band Pop Will Eat Itself.

After the disbanding of Pop Will Eat Itself in 1996, Mansell was introduced to film scoring when his friend, director Darren Aronofsky, hired him to score his debut film, π. Mansell then wrote the score for the next Aronofsky film, Requiem for a Dream, and its main composition "Lux Aeterna" has become extremely popular, appearing in a wide variety of advertisements and film trailers.

Mansell's composition for The Fountain was nominated for Best Original Score at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards. His other notable film scores include Moon, Smokin' Aces and The Wrestler.

Career

Pop career
Mansell was the lead singer and guitarist of the British band Pop Will Eat Itself. He also performed back-up vocals on the 1999 album The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails.

Soundtrack composer
Mansell's score for π was followed up by his score for Aronofsky's next film, Requiem for a Dream, which became a cult hit. Mansell has also contributed the score to HBO's Voyeur. The song was also used as the base theme for the song "Throw It Up" by Lil Jon. His most recent work has been on the soundtrack for Black Swan in 2010.

Mansell has garnered a cult following for his soundtrack work, so much that Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan admits to receiving "blatant threats" when the soundtrack was released without much of Mansell's score for the film.

Film trailers
The trailer for contained a rearranged version of the track "Lux Aeterna", using a full orchestra and choir. The piece, named "Requiem for a Tower", was recorded specially for the trailer. The orchestration was arranged by Simone Benyacar, Dan Nielsen, and Veigar Margeirsson.

"Lux Aeterna" has since become popular, with both the original and the "Requiem for a Tower" version having appeared in a wide variety of advertisements and trailers, including the trailer for the Red Sox–Yankees games in the 2007 Major League Baseball season, and trailers for the films Zathura, The Da Vinci Code, Sunshine, Babylon A.D. and the TV series Lost and Top Gear. It was also used on Sky Sports News and as the theme for Soccer Saturday from 2007-2009. In 2006, the theme was used in EuroSport LIVE trailers. The theme was also used by America's Got Talent as an introduction of the judges before being changed slightly. The new variant is now a regular piece on the show.

The piece "Death Is the Road to Awe" from the score for The Fountain was featured in a trailer for the 2007 film I Am Legend, and the trailer for the film The Mist, as well as the trailer for the film Frost/Nixon, and toward the end of 2007 The Final Cut trailer for Blade Runner.

He has also composed the music for the mini-series The Fronts of War, in which the main song is Requiem for a dream.

Scoring credits

Pi, 1998

Requiem for a Dream, 2000

World Traveler, 2001

The Hole, 2001

Knockaround Guys, 2001

Rain, 2001

Abandon, 2002

Murder by Numbers, 2002

Sonny, 2002

, 2002

, 2003

Suspect Zero, 2004

Sahara, 2005

Doom, 2005

The Fountain, 2006

Trust the Man, 2006

Smokin' Aces, 2006

Wind Chill, 2007

In The Wall, 2007

Definitely, Maybe, 2008

The Wrestler, 2008

'', 2009

Moon, 2009

L'affaire Farewell, 2009

The Rebound, 2010

Black Swan, 2010

Last Night, 2010

Faster, 2010

The Fronts of War, 2011

References

External links

Mansell at Yahoo Movies
Mansell at Rotten Tomatoes
Interview focusing on Pop Will Eat Itself

The Wrestler Score review

Two and a Half Questions with Clint Mansell on Headphone Commute (2009)

Category:1963 births Category:British indie rock musicians Category:English film score composers Category:Living people Category:People from Coventry

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.

Celine Dion

Name Céline Dion
Background solo_singer
Birth name Céline Marie Claudette Dion
Born March 30, 1968
Origin Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada
Spouse René Angélil
Children Rene Charles (born 2001) Eddy and Nelson (born 2010)
Instrument Vocals
Genre Pop, dance-pop, pop rock, soft rock, adult contemporary
Occupation Singer, songwriter-composer, actress
Years active 1980–present
Label Sony Music Canada, Epic, 550, Columbia
Networth over US$250 million
(Jan. 2007)
Url

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC, OQ (; born March 30, 1968) is a French-Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Born in Repentigny, Quebec, to a large family from Charlemagne, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.

Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B; to gospel and classical. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. Dion is the best-selling Canadian artist of all time, is the second best-selling female artist in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era, and is the only female artist to have two singles that have sold more than a million copies in the United Kingdom. In addition, her 1995 album D'eux, is the best-selling French-language album of all time. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time. According to Sony Music Entertainment, Dion has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.

Childhood and early beginnings
The youngest of fourteen children born to Adhémar Dion and Thérèse Tanguay, both of French Canadian descent, Céline Dion was raised a Roman Catholic in a poverty-stricken, but, by her own account, happy home in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. Music had always been a part of the family (Dion was named after the song Céline, recorded by French singer Hugues Aufray two years before her birth), as she grew up singing with her siblings in her parents' small piano bar called Le Vieux Baril. From an early age Dion had dreamed of being a performer. In a 1994 interview with People magazine, she recalled, "I missed my family and my home, but I don't regret having lost my adolescence. I had one dream: I wanted to be a singer."

At age twelve, Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Further success in Europe, Asia, and Australia came when Dion represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Ne partez pas sans moi (Don't Go Without Me) and won the contest by a close margin in Dublin, Ireland. However, American success was yet to come, partly because she was exclusively a Francophone artist. At eighteen, after seeing a Michael Jackson performance, Dion told Angélil that she wanted to be a star like Jackson. Though confident in her talent, Angélil realized that her image needed to be changed in order for her to be marketed worldwide. He gave her an ultimatum: have surgery on her vocal chords, or not utilize them at all for three weeks. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock music that quickly found a niche within the adult contemporary radio format. Unison also hit the right notes with critics: Jim Faber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Dion's vocals were "tastefully unadorned", and that she never attempted to "bring off styles that are beyond her". Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic declared it as, "a fine, sophisticated American debut." Singles from the album included "(If There Was) Any Other Way", "The Last to Know", "Unison", and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", a mid-tempo soft-rock ballad which made prominent use of the electric guitar. The latter became her first single to reach the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four. The album established Dion as a rising singer in the United States, and across Continental Europe and Asia.

In 1991, Dion was also a soloist in Voices That Care, a tribute to American troops fighting in Operation Desert Storm. Dion's real international breakthrough came when she duetted with Peabo Bryson on the title track to Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). The song captured a musical style that Dion would utilize in the future: sweeping, classically influenced ballads with soft instrumentation. Both a critical and commercial hit, the song became her second U.S. top ten single, and won the Academy Award for Best Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. She would later regain her fan base at the Félix Award show, where, after winning "English Artist of the Year", she openly refused to accept the award. She asserted that she was—and would always be—a French, not an English, artist. Apart from her commercial success, there were also changes in Dion's personal life, as Angélil, who was twenty-six years her senior, transitioned from manager to lover. However, the relationship was kept a secret as they both feared that the public would find their relations inappropriate.

Popularity established: 1993–1995
In 1993, Dion announced her feelings for her manager by declaring him "the colour of [her] love" in the dedication section of her third Anglophone album The Colour of My Love. However, instead of criticizing their relationship as Dion had feared, fans embraced the couple. Eventually, Angélil and Dion married in an extravagant wedding ceremony in December 1994, which was broadcast live on Canadian television.

As it was dedicated to her manager, the album's motif focused on love and romance. It became her most successful record up to that point, selling more than six million copies in the U.S., two million in Canada, and peaking at number-one in many countries. The album also spawned Dion's first U.S., Canadian, and Australian number-one single "The Power of Love" (a remake of Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit), which would become her signature hit until she reached new career heights in the late 1990s. while the album was eventually certified five-times platinum for two-million copies sold.

Dion kept to her French roots and continued to release many Francophone recordings between each English record. Generally, they achieved more credibility than her Anglophone works. The single also reached the top ten in the UK and Ireland, a rare accomplishment for a French song. The second single off the album, "Je sais pas", reached number one on the French Singles Chart as well and was certified Silver in France. These songs would later become "If That's What It Takes" and "I Don't Know" on Dion's next English album, Falling into You.

During the mid-1990s, Dion's albums continued to be constructed on the basis of melodramatic ballads, but also with up-tempo pop and adult contemporary themed music. She collaborated with talented craftsman such as Jim Steinman and David Foster who helped her devise more adult contemporary songs. While critical reviews fluctuated, Dion's releases performed increasingly well on the international charts, and in 1996 she won the World Music Award for "World’s Best-selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year" for the third time. By the mid-1990s, she had established herself as one of the best-selling artists in the world.

Worldwide commercial success: 1996–1999

Falling into You (1996), Dion's fourth Anglophone album, presented the singer at the height of her popularity, and showed a further progression of her music. The singles encompassed a variety of musical styles. The title track "Falling into You" and "River Deep, Mountain High" (a Tina Turner cover) made prominent use of percussion instruments; "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (a remake of Jim Steinman's song) and a remake of Eric Carmen's "All by Myself" kept their soft-rock atmosphere, but were combined with the classical sound of the piano; and the number-one single "Because You Loved Me", which was written by Diane Warren, was a ballad that served as the theme to the 1996 film Up Close & Personal.

Falling into You garnered career-best reviews for Dion. While Dan Leroy wrote that it was not very different from her previous work, and Stephen Holden of The New York Times and Natalie Nichols of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the album was formulaic, other critics, such as Chuck Eddy of Entertainment Weekly, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AMG and Daniel Durchholz, lavished the album as "compelling", "passionate", "stylish", "elegant" and "remarkably well-crafted". Falling Into You became Dion's most critically and commercially successful album: it topped the charts in many countries and became one of the best-selling albums of all time. In the United States, the album reached number-one, and was later certified 11x Platinum for over 11 million copies shipped. In Canada, the album was certified diamond for over one million copies shipped. The IFPI certified Falling into You 9x Platinum, an accolade that has been given to only two other albums in history, with one of the two being Dion's own album, Let's Talk About Love. The album also won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album, and the academy's highest honor Album of the Year. Dion's status on the world stage was further solidified when she was asked to perform "The Power of the Dream" at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In March 1996, Dion launched the Falling into You Tour in support of her new album, giving concerts around the world for over a year.

Dion followed Falling into You with Let's Talk About Love (1997), which was publicized as its sequel. The recording process took place in London, New York City, and Los Angeles, and featured a host of special guests, such as Barbra Streisand on "Tell Him"; the Bee Gees on "Immortality"; and world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti on "I Hate You Then I Love You". Other musicians included Carole King, Sir George Martin, Bryan Adams and Jamaican singer Diana King, who added a reggae tinge to "Treat Her Like a Lady". As with Falling into You, Let's Talk About Love was a major success for Dion, reaching number-one all over the world, attaining platinum status in twenty-four sales territories, and becoming Dion's fastest selling album of her career. In the United States, the album topped the chart in its seventh week of release, and was later certified 10x Platinum in the U.S. for over 10 million copies shipped. In Canada, the album sold 230,212 copies in its first week of release, which became, and still is, a record. It was eventually certified diamond in Canada for over 1 million copies shipped. The most successful single from the album became the classically influenced ballad "My Heart Will Go On", which was written and composed by James Horner and Will Jennings, and produced by Horner and Walter Afanasieff. as well as winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The song also gave Dion two Grammy Awards for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" and the most coveted "Record of the Year", (the song itself won four awards, but two were presented to the songwriters). "My Heart Will Go On" and "Think Twice" made her the only female artist in the UK to have two singles to sell more than a million copies. In support of her album, Dion embarked on the Let's Talk About Love Tour between 1998 and 1999.

Dion ended the 1990s with three more extremely successful albums—the Christmas album These Are Special Times (1998), the French-language album, S'il suffisait d'aimer, and the compilation album All the Way... A Decade of Song (1999). On These Are Special Times, Dion became more involved in the writing process. She co-wrote the song, Don't Save It All For Christmas Day along with Ric Wake and Peter Zizzo. The album was her most classically influenced yet, with orchestral arrangements found on virtually every track. "I'm Your Angel", a duet with R. Kelly, became Dion's fourth U.S. number one single, and another hit single across the world. All the Way... A Decade of Song drew together her most successful hits coupled with seven new songs, including the lead off single "That's the Way It Is", a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", and "All the Way", a duet with Frank Sinatra. All the Way... A Decade of Song also topped the charts in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Her last French-language studio album of the 1990s, S'il suffisait d'aimer, was very successful as well, topping the charts in every major French-speaking country, including France, Switzerland, Belgium Wallonia, and Canada. By the end of the 1990s, Celine Dion had sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, and had won a slew of industry awards. Her status as one of the music industry's biggest pop divas was further solidified when she was asked to perform on VH1's Divas Live special in 1998, with superstars Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain and Mariah Carey. That year she also received two of the highest honors from her home country: "Officer of the Order of Canada for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Contemporary Music" and "Officer of the National Order of Quebec".

During this time, the pop-rock genre that was more noticeable in her earlier releases, was replaced by a more adult contemporary feel. Other critics, like Elysa Gardner and Jose F. Promis, praised her vocals during this period, describing it as a "technical marvel". However, others, like Steve Dollar, who reviewed These Are Special Times'', stated that Dion is a "vocal Olympian for whom there ain't no mountain—or scale—high enough."

Career break: 2000–2002

After releasing and promoting thirteen albums during the 1990s, Dion stated that she needed to settle down, and announced on her latest album All the Way... A Decade of Song, that she needed to take a step back from the spotlight and enjoy life. Angélil's diagnosis with throat cancer also prompted her to hiatus. While on break, Dion was unable to escape the spotlight. In 2000, the National Enquirer published a false story about the singer. Brandishing a picture of Dion and her husband, the magazine misquoted Dion, printing the headline, "Celine — 'I'm Pregnant With Twins!'" Dion later sued the magazine for more than twenty million dollars. The editors of the Enquirer printed an apology and a full retraction to Dion in the next issue, and donated money to the American Cancer Society in honor of Dion and her husband. A year after the incident, after undergoing fertility treatments, Dion gave birth to a son, René-Charles Dion Angélil, on January 25, 2001, in Florida. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, Dion returned to the music scene, and in a televised performance sang "God Bless America" at the benefit concert . Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote, "the performance... brings to mind what has made her one of the celebrated vocalists of our time: the ability to render emotion that shakes the soul. Affecting, meaningful, and filled with grace, this is a musical reflection to share with all of us still searching for ways to cope." In December 2001, Dion published her autobiography, My Story, My Dream which chronicled her rags to riches story.

Return to music: 2002–2003

" with members of the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, 2002.]] Dion's aptly titled A New Day Has Come, released in March 2002, ended her three-year break from the music industry. The album was Dion's most personal yet, and established a more mature side of Dion with the songs "A New Day Has Come", "I'm Alive", and "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)", a change that resulted from her new-found maternal responsibilities, because, in her own words, "becoming a mother makes you a grown-up." She stated, "A New Day Has Come, for Rene, for me, is the baby. It has everything to do with the baby...That song "A New Day Has Come" represents very well the mood I'm feeling right now. It represents the whole album." A New Day Has Come debuted at number one in over 17 countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 527,000 copies; marking her first number one debut on the chart. It was eventually certified 3x Platinum in the United States, and 6x Platinum in Canada.

While the album was commercially successful, critical reviews suggested that it was "forgettable" and the lyrics were "lifeless". Both Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine, and Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, stated that Dion's music had not matured during her break, and classed her music as trite and mediocre. Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine called the album "a lengthy collection of drippy, gooey pop fluffer-nutter." The first single off the album, A New Day Has Come peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, being an airplay-only release. On the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, however the song spent 21 consecutive weeks at number 1, breaking the record for the longest span at the top. The previous record holders were Phil Collins' You'll Be in My Heart and Dion's own Because You Loved Me, both of which lasted nineteen weeks at number 1. During 2002, she performed for many benefit concerts, the famous VH1 Divas Live, a concert to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, alongside Cher, Anastacia, Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, Shakira and Stevie Nicks.

Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, Dion released One Heart (2003), an album that represented her appreciation for life. The album largely consisted of dance music—a deviation from the soaring, melodramatic ballads, for which she had once been given mixed reception. Although the album achieved moderate success, One Heart was met with mixed criticism, and words such as "predictable" and "banal" appeared even in the most lenient reviews. A cover of the 1989 Cyndi Lauper hit "I Drove All Night", released to launch her new advertising campaign with Chrysler, incorporated dance-pop and rock and roll. The advertising deal itself, however was met with mixed criticism, with some stating that Dion was trying to please her sponsors. However, people like Bonita Stewart, who was the director of Chrysler Group Marketing Communications stated that "Chrysler was taken by how her appeal crossed ethnic lines." She also added, "She brings sophistication, refinement, romance and passion to the brand."

After One Heart, Dion released her next English Language studio album, Miracle (2004). Miracle was a multimedia project conceived by Dion and photographer Anne Geddes, and had a theme centering on babies and motherhood. The album was filled with lullabies and other songs of maternal love and inspiration, the two most popular being covers of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy". The reviews for Miracle were mixed. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic.com gave the album three of out five stars, stating, "The worst you can say about the record is that there are no surprises, but the audience for this record doesn't want surprises; they want comfort, whether it arrives in polished music or artsy photos of newborns, and Miracle provides both, which makes it appealing for those expectant or new mothers in Dion's audience. Chuck Arnold of People Magazine, however, labeled the album as excessively sentimental, while Nancy Miller of Entertainment Weekly opined that "the whole earth-mama act is just opportunism, reborn". Miracle debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and number one in Canada , and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA.

The Francophone album 1 fille & 4 types (1 Girl & 4 Guys), released in October 2003, fared better than her first two releases, and showed Dion trying to distance herself from the "diva" image. She recruited Jean-Jacques Goldman, Gildas Arzel, Eric Benzi, and Jacques Veneruso, with whom she had previously worked on two of her best-selling French albums S'il suffisait d'aimer and D'eux. Labeled "the album of pleasure" by Dion herself, the album cover showed Dion in a simple and relaxed manner, contrary to the choreographed poses usually found on her album covers. The album achieved widespread commercial success in France, Canada, and Belgium where it reached number one. In France, the album debuted at number one and was later certified 2x platinum after selling over 700,000 copies. Critic, Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Dion's vocals "are back at top of their game" and that she was "getting back to pop basics and performing at a level unheard in a while."

Though her albums were commercially successful, they did not achieve the sales or the reception of her previous works. Albums like The Collector's Series, Volume One (2000), and One Heart (2003) did not perform as well critically. However, by 2004, Dion had accumulated sales of more than 175 million albums worldwide, and received the Chopard Diamond Award from the World Music Awards for her achievements. According to the official World Music Awards website, the award is rare; it's not even "presented every year" and an artist can only be presented with the award for selling "over 100 million albums during their career."

A New Day... Live in Las Vegas: 2003–2007

In early 2002 Dion had announced a three-year, 600-show contract to appear five nights a week in an entertainment extravaganza, A New Day..., at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. She conceived the idea for the show after seeing O by Franco Dragone early in her break from recording, and began on March 25, 2003, in a 4,000-seat arena designed for her show. The show, put together by Dragone, was a combination of dance, music, and visual effects. It included Dion performing her biggest hits against an array of dancers and special effects. Reviewer Mike Weatherford felt that, at first, Dion was not as relaxed as she should be, and at times, it was hard to find the singer among the excessive stage ornamentations and dancers. However, he noted that the show had become more enjoyable, due to Dion's improved stage-presence and simpler costumes. Ticket prices averaged $135.33. The show was choreographed by Mia Michaels, who is a world renowned choreographer. According to Pollstar, Dion sold 322,000 tickets and grossed US$43.9 million in the first half of 2005, and by July 2005, she had sold out 315 out of 384 shows. By the end of 2005, Dion grossed more than US$76 million, placing sixth on Billboard's Money Makers list for 2005. A New Day... was the 6th biggest selling tour in America in 2006. Because of the show's success, Dion's contract was extended into 2007 for an undisclosed sum. On January 5, 2007 it was announced that the show would end on December 15, 2007, with tickets for the period after October 2007 having gone on sale from March 1. During its entire run, the show accumulated a total gross of $400 million, while being seen by nearly 3 million fans. The Live in Las Vegas - A New Day... DVD was released on December 10, 2007 in Europe and the following day in North America.

Back to studio and world tour: 2007–2009
in Uniondale, NY on Long Island.]]

Dion's latest French language album, D'elles (About Them), released on May 21, 2007, debuted at the top of the Canadian album charts, selling 72,200 copies in its first week. It marked her tenth number-one album in the SoundScan era, and her eighth to debut at the top position. In Canada, the album has been certified 2x platinum, and within the first week had already shipped half a million units worldwide. D'Elles also reached No. 1 in France and Belgium. The first single "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)" (meaning "And If There Was Only One Woman Left (I Would Be That One)") debuted at the top of the French singles chart a month earlier. She released her latest English album Taking Chances on November 12 in Europe, and on the 13th in North America. Her first English studio album since 2003's One Heart, it features pop, R&B;, and rock inspired music. Dion has collaborated with John Shanks, ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody, as well as Kristian Lundin, Peer Astrom, Linda Perry, Japanese singer Yuna Ito, and R&B; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. Dion stated, "I think this album represents a positive evolution in my career ... I'm feeling strong, maybe a little gutsier than in the past, and just as passionate about music and life as I ever was." She launched her year-long worldwide Taking Chances Tour on February 14, 2008 in South Africa, performing 132 dates in stadiums and arenas across five continents.

Taking Chances Tour was a great success in the United States, reaching the Number 1 spot on the Billboard Boxscore and sold out every concert in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, she appeared on Idol Gives Back for a second year in a row. Céline Dion was nominated for 6 Juno Awards in 2008, leading the group of Canadians to receive this honour. Dion has added to her 53 previous nominations. Her nominations included Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year (for Taking Chances), Francophone Album of the Year (for D'elles) and Album of the Year (for both Taking Chances and D'elles). The following year, Dion was nominated for 3 Juno Awards including the Fan Choice Award, Song of the Year (for Taking Chances), and Music DVD of the Year (for Live in Las Vegas — A New Day...)

, Canada, August 2008.]] On August 22, 2008, Celine Dion presented a free show, exclusively francophone, outside on the Plains of Abraham, in Quebec City, Canada, for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. The celebration gathered approximately 490,000 people (total with TV broadcast). The concert, called Céline sur les Plaines, was released on DVD on November 11, 2008 in Quebec and was released on May 20, 2009 in France. The end of October saw the worldwide release of her first ever comprehensive English greatest hits album called , available in two different album formats.

In May 2009, Celine Dion was named the 20th best-selling artist of the decade in the United States and the 2nd best selling female artist of the decade in the United States, selling an estimated 17.57 million albums. In June 2009, Forbes Magazine reported that Celine Dion earned $100 million during 2008. In December 2009, Pollstar announced that Celine Dion was the best-selling solo touring act of the decade and the second best-selling touring act of the decade, only to the Dave Matthews Band. Dion grossed $522.2 million during the decade, a large sum of that coming from her five year residence at Caesars Palace. The documentary shows behind-the-scenes footage of Dion both onstage and offstage, along with footage of Dion with her family as they traveled with her.

In January 2010, The Los Angeles Times presented its annual list of the top ten largest earners of the year, and revealed that Celine Dion took the top spot for the entire decade, with $US747.9 million in total revenue from 2000-2009. The largest haul came in from ticket sales, totaling $522.2 million. A public online survey asked responders to vote for who they believe deserved the above-mentioned accolade. Specifically, Dion was the most popular musician in the female demographic, as well as among all Democrats, those who live in the eastern United States and southern United States, and those who have incomes between US$35k and US$74.9k.

New Las Vegas Show: 2010 - present
In an interview with People Magazine published in February 2010, Dion announced that she will be returning to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for a three-year residency for seventy shows a year, beginning 15 March 2011. She stated that the show will feature, "all the songs from my repertoire that people want to hear" and will contain a selection of music from classic Hollywood films. In September 2010, she released the single, "Voler", a duet with French singer, Michel Sardou. The song was later included on Sardou's album. In addition, it was announced in October 2010 that Dion wrote and composed a new song for Canadian singer, Marc Dupré entitled Entre deux mondes.

Personal life
Dion first met her husband and manager, Rene Angelil in 1980, when she was 12 and he was 38, after she and her mother sent him a demo tape of a song they had written. They began a relationship in 1987, and became engaged in 1991. They married on December 17, 1994, at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec. On January 5, 2000, Dion and Angelil renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas.

In May 2000, Dion had two small operations at a fertility clinic in New York to improve her chances of conceiving, after deciding to use in-vitro fertilisation after years of failed attempts to conceive. Their first child, Rene-Charles Angelil, was born on January 25, 2001. In May 2010, Angelil announced that Dion was 14 weeks pregnant with twins after a sixth treatment of in-vitro fertilisation. On Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 11:11 and 11:12am respectively, at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dion, by Caesarean section, gave birth to two healthy fraternal twins weighing 5 pounds 10 ounces and 5 pounds 4 ounces. The twins were named Eddy, after Dion's favorite Algerian songwriter Eddy Marnay, and Nelson, after former South African President Nelson Mandela. Dion appeared with her new born sons on the cover of the December 9, 2010 issue of the Canadian edition of Hello! magazine.

On 15 October 2010, Céline Dion was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Artistry and image
Dion grew up listening to the music of Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand, and the Bee Gees, all of whom she would eventually collaborate with. Dion has also stated she grew up listening to artists such as Janis Joplin, the Doobie Brothers, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, but never got the chance to sing their genre of music. She also was inspired by fellow vocalist Whitney Houston, whom Dion has often been compared to. Her music has been influenced by numerous genres, including pop, rock, gospel, R&B; and soul, and her lyrics focus on themes of poverty, world hunger, and spirituality, with an emphasis on love and romance. After the birth of her child, her work also began to emphasize maternal bond and brotherly love.

Dion has faced considerable criticism from many critics, who state that her music often retreats behind pop and soul conventions, and is marked by excessive sentimentality. According to Keith Harris of Rolling Stone magazine, "[Dion's] sentimentality is bombastic and defiant rather than demure and retiring....[she] stands at the end of the chain of drastic devolution that goes Aretha-Whitney-Mariah. Far from being an aberration, Dion actually stands as a symbol of a certain kind of pop sensibility—bigger is better, too much is never enough, and the riper the emotion the more true." Dion's francophone releases, by contrast, tend to be deeper and more varied than her English releases, and consequently have achieved more credibility. In her French repertoire, Dion also adorns her vocal lines with more nuances and modulations, and the emotional intensity is "more tender and intimate." According to Luc Plamondon, who has written several songs for her, there are three singers: the Québécoise, the French, and the English. }}

Many critics have stated that Dion's involvement in the production aspect of her music is fundamentally lacking, which results in her work being overproduced Also, she helped to compose many of her earlier French songs, and had always tried to involve herself with the production and recording of her albums. On her first English album, which she recorded before she had a firm command of the English language, she expressed disapproval of the record, which could have been avoided if she had assumed more creative input. and parody, and is frequently impersonated on shows like MADtv, Saturday Night Live, South Park, Royal Canadian Air Farce and This Hour Has 22 Minutes for her strong accent and on-stage movements. However, Dion has stated that she is unaffected by the comments, and is flattered that people take the time to impersonate her. After her interview, she stated, "When I do interviews with Larry King or the big TV shows like that, they put you on the spot, which is very difficult. I do have an opinion, but I'm a singer. I'm not a politician."

Voice
Celine Dion possesses a soprano vocal range that spans five octaves, and is often regarded as one of pop music's most influential voices. She has been described as a reigning "Queen of Pop" for her influence over the record industry during the 1990s, alongside other female entertainers, including Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. In a countdown of the "22 Greatest Voices in Music" by Blender Magazine and MTV, she placed ninth (sixth for a female), and she was also placed fourth in Cove magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists." Dion is often compared to Mariah Carey for her vocal style and to her idol, Barbra Streisand for her voice. She is often praised for her technical virtuosity.

The New York Times expressed similar sentiments, stating, "Ms. Dion [...] is a belter with a high, thin, slightly nasal, nearly vibratoless soprano and a good-sized arsenal of technical skills. She can deliver tricky melismas, produce expressive vocal catches and sustain long notes without the tiniest wavering of pitch. And as her duets [...] have shown, she is a reliable harmony voice." Charles Alexander of Time adds, "[Her] voice glides effortlessly from deep whispers to dead-on high notes, a sweet siren that combines force with grace."

Other activities
and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.]]

Dion became an entrepreneur with the establishment of her franchise restaurant, Nickels in 1990. She has since divested her interests in the chain and is no longer affiliated with Nickels, as of 1997. In 2003, Dion signed a deal with Coty, Inc. to release Celine Dion Parfums. Her latest fragrance, Pure Brilliance is scheduled to be released in September 2010. Since its inception, Celine Dion Parfums has grossed over $850 million in retail sales. In October 2004, Canada's flag carrier airline, Air Canada hired Dion as part of their promotional campaign to unveil new service products and an updated livery. "You and I", the theme song sung by Dion, was written by advertising executives working for Air Canada.

Dion has actively supported many charity organizations, worldwide. She has promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) since 1982, and became the foundation's National Celebrity Patron in 1993. She has an emotional attachment to the foundation; her niece Karine succumbed to the disease at the age of sixteen. In 2003, Dion joined a number of other celebrities, athletes, and politicians, including Josh Groban and Yolanda Adams to support "World Children's Day", a global fundraising effort sponsored by McDonald's. The effort raised money from more than 100 nations and benefited orphanages and children's health organizations. In addition, Dion has been a major supporter of the T.J. Martell Foundation, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and many health and educational campaigns. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dion donated $1 million to the victims of the storm, and held a fund-raising event for the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami, which subsequently raised more than $1 million. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Dion donated $100,000 to China Children & Teenagers' Fund and sent a letter showing her consolation and support.

In 1999, Dion received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and also a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2004. She dedicated her star to her father, who died the month prior. In 2007, Celine Dion was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 5th richest woman in entertainment with an estimated net worth of US$250 million. She also received France's highest award, the Légion d'honneur, in May 2008. In August 2008, she received an honorary doctorate in music from the Université Laval in Quebec City. In October 2010, Dion was named a Goodwill Ambassador, a program created by the United Nations in 1999. She shared this accolade with Oscar-winner, Susan Sarandon.

Discography

Albums

English-language studio albums
1990: Unison

1992: Celine Dion

1993: The Colour of My Love

1996: Falling into You

1997: Let's Talk About Love

1998: These Are Special Times

2002: A New Day Has Come

2003: One Heart

2004: Miracle

2007: Taking Chances

French-language studio albums
1981: La voix du bon Dieu

1981: Céline Dion chante Noël

1982: Tellement j'ai d'amour...

1983: Les chemins de ma maison

1983: Chants et contes de Noël

1984: Mélanie

1985: C'est pour toi

1987: Incognito

1991: Dion chante Plamondon

1995: D'eux

1998: S'il suffisait d'aimer

2003: 1 fille & 4 types

2007: D'elles

Singles
{| class="wikitable" ! style="background:#fff;" |- !! style="text-align:center; background:#f0f8ff;" rowspan="2"| Year !! style="text-align:center; background:#f0f8ff;" rowspan="2"| Single !! style="text-align:center; background:#f0f8ff;" colspan="4"| Peak positions |- ! style="background:#f0f8ff; width:60px;"|CAN ! style="background:#f0f8ff; width:60px;"|U.S. ! style="background:#f0f8ff; width:60px;"|UK ! style="background:#f0f8ff; width:60px;"|FRA |- | style="text-align:center;"|1990 |align="left"|"Where Does My Heart Beat Now" | style="text-align:center;"|6 | style="text-align:center;"|4 | style="text-align:center;"|72 | style="text-align:center;"|20 |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1992 |align="left"|"If You Asked Me To" | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"|4 | style="text-align:center;"|57 | style="text-align:center;"|— |- |align="left"|"Beauty and the Beast" (duet with Peabo Bryson) | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|9 | style="text-align:center;"|9 | style="text-align:center;"|— |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1993 |align="left"|"The Power of Love" | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|4 | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |align="left"|"Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|2 |- | style="text-align:center;"|1994 |align="left"|"Think Twice" | style="text-align:center;"|14 | style="text-align:center;"|95 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|— |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"|1995 |align="left"|"Pour que tu m'aimes encore" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|7 | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |align="left"|"Je sais pas" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |align="left"|"Because You Loved Me" | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|5 | style="text-align:center;"|19 |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996 |align="left"|"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"|13 |- |align="left"|"All by Myself" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|4 | style="text-align:center;"|6 | style="text-align:center;"|5 |- | style="text-align:center;"|1997 |align="left"|"Tell Him" (duet with Barbra Streisand) | style="text-align:center;"|12 | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"|4 |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="5"|1998 |align="left"|"The Reason" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|11 | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |align="left"|"My Heart Will Go On" | style="text-align:center;"|14 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |align="left"|"Immortality"(duet with the Bee Gees) | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|5 | style="text-align:center;"|15 |- |align="left"|"I'm Your Angel" (duet with R. Kelly) | style="text-align:center;"|37 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"|97 |- |align="left"|"S'il suffisait d'aimer" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|4 |- | style="text-align:center;"|2000 |align="left"|"I Want You to Need Me" | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— |- | style="text-align:center;"|2001 |align="left"|"Sous le vent" (duet with Garou) | style="text-align:center;"|14 | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- | style="text-align:center;"|2002 |align="left"|"A New Day Has Come" | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|22 | style="text-align:center;"|7 | style="text-align:center;"|23 |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|2003 |align="left"|"I Drove All Night" | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|45 | style="text-align:center;"|27 | style="text-align:center;"|22 |- |align="left"|"Tout l'or des hommes" | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- | style="text-align:center;"|2005 |align="left"|"Je ne vous oublie pas" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|2 |- | style="text-align:center;"|2007 |align="left"|"Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)" | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|— | style="text-align:center;"|1 |}

Tours
{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Title !Releases |- |1983–1984 |Les chemins de ma maison tournée |None |- |1985 |C'est pour toi tournée |Vinyl Céline Dion en concert |- |1988 |Incognito tournée |None |- |1990–1991 |Unison Tour |VHS Unison |- |1992–1993 |Celine Dion Tour |None |- |1994–1995 |The Colour of My Love Tour |VHS/DVD The Colour of My Love Concert; CD À l'Olympia |- |1995 |D'eux Tour |VHS/DVD Live à Paris; CD Live à Paris |- |1996–1997 |Falling into You Tour |VHS Live in Memphis |- |1998–1999 |Let's Talk About Love Tour |VHS/DVD Au cœur du stade; CD Au cœur du stade |- |2003–2007 |A New Day... |DVD/BD Live in Las Vegas - A New Day...; CD A New Day... Live in Las Vegas |- |2008–2009 |Taking Chances Tour |DVD Céline sur les Plaines; DVD/BD ; DVD/CD |}

Filmography

Touched by an Angel

The Nanny

All My Children

La fureur de Céline

Des fleurs sur la neige

Céline sur les Plaines

See also

List of awards received by Celine Dion

Celine Dion videography

List of best-selling music artists

Notes

References

Céline Dion. Artist direct. Retrieved on December 18, 2005.

"Celine Dion." Contemporary Musicians, Volume 25. Gale Group, 1999.

"Celine Dion." Newsmakers 1995, Issue 4. Gale Research, 1995.

Céline Dion Rock on the Net. Retrieved November 20, 2005.

Céline Dion The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 2, 2006

Céline Dion provided by VH1.com Retrieved August 16, 2005.

Dion extends long Las Vegas stint bbc news. com. Retrieved November 5, 2005.

Durchholz, Daniel. Review: One Heart. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Mo.: April 24, 2003. p. F.3

The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalist covemagazine.com Retrieved November 1, 2005.

Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Nineties (ISBN 0-89820-137-3)

The Journey so far celinedion.com. Retrieved August 16, 2005.

World Music Awards Diamond Award Retrieved November 1, 2005, (Search by year required)

Céline Dion's biography Biography Retrieved April 7, 2006.

Céline DTV Series TV Series Retrieved April 15, 2006.

Further reading

External links

CelineDion.com – Official website operated by Sony Music Canada (English, French).

Celine Dion YouTube Channel

Celine Dion at WN
[ Celine Dion] at Allmusic
Celine Dion at Billboard.com

FAO Goodwill Ambassador website

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1968 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Ballad musicians Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian philanthropists Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian people of French descent Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian sopranos Category:Canadian voice actors * Category:Companions of the Order of Canada Category:English-language singers Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1988 Category:Eurovision Song Contest winners Category:French-language singers Category:French Quebecers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Juno Award winners Category:Légion d'honneur recipients Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Quebec Category:Officers of the National Order of Quebec Category:People from Montreal Category:Swiss Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:World Music Awards winners

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.

Andrea Bocelli

Name Andrea Bocelli
Background solo_singer
Born September 22, 1958
Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy
Instrument Vocals, keyboards, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, harmonica, guitar, drums, melodica
Voice type Tenor
Genre Adult contemporary, classical, easy listening, Latin pop, opera, operatic pop, pop, vocal
Occupation Musician, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist
Years active 1992–present
Label Universal, Philips, PolyGram, Decca, Sugar
Url Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, Born with poor eyesight, he became totally blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident.
Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival in 1994, Thus, he is the biggest-selling solo artist in the history of classical music.

In 1998, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards marked the first time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since Leontyne Price, in 1961. The Prayer, his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film, The Quest for Camelot, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category.

With over 5 million units sold worldwide, Sacred Arias became the biggest-selling classical album by a solo artist of all time, and a number of other countries in Europe and Latin America.

In 2006, Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic,

Early life
at Lajatico, Tuscany]]

Childhood and Education
Bocelli was born in 1958 to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli. They lived on the family farm, selling farm machinery and making wine in the small village of La Sterza, a frazione of Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy, which is about 40 km south of Pisa. Bocelli's mother and younger brother Alberto still live in the family home. Bocelli's father died in 2000.

As a young boy, Bocelli showed a great passion for music. His mother has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. At the age of six he started piano lessons, and later also learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums.

Bocelli would also spend time singing during his childhood. At the age of 14 he won his first song competition, the Margherita d'Oro in Viareggio with O sole mio. Bocelli signed with the Sugar Music label in Milan after the group's president heard Bocelli sing Miserere and "Nessun Dorma" at a birthday party for Zucchero.

In December Bocelli entered the preliminary round of the Sanremo Music Festival in the category of Giovani, performing both parts of the duet Miserere. He won the preliminary competition with the highest marks ever recorded in the Newcomers section. On 28 December, he debuted in the classical world in a concert at the Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia. Bocelli had been an agnostic, but around 1994, partly as a result of immersing himself in the works of Tolstoy, he returned to the practice of the Catholic faith. He performed the hymn, Adeste Fideles in Rome before Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica at Christmas.

The song was included on his album Bocelli which was produced by Mauro Malavasi and released in spring. His third album, Viaggio Italiano, was released in autumn.

In 1996, Bocelli was invited to sing a duet with English soprano Sarah Brightman at the final bout of German IBF World Light-Heavyweight boxing champion Henry Maske. Brightman, a friend of Maske, approached Bocelli after she heard him singing "Con te partirò" whilst she was dining in a restaurant. Changing the title lyric of the song to "Time to Say Goodbye", they re-recorded it as a duet with members of the London Symphony Orchestra and sang it as a farewell for Maske. The single debuted atop the German charts, where it stayed for fourteen weeks. With sales nearing three million copies, and a sextuple platinum award, "Time to Say Goodbye" eclipsed the previous best-selling single by more than one million copies.

Back in Italy in Bologna on 27 September, he yet again sang before the Pope at the International Eucharistic Congress. On 19 October, he sang at the TeleFood benefit concert held in the Vatican City, and organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization to raise awareness about world hunger. On 25 October he received a Bambi award, an annual television and media prize awarded by the German media company Hubert Burda Media, in the Klassik category in Cologne, Germany. On 19 April Bocelli entered the United States (USA) market with a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. followed the next day by a reception at the White House with then US President Bill Clinton. He was also named one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people of 1998. At the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on 24 February, Bocelli was nominated in the Best New Artist category which was won by Lauryn Hill. Bocelli and Dion received a standing ovation after singing The Prayer.

In January 2001, Bocelli portrayed the main character in Pietro Mascagni's opera L'amico Fritz at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and again performed the tenor part in Verdi's Requiem. On 19 March the Requiem album was released with Bocelli as tenor. From 22 March to 6 April he toured North America accompanied by Cecilia Gasdia and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. On 17 June he performed at the re-opening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In July he performed two concerts in Dublin with Ana María Martínez and the New Symphony Orchestra. At the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 4 October he presented his new album Cieli di Toscana and was recognised for having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In October he opened the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sicilian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini in Catania. On 28 October, he sang Franz Schubert's Ellens dritter Gesang as a representative of the Roman Catholic faith, during a memorial concert at Ground Zero in New York City for the victims of the September 11 attacks there. In November he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million sales of the album Cieli di Toscana, and at the Italian Music Awards he was given a special award from the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for his merits as an "Ambassador of Italian music in the world". He performed seven more concerts in the US accompanied by Ana María Martínez, and on 23 December, in front of the President of Italy and other guests of honour, he sang the Italian national anthem as well as works of Bellini and Verdi at the traditional Christmas concert in the Italian Senate, which was broadcast live on television for the first time.

2002–05: Sentimento and Andrea
In Berlin on 5 February he received a Goldene Kamera award in the "Music & Entertainment" category. On 6 March he received two World Music Awards in Monte Carlo: "World best selling classical artist" and "Best selling Italian artist". On 11 March, he gave a concert for peace at the Basilica di San Marco a Venezia in Venice, accompanied by the orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice and conducted by Lorin Maazel. On 15 March he took part in the opening of Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée France. On 7 May Bocelli and Tony Renis received a Telegatto Italian Television award for the soundtrack of the series Cuore. On 23 May he received the 2002 Classical BRIT Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Music". On 27 May he performed at the Villa Madama in Rome in front of USA president George W. Bush and Italian president Silvio Berlusconi. On 28 May he took part in "Pavarotti & Friends" charity concert in Modena in aid of Angola. In June he again toured the USA, then on 26 July and 3 August he portrayed Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the 48th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. On 14 October he and Lorin Maazel presented his new album Sentimento to a worldwide audience. Further presentations took place in Milan and New York, and the album was released on 4 November, selling over two million copies in 40 days. On 24 October he started his Sentimento tour in Zürich which took in large arenas in several European and North American cities.

In February 2003, Bocelli performed Madama Butterfly in an exclusive Monte Carlo concert, which was attended by Caroline, Princess of Hanover. In March for the first time he appeared as a producer, at the Sanremo Festival, where the young artists Allunati and Jacqueline Ferry sang for his new record label, Clacksong. In May his second complete opera, Tosca, was released. At a private benefit gala for the Royal National Institute of Blind People Bocelli sang in front of the British Royal Family. On 24 May he performed in a benefit concert for the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art in the Piazza del Campo in Siena, with sopranos Maria Luigia Borsi and Lucia Dessanti, baritone Soo Kyung Ahn, and violinist Ruth Rogers, accompanied by Marcello Rota and the Orchestra Città di Pisa. Three days later he was again invited to perform at "Pavarotti & Friends" in Modena and sang a medley of Neapolitan songs together with Pavarotti. In June he continued his Sentimento tour in Athens and Cyprus. In September he took part in a concert for the Justice ministers and Interior ministers of the European Union at the Parco della Musica in Rome. He then resumed his tour, accompanied by Maria Luigia Borsi, Ruth Rogers and Marcello Rota. In November he once again toured in the United States, this time accompanied by Ana Maria Martinez, Kallen Esperian and Steven Mercurio. In December he gave his first concert in China and at the end of the month sang Gounod's Ave Maria at Pavarotti's wedding in Modena.

In September he performed his "Once in a Lifetime" tour in Australia with concerts in Sydney and Melbourne and one concert in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was joined on stage by New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. concert in Paris, in 2005.]] On 15 October he performed at the People Conference Hall in Beijing, China, and on 17 October at the Great Hall in Shanghai.

During early 2005 Bocelli was on tour including performances in Madeira, Hungary, Norway, USA, UK, Italy and Germany. He also appeared in Sesame Street singing "Time to Say Goodnight" a parody of Time to Say Goodbye as a lullaby to Elmo. On 21 March he performed on the Music for Asia benefit concert in Rome, televised on Italia 1, in aid of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake appeal.

In June he performed at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. On 2 July he performed at the Paris concert as part of the Live 8 event. Also during the second part of the year, he performed in Croatia, Serbia, Italy, the US, Dubai, Switzerland and finally in Scandinavia.

On 26 February Bocelli sang "Because We Believe" from his Amore album in the Carnevale section of the closing ceremony of the Torino Olympics with a worldwide television audience. He also began another tour with a concert at the Piazza di Castello in Turin. In March he was honoured by the Italian state with a Grande Ufficiale Italian Order of Merit (Grand Officer of the Italian Republic), given to him by then President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for his worldwide work for his country as a singer. The award was presented to him at the Sanremo Festival where he performed a duet with American singer Christina Aguilera on 4 March. and the tenor part from Gioachino Rossini's Messa di Gloria and in Naples where he took part in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee performed at three of Bocelli's concerts in California from 9 June to 11 June singing duets of Somos Novios and The Prayer with Bocelli. They also performed on 'J. C. Penney Jam: The Concert for America's Kids and recorded duet versions of Somos Novios for the resulting album, and also Can't Help Falling in Love on the CD of the Under the Desert Sky DVD.

In June he sang the Italian duet version of "Because We Believe", "Ama, credi e vai", with Gianna Nannini at the "großen Fan Party" at the opening of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Berlin in front of billions of worldwide television viewers.

On 1 July 2007, Bocelli performed "The Music of the Night" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, in a special musicals medley during the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Bocelli returned to his home town for a triumphant concert at the newly created Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico on 5 July 2007, with guest appearance by Kenny G, Heather Headley, Lang Lang, Elisa, Sarah Brightman and Laura Pausini. The concert was later released as Vivere Live in Tuscany. In September he debuted at the Avery Fisher Hall, in New York, with four concerts. October saw the release of the opera album of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with Bocelli singing the role of Canio. In November he won the "Best Italian Artist" and "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" awards at the World Music Awards. In December he finished his 2006 tour with more concerts in North America and Europe. , Japan, during his 2008 Asian Tour.]] To promote the album, he performed "Canto della Terra" at The Alan Titchmarsh Show on the BBC in London on 1 February; was interviewed by Fabio Fazio on the Italian talk show Che tempo che fa on RAI 3 in Italy; and performed "Canto della terra", "A te" and "Besame mucho" from the album, as well as "My way" on 2 February; and made an appearance on The South Bank Show in London, where he sang the French aria "Pour mon âme" on 3 February. Then on 10 February, he performed "The Prayer" at the 50th Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles, with Josh Groban in a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti, and sang "Dare to live" with Heather Headley the following day on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

On 7 May 2008, he sang at Steel Aréna in Košice, Slovakia, in front of 8,000 people. Then 13 May he sang at the "Teatro delle Muse" in Ancona, Italy, for a charity concert for "Francesca Rava – N.P.H. Italia Onlus", a foundation that helps poor and disabled children around the world.

On 2 June 2008 he performed at the Piazza del Duomo, Milan in front of 80,000 people during a concert celebrating the anniversary of the Republic of Italy's formation. Bocelli released the complete opera recording of Carmen in Italy in the same year, which he recorded in 2005. Myung-whun Chung conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Chœur de Radio France for the recording, and Welsh Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, was part of the Ensemble. The recording was not released internationally, until March 2010. , a single-disc collection of some of the arias and duets of the recording, was also released in 2010.

On 20 July, Bocelli held his third concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico, his hometown. The concert was a tribute to the cinema of Italy. Its performers included Italian composer and musician Nicola Piovani, Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle, Israeli singer Noa, and Charice. Then on 31 July, he performed at a concert in Vingis Park in Vilnius, Lithuania, in front of more than 18,000 people. Australian singer Tina Arena performed two duets with Bocelli -- "Canto Della Terra" and "The Prayer" -- at the closing stages of the concert.

On 7 August 2008, he held a benefit concert at Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina, and was accompanied by Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

On 26 September 2008, during the 2008 Veneto Festival, he held a concert in the Church of the Eremitani in Padova, Italy, in front of about 1000 people. He was accompanied by the I Solisti Veneti orchestra, celebrating its 50th birthday and conducted by Claudio Scimone, and by the Wiener Singakademie choir. The concert was a celebration of Giacomo Puccini's 150th birthday.

On 10 October and 11 he performed at Petra, singing "Dare to live" with Laura Pausini, as well as performing E Lucevan le Stelle from Tosca. On 19 October he sang "O Surdato 'Nnamurato" and a duet of "Non Ti Scordar Di Me" with Cecilia Bartoli, both from the Incanto album, during the ECHO Awards in Germany; and later presented the soprano with an ECHO award. On 24 October, he performed at Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, as a tribute to the city, where he celebrated the Italian release of Incanto. Performing with him were flautist Andrea Griminelli, Italian pop singer Massimo Ranieri and soprano Cecilia Bartoli, with Steven Mercurio conducting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. On 31 October, he performed a solo version of "The Prayer", as well as "Because", a song from Incanto, live on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

On 21 November and 22, Bocelli was amongst a quartet of soloists (soprano Sabina Cvilak, mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich and bass Alexander Vinogradov) to sing Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, conducted by Plácido Domingo, at the Washington National Opera in Washington, DC. Bocelli sang twice in the piece and later the two famous tenors sang The Pearl Fishers duet which would be the first aria they had ever sang together. On 25 November and 26 he starred alongside soprano Verónica Villarroel in an opera in concert of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana at the "Municipal Auditorium" in San Antonio, Texas. He returned to the United Kingdom, December 16, for an appearance on The One Show, broadcast live by BBC One, and on The Alan Titchmarsh Show which aired December 18, on ITV1.

On November 21, a segment of Leute Heute, a German tabloid-program on ZDF, was about My Christmas and Bocelli's meeting in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI and 250 other artists, an event which was broadcasted live earlier that day in Italy, by Rai Uno. Bocelli was also joined by the Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano, in his home in Forte dei Marmi, where they sang "Caro Gesù Bambino", a song from My Christmas which was originally recorded by the choir in 1960. Rai Uno also broadcast the performance later that day, during the Zecchino d'Oro Festival. The following day, Bocelli was among Fabio Fazio's guests, on his popular Italian talk-show, Che tempo che fa, broadcast on Rai Tre. During the program Bocelli talked about his album and performed "The Lord's Prayer", "White Christmas", and "Silent Night". It was also announced that Bocelli would return to the show on December 20 and give a live concert of My Christmas. Bocelli also took part in the annual 2009 José Carreras Gala, on December 17, where he sang Adeste Fideles, before singing "White Christmas" with José Carreras for the very first time; this was broadcast live, by Das Erste, in Germany. He then returning to Italy, for a concert in the Upper Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, on December 19, which was broadcast directly after the Urbi et Orbi blessing of Pope Benedict XVI, December 25, on Rai Uno.

In North America, Bocelli gave 6 concerts. On November 28, he performed in the Bank Atlantic Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He later performed in the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto, Canada, in the Izod Center, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the William Saroyan Theatre, in Fresno, California (changed from the much larger Save Mart Center due to scheduling conflicts), in the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, and finally in the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California, on December 3, 5, 8, 12, and 13. His last three arena concerts alone grossed a total of over 5,6 million dollars, placing him third on Billboard Magazine's week's Hot Tours ranking, behind the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Il Divo, who both held over 5 times more concerts worldwide, compared to Bocelli's three in the U.S., explaining their better showings.

In the United States, Bocelli made a number of high profile TV appearances. He first performed "White Christmas" at the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast live on NBC, November 26. He performed the song again on November 30 during The Today Show also live. His appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show during her Holiday Music Extravaganza, where he sang "What Child Is This", with Mary J. Blige, and later closed the show with Adeste Fideles, was also aired the same day, and was later rebroadcast on December 23. Bocelli also sang "Adeste Fideles" and was interviewed by Barbara Walters and Joy Behar on The View, which aired Decembe 2, on ABC. On December 8, he performed "Jingle Bells" with The Muppets on NBC's The Jay Leno Show. He also performed a number of songs from the album, including "The Christmas Song" with Natalie Cole, during a dinner at David Foster's mansion in Malibu, which was featured on The Dr. Phil Show, on December 10. Bocelli also performed "White Christmas" and "Silent Night", on the Larry King Live and Fox & Friends holiday-specials, broadcast December 23, on CNN, and December 19, 24 and 25, on Fox News.

In Brasil, following the success of the South American leg of the Incanto tour, were over 100,000 people attended his free concert at the São Paulo's "Parque Indipendencia", earlier in the year, it was announced that Bocelli would hold another Open-Air, entrance free, concert in Florianópolis, on December 28, where a crowd of about a million people was expected to attend. However, due to financial and political reasons, the concert was later canceled on short notice, along with all the other events scheduled for Christmas in the city.

2010: Hollywood Walk of Fame and FIFA World Cup
On January 31, 2010, during the 52nd Grammy Awards, Bocelli, Mary J. Blige and David Foster joined forces again, singing "Bridge over Troubled Water" to raise awareness for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The three had previously made an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, January 28, 2010, to announce the performance.

On March 2, he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to Live Theater, at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Roosevelt Hotel.

On March 12, Bocelli made an appearance on Skavlan, in Oslo, Norway, to promote his upcoming Scandinavian tour, giving a rare interview to the show's host Fredrik Skavlan, and later performing "Voglio Vivere Cosi", from his 2008 album Incanto, with Norwegian Boys' choir, Sølvguttene.

In April, he returned to Scandinavia, for a concert in Telenor Arena, in Oslo, Norway, on April 8, a concert in Forum Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 9, and finally a concert in the Ericsson Globe, in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 11. He was joined by Tony Award winner Heather Headley and 120 musicians from the Stockholm Concert Orchestra, in all three concerts, and by Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman in his Swedish concert.

On April 30, Bocelli sang "Nessun Dorma" during the opening ceremony of the Expo 2010, in Shanghai, China, in front of twenty heads of state and government, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The following day, on May 1, he held a concert, titled Charming China, at Shanghai Stadium, in front of an audience of 80,000 people, along with Chinese singers Song Zuying and Jay Chou, and Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang; the China Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied them under the direction of its artistic director Yu Long. The concert was later broadcasted by Shanghai TV, and by CCTV channels throughout mainland China.

The two appearances coincided with Bocelli's Asian tour, consisting of a concert in Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, on April 28, a concert in Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea, on May 2, a concert in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Hong Kong, on May 4, a concert in Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan, on May 6, The concert was later broadcasted, in its entirety, by Channel NewsAsia, on May 28 and 29, and by Okto, on May 30, in Singapore. An orchid in the Botanic Gardens' National Orchid Garden was also named after Bocelli in response to the concert. Australian pop singer Delta Goodrem performed again with Bocelli in all five concerts, after suporing him in his U.S. My Chritmas 2009 winter tour.

On May 18, during the 2010 World Music Awards, Bocelli performed ""Un Amore Cosi Grande" from his 2008 album, Incanto, and received his seventh World Music Award, for "Best Classical Artist".

On July 5, Bocelli gave a concert at the opening of the Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center, in Astana, on the occasion of Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev's 70th birthday. Among the guests were, the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, the President of Tajikistan, Emomalii Rahmon, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II.

On July 9, Bocelli headlined the "Celebrate Africa: The Grand Finale" Concert of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, at the Coca-Cola Dome, in Johannesburg, South Africa, to mark the end of the World Cup, two days before the World Cup final. During the concert, Bocelli was joined by Canadian rock star, Bryan Adams, Italian flautist, Andrea Griminelli, and South African singers, Nianell and Pretty Yende. FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, South Africain president, Jacob Zuma, and Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, were among the 12,000 in attendance.

On July 13, Montenegrin Statehood Day, Bocelli gave a concert at the seaside resort of Sveti Stefan, in western Montenegro, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Sveti Stefan Hotel. During the hour-long show, on a stage right in front of the island-hotel’s perimeter wall, Bocelli sang well-known arias, as well as some of his more popular hits, to the assembled dignitaries, including Montenegro’s top officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps and many faces from cultural, political and public life, as well as many current and former tourist entrepreneurs who had contributed to the development of Montenegrin tourism. A screening of the film Homage to Rome, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who was present during the event, and starring Bocelli, in his cinematographic debut, and Italian fashion model, Monica Bellucci, was shown prior to the special concert. The event was also attended by the President of the European Parliament, MEP, Jerzy Buzek, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani, the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, the President of Lazio, Renata Polverini.

On July 25, Bocelli held the fifth and final edition of the Teatro del Silenzio, in his hometown of Lajatico, Tuscany, to an audience of 10,000, double the amount of the first edition of the annual Festival, held in 2006. After performing with Spanish tenor, Plácido Domingo and Welsh Mezzo-soprano, Katherine Jenkins on the previous edition of the Festival, in 2009, Bocelli's guests included the only other surviving member of The Three Tenors, Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras, and Italian rock singer, Zucchero. Sculptures by Swiss artist Kurt Laurenz Metzler, who attended the concert, were exhibited during this year's edition. The Teatro del Silenzio has in past incorporated sculptures by artists such as Arnaldo Pomodoro and Igor Mitoraj. Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, who was also in attendance, donated a Bronze statue she had made of Bocelli, to the city of Lajatico, in the afternoon just before the concert. Bocelli was also awarded the Pisano Doc, during the dress rehearsal for the concert, on July 24, "in recognition for a great citizen, who with his extraordinary art and his humanity brings great prestige, honor and respect to the city of Pisa," and received, the 2010 Premio Lunezia nel mondo, during a private ceremony held on July 21, for "the musical-literary quality of his songs."

In September 2010, Bocelli held a concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in Athens, Greece. The concert was attended by George Papandreou, the prime minister of Greece and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, among others. All proceeds were donated to help cure cancer. Bocelli also gave concerts in Cairo, Egypt, in front of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza, as well as a fundraising concert inside the famous Duomo di Milano to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

As part of the 2010 leg of the My Christmas Tour, Bocelli gave two concerts in the two largest indoor arenas of the United Kingdom, The O2 Arena, in London, and The M.E.N Arena, in Manchester, in late November 2010. In early December, Bocelli gave 6 concerts in the United States. He will perform in Madison Square Garden, in New York City, Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, TD Garden, in Boston, Toyota Center, in Houston, Staples Center, in Los Angeles, and the MGM Grand's Garden Arena, in the Las Vegas Strip. The Toyota Center concert, in Houston, was attended by former president George Bush, Sr. and first lady Barbara Bush.

Bocelli also toke part in the Christmas in Washington special on December 12, in the presence of president Barack Obama and the first lady. On December 19, Bocelli gave a concert, conducted by Claudio Scimone, in the Italian Senate. The concert was attended by Italy's top officials including Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano, Renato Schifani, the president of the Italian Senate, Gianfranco Fini, the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See.

Voice
With the exception of the negative views of some Classical music critics, Bocelli is widely celebrated as a singer and is admired around the world.

Franco Corelli, one of the greatest Spinto tenors of the twentieth century, praised Bocelli's voice after hearing it for the first time during a Master class in 1986, in Turin, and would later give him private lessons. Another great Italian tenor who championed Bocelli's singing from the very beginning was Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti publicly admired Bocelli's voice and played an early part in the younger man's career. Bocelli would later sing during both his wedding ceremony, in 2003, and his funeral, in 2007.

After conducting Bocelli in the Verdi album, in 2000, Zubin Mehta commented that "Andrea's voice is special in many ways. First of all, he has a complete control from forte to pianissimo on any note. The end of 'Celeste Aida,' he attacks the high B flat full voice and then pulls it down to nothing — hardly anybody can do that, it's also very risky on the stage at the opera. But it's not that we tried it 15 times and he got it once; he can do it every time. He can also, in the middle of a phrase, without breathing, change the color of a note, so it's a conductor's dream to ask and to get it because most people can't do that." The interview where Mehta made those comments was featured in a BBC documentary about Bocelli, entitled the "Story Behind the Voice". Mehta also compared Bocelli's voice to the old Italian style of singers, such as Tito Schipa.

The same documentary also featured an interview with Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras. He commented that "The first time I had the possibility to listen to Andrea, he was apart of the Sanremo Festival. And I thought wow, that's a nice voice, very beautiful color, very tenor like." He proceeded by saying, "I always thought that he has a wonderful instrument, that he knows very much how to use it."

Similarly, during a 1999 interview on The Charlie Rose show, American soprano Renée Fleming praised Bocelli's voice, by saying "first of all the sound is beautiful. There is something very soulful about the way he sings and it's captured the hearts of something like, the last I've heard eleven million fans." Grammy winning Puerto Rican soprano, Ana María Martínez, who performed with Bocelli on many occasions, also said that "More than anything, Andrea has something that is unique in that he brings this light that is always around him. And this purity of heart and beauty of sound just touches the listener. It can’t be described."

French Canadian singer Celine Dion famously said while introducing him during her Christmas Special for These Are Special Times, in 1998, that "if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli," Taylor has been a passionate fan of Bocelli's since the beginning of his music career in the mid-90's. Other fans include, Prince Albert of Monaco, Sarah, The Duchess of York, and actress Isabella Rossellini. and Pope John Paul II,

Other world class artists from both the Pop and Opera worlds have also publicly expressed their admiration, including opera singers Plácido Domingo, and Cecilia Bartoli, who collaborated with Bocelli, and conductor Myung-whun Chung, who conducted Bocelli's 1999 allbum, Sacred Arias. Some point to his "poor phrasing, uneven tone and lack of technique."

In 1999, The New York Times chief music critic Anthony Tommasini in his review of Bocelli's North American opera debut at the Detroit Opera House in the title role of Massenet's Werther commented, "The basic color of Mr. Bocelli's voice is warm and pleasant, but he lacks the technique to support and project his sound. His sustained notes wobble. His soft high notes are painfully weak. Inadequate breath control often forces him to clip off notes prematurely at the end of phrases." In December 2000 Tommasini again criticised Bocelli, this time for his La bohème album when he claimed that Bocelli "still has trouble with basic things, like breath support" and his voice had been "carefully recorded", "to help it match the trained voices of the other cast members in fullness and presence."

In describing Bocelli's singing, New York Times music critic Bernard Holland noted, "the tone is rasping, thin and, in general, poorly supported. Even the most modest upward movement thins it even more, signalling what appears to be the onset of strangulation. To his credit, Mr Bocelli sings mostly in tune. But his phrasing tends toward carelessness and rhythmic jumble... The diction is not clear." Similarly, classical music critic Andrew Clement found Bocelli's studio opera recordings consistently disappointing in quality: "Bocelli's profoundly unmusical contribution, with its unvaryingly coarse tone, wayward intonation and never a phrase properly shaped, fatally undermines all their contributions." Anne Midgette of The New York Times agreed, noting "a thinness of voice, oddly anemic phrasing (including shortchanging upper notes of phrases in a most untenorial manner), a curious lack of expression."

During a 2009 performance in New York, the music critic Steve Smith wrote "For cognoscenti of vocal artistry the risks involved in Mr. Bocelli’s undertakings, both then and now, need no explanation. Substantial technical shortcomings masked by amplification are laid bare in a more conventional classical setting. Mr. Bocelli’s tone can be pleasant, and his pitch is generally secure. But his voice is small and not well supported; his phrasing, wayward and oddly inexpressive."

Recognition
.

* Honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contribution to live theater, at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in 2010.

* ECHO music award for "Best Single of the Year", for Time to Say Goodbye, in 1997.

* World Music Awards for "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" in 2010.

Personal life
Bocelli met his first wife, Enrica Cenzatti, while singing at piano bars early in his career. Bocelli lives with his girlfriend and manager, Veronica Berti. They met in 2002.

The couple live in a spacious villa, which used to be a hotel, in Forte dei Marmi on the Mediterranean, complete with recording studio. Meanwhile, Bocelli's estranged wife and two sons live in the couple's previous residence in the same comune, in Versilia.

On 30 April 2000, Bocelli's father, Sandro Bocelli, died. His mother encouraged him to honour his commitments, and so he sang for the Pope, in Rome, on May 1, and immediately returned home for the funeral. At his July 5 performance, filmed for PBS as American Dream—Andrea Bocelli's Statue of Liberty Concert, Bocelli dedicated the encore Sogno (Dream), from his 1999 album Sogno, to the memory of his father. Bocelli serves as its honorary president and performs for one night only, every July, the rest of the year, the theatre remains silent.

Since the opening in 2006, Bocelli has held 5 concerts, in every July, with guests ranging from opera singers Plácido Domingo and José Carreras to classical crossover artists Sarah Brightman and Katherine Jenkins, as well as Italian rock and pop stars Zucchero, Laura Pausini, and Elisa. Bocelli's guests have also included instrumentalists Lang Lang, Chris Botti, and Kenny G. The 2007 edition of the "Teatro del Silenzio" was released on DVD in 2008.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

1994: Il Mare Calmo della Sera

1995: Bocelli

1996/1997: Viaggio Italiano

1997: Aria – the opera album

1999: Sogno

1999: Sacred Arias

2000: Verdi

2001: Cieli di Toscana

2002: Sentimento

2004: Andrea

2006: Amore

2008: Incanto

2009: My Christmas

Compilation albums

1997: Romanza

2007:

Collaborative albums

1997: A Hymn for the World

1998: A Hymn for the World 2 (Voices From Heaven)

2000: Verdi's Requiem

2010:

Complete opera recordings

2000: La Bohème

2003: Tosca

2004: Il Trovatore

2005: Werther

2006: Pagliacci

2007: Cavalleria Rusticana

2008/2010: Carmen

2010: Andrea Chénier

Singles

Duet singles

1995: "Vivo per lei" (with Giorgia)

1996: "Vivo por ella" (with Marta Sánchez)

1996: "Time to Say Goodbye" (with Sarah Brightman)

1997: "Ich lebe für sie" (with Judy Weiss)

1997: "Je vis pour elle" (with Helene Segara)

1999: "The Prayer" (with Celine Dion)

2001: "L'Abitudine" (with Helena Hellwig)

2006: "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)" (with Christina Aguilera)

2006: "Because we believe" (with Marco Borsato)

2006: "Ama credi e vai" (with Gianna Nannini)

2007: "Dare to live" (with Laura Pausini)

2008: "Vive Ya" (with Laura Pausini)

2009: "What Child Is This" (with Mary J. Blige)

2010: "Bridge over Troubled Water" (with Mary J. Blige)

Solo singles

1994: "Il mare calmo della sera"

1995: "Con te partirò"/"Vivere"

1995: "Macchine da guerra"

1995: "Per amore"

1999: "Ave Maria"

1999: "Canto della Terra"

2001: "Melodramma"

2001: "Mille Lune Mille Onde"

2004: "Dell'amore non si sa"

2004: "Un nuovo giorno"

2009: "White Christmas/Bianco Natale"

Live albums & videos

1998: A Night in Tuscany

2000:

2002: Tuscan Skies (Cieli di Toscana)

2006:

2006: Under the Desert Sky

2008: Vivere Live in Tuscany

2008: Incanto The Documentary

2009: My Christmas Special

Bibliography

2000: The Music of Silence: A Memoir (La musica del silenzio) - Autobiography

2010: The Music of Silence: A Memoir - Reworked autobiography

See also

Teatro del Silenzio

Andrea Bocelli discography

List of Popera artists

List of Easy Listening artists

List of Adult Contemporary atists

List of awards and nominations received by Andrea Bocelli

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Bocelli's official site

Official German fan site (English version)

Bocelli Community

Official forum

Bocelli on Myspace.com

Bocelli on Facebook.com

Bocelli on Youtube.com

Bocelli on discogs.com

Biography of Andrea Bocelli, from RAI International

Bocelli pages at Music City

Andrea Bocelli on Universal Classics and Jazz Website

Andrea Bocelli section on classicalx.com

C Music TV Profile of Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli lyrics

Category:1958 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Blind musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Category:Crooners Category:Decca Records artists Category:French-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:German-language singers Category:Italian drummers Category:Italian flautists Category:Italian guitarists Category:Italian harpists Category:Italian keyboardists Category:Italian lawyers Category:Italian-language singers Category:Italian male singers Category:Italian opera singers Category:Italian philanthropists Category:Italian pianists Category:Italian pop singers Category:Italian Roman Catholics Category:Italian saxophonists Category:Italian singers Category:Italian singer-songwriters Category:Italian tenors Category:Italian trombonists Category:Italian trumpeters Category:Living people Category:Multi-instrumentalists Category:Opera crossover singers Category:Operatic tenors Category:People from the Province of Pisa Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Sanremo Music Festival winners Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Universal Music Group artists Category:University of Pisa alumni Category:World Music Awards winners Category:World record holders

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The Fountain ( death is the road to awe )

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clip the fountain music clint mansell

The Fountain Trailer

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Added new Bg music by Clint Mansell, the unforgettable score from the original soundtrack, also added some sound effects~

'The fountain' (trailer 1)

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CuttingEdge.be presents the first trailer of 'The fountain', which will be playing in Belgian theatres from March 7th on.

Clint Mansell - Death is the Road to Awe.

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*The soundtrack belongs to their rightful owners* SONG: Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet and Mogwai - Death is the Road to Awe MOVIE: The Fountain

Fountain of Bellagio "Time To Say Goodbye"

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I love Fountains of Bellagio. If I can, I'd like to enjoy Fountains of Bellagio everyday. But I can't. Because I'm living at Japan! So, Sometimes I watch this video, and I think about next vacation at Las Vegas. This video was taken on March 03, 2006. (It's a nice vacation for me.)

Dubai Fountain - "Time to Say Goodbye" - Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

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Update - Warner Music Group, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to block this video in certain countries due to the music in the background. The mentality of these half-wits is beyond me. Nobody is going to rip off the background music to this video in order to get a copy. If anything, this video, and others like it, can only serve to enhance their revenues. I'm speaking as someone who in their lifetime has spent in excess of $50000 on purchasing music legitimately, and who - up until today - doesn't have a single piece of music that they haven't paid for. Today, that all changes. I'll never pay a single cent for any of their product again. If something comes out on any Warner label that I fancy, I'll no longer buy the CD or pay for it on iTunes, I'll simply rip it off. Same goes to SonyBMG for blocking some of the other videos in some countries. I guess this is the one people will be most interested in! Canon 5D MkII and the 17mm TS-E.

Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting

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smooth.

Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom

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Music video by Fountains of Wayne performing Stacy's Mom.

The Fountain End

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df

The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments

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What happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and over 500 Mentos mints? It's amazing and completely insane. The first part of this video demonstrates a simple geyser, and the second part shows just how extreme it can get. Over one hundred jets of soda fly into the air in less than three minutes. It's a hysterical and spectacular mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, brought to you by the mad scientists at EepyBird.com. The name of the song, Audiobody - You Gotta Tap.

Burj Dubai Khalifa Fountain 'Time to Say Goodbye'

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Burj Dubai / Burj Khalifa Fountain. 'Time to Say Goodbye' by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli ('Con Te Partiro'). View from the Dubai Mall. Burj Khalifa officialy opened January 4, 2010. For those posting complaints abt UAE not helping with drinking water to third world countries - this is not drinkable water. Most of it is a condencate from air conditioning system. Dubai does provide help to third world countries via separate means. For those complaining about similarity to Bellagio fountains - while those are as beautiful, both systems were manufactured by Wet Design, same company, please contact them directly to discuss their business model, ie selling what they do to whoever orders it. Finally, MGM Mirage who owes the Bellagio is partially owed by Arabs.

The Fountain Music Video

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We will live forever... OST Clint Mansell - Stay With Me

Awesome Water Fountain in Japan

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An amazing water fountain in Canal city of Japan.

Art vs Science / MAGIC FOUNTAIN - Official Music Video

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Pre-order the debut album THE EXPERIMENT (out in Australia 25 Feb) from Art vs Science here: www.jbhifionline.com.au www.waterfrontrecords.com or via iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/au/preorder/the-experiment/id410428527 www.magicfountain.net Director: Alex Roberts Producer: Camilla Dehnert DOP: Tim Tregoning Art Direction: Melissa Fallshaw & Petta Chua Make-up: Emily Sarks Editor: Alex Roberts Visual FX: Fuel Visual FX: Darren Arbib Grade: Nick Fogarty

Hey Julie - Fountains of Wayne

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The song Hey Julie by Fountains of Wayne.

Woman Falls Into Fountain at Mall While Texting and Walking

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See this video and more at www.extremes.com - Don't text and walk at the same time! A distracted, yet focused woman falls Into a fountain at Berkshire Mall while texting and walking. This is the attention level of modern day society!!

Time Fountain - Optical Illusion

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This device creates the illusion that a simple stream of water droplets can defy the known laws of physics. By controlling a set of flickering LEDs, the dripping water can appear to slow down, freeze in mid-air, and even reverse in direction. This illusion exists because the brain attempts to fill in the gaps between flashes with its anticipated motion. It is the same reason that your brain interprets the 24 frames/second of a movie to be in-motion, rather than recognizing the individual still frames . The credit for this device belongs to Nate True. You can learn how to build your own Time Fountain at: cre.ations.net

japanese-mall-fountain.wmv

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Best water fountain ever!!!!

Sara Lov - Fountain

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Official video for "Fountain" from Sara Lov's recent release "Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming" which is available now through itunes on FILTER US Recordings: iTunes.com/saralov The "Fountain" video was Illustrated by Los Angeles based artist, Seonna Hong www.seonnahong.com and animated by Berlin based Italian director Marco Morandi.

The Fountain - last scenes - pt-br

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THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SPOILER. But it's my favourite part of the movie. So, please bear with it. Legendas em português (PT-BR)

Bellagio fountain show - My heart will go on - Celine Dion

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Bellagio fountain show - My heart will go on - Celine Dion - full song

Sigur Ros - Saeglopur (the fountain mix)

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if you haven't seen the movie The Fountain, then don't watch this.

The Fountain Soundtrack - 07 First Snow

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From the 'The Fountain' soundtrack, by Clint Mansell. 07: First Snow.

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photo: Creative Commons / Jon Sullivan

Dancing fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Other United States based companies such as WET (Water Entertainment Technologies), Fontana Fountains, Atlantic Fountains, Formosa Fountains, Hall Fountains, and Waterworks International have built fully computer controlled musical fountains since 1980.

photo: Creative Commons / Dezallier d'Argenville

The book "The Theory and Practice of Gardening" by Dezallier d'Argenville (1709) showed different types of fountain nozzles which would create different shapes of water, from bouquets to fans.

photo: Creative Commons / Drinking fountain

Internal mechanism of a drinking fountain.

photo: Creative Commons / Paris

The Medici Fountain, Paris (1630)

photo: Creative Commons / Jongleur

Neptune fountain, Cheltenham, England. here is a need for good water quality in contemporary fountains, regardless of their avowed intended use.

photo: Creative Commons / Washington D.C

The Bartholdi Fountain from the Philadelphia Bicentennial Exposition of 1876, now in Washington D.C. Its sculptor later made the Statue of Liberty

photo: Creative Commons / Sundae Sundae

International Fountain. The International Fountain: located in the middle of the campus, the fountain operates all year round. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the fountain was built as a modernist water sculpture.

photo: Creative Commons

A sensor based automated drinking fountain

photo: Creative Commons / River Ganges

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi by Bernini, (1648-51) the River Ganges

photo: Creative Commons / Hassocks

Decorative fountain in a central square in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain. There is a need for good water quality in contemporary fountains, regardless of their avowed intended use.

photo: Creative Commons / Paris

The Fountain of the Chateau d'Eau, (1809-1812)

photo: Creative Commons / KostasKon

Trevi Fountain

photo: Creative Commons / Mariordo

Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation (1840) with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The two fountains in the Place de la Concorde have been the most famous of the fountains built during the time of Louis-Philippe, and came to symbolize the fountains in Paris

photo: Creative Commons / Gabriel Davioud

Fontaine Saint-Michel, Place Saint-Michel, (1858-1860), Gabriel Davioud, architect.

photo: Creative Commons / chensiyuan

The Fountains at night, as seen from Paris Las Vegas .The fountains are set in a 9-acre (3.6 ha) man made lake. Contrary to urban myth, the lake is not filled with treated Grey water from the hotel.

photo: Creative Commons / London Great Exhibition

The Crystal Fountain at the Crystal Palace, London Great Exhibition of 1851.

photo: Creative Commons / King of Hearts

The Bellagio and nearby Caesars Palace, with the fountains in the foreground. The fountains are set in a 9-acre (3.6 ha) manmade lake. Contrary to urban myth, the lake is not filled with treated greywater from the hotel.

photo: Creative Commons / Chensiyuan

The old musical fountain at night. The Musical Fountain which was opened in 1982 was the biggest star attraction at that time. It went through three massive renovations one in 1972 the other in 1992 and the final one in 1999.

photo: Creative Commons / Andrew Jameson

Lion detail on fountain

photo: Creative Commons / Gee Jo

The El Alamein Fountain in Sydney Australia, designed by Robert Woodward, was the first "dandelion" fountain (1959-61)

photo: Creative Commons / COPYRIGHT, 2006

Fontaine de Léda, (1807), hidden behind the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens

photo: Creative Commons / Jan Arkesteijn

Lavapatas, precolumbian fountain. San Agustin archaeological site. A fountain (from the Latin "fons" or "fontis", a source or spring), or sometimes called water fountain

photo: Creative Commons / MamaGeek

Tyler Davidson Fountain, centerpiece of Fountain Square, Cincinnati.

photo: PDPhoto.com

Jon with a fountain - Photos and Pictures - Public Domain - Royalty Free

photo: Creative Commons / sfu

Fountain in Saxon Garden, Warsaw, Poland. Fountain is placed on the Saxon Axis.

photo: Creative Commons / Bgag

Fountain in the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, Meknes, Morocco. The title of the second-tallest fountain in the world is claimed by the World Cup Fountain in the Han-gang River in Seoul, Korea.

photo: Creative Commons / Neizham

The Ross Fountain

photo: Creative Commons / Daderot

The Fountain of Neptune at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is by French-trained sculptor Roland Hinton Perry. (1895).

photo: Creative Commons / Matilda

The garden theater and Prince's Table, Hellbrunn Palace, Salzburg, Austria (1612-19). There is a need for good water quality in contemporary fountains, regardless of their avowed intended use

photo: Creative Commons / Vitruvius

Fountain of Neptune, Piazza della Signoria, Florence (1560-1575)

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photo: Creative Commons / AgnosticPreachersKid

World's Tallest Fountain: The BEST times to discover Fountain Hills, AZ
The Examiner23 Jan 2011
Many winter visitors travel from all over the world to Fountain Hills, Arizona to see the famed fountain and attend the annual artisan festivals. The fountain is offset like a sculpture in the middle...

photo: WN / Aruna Mirasdar

Healthy Living: Fountain of Youth FOUND - in Top 10 Healthiest Foods
The Examiner08 Jan 2011
Discover The “Fountain of Youth” ~ Look and feel younger, live longer – sound too good to be true? Man’s quest for the proverbial “Fountain of Youth” can be traced as far back as the time of Alexander...

photo: WN / Aruna Mirasdar

The fountain of youth
Gulf News07 Jan 2011
It's been sought after through the ages. As soon as we get past that wonderful time of carefree youth, we want nothing more than to go back to it and live it all over again…maybe making the...

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Clinton's Soda Fountain 12 Mar 2011

The Examiner I'm going to Independence Missouri next month. I'm especially looking forward to all the hisortic Harry Truman sites. We will have lunch at Clinton’s Soda Fountain, an old-fashioned fountain where young Harry Truman once worked. Right now the soda fountain is “getting a gentle facelift.” Clinton’s Soda Fountain is...

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World famous fountain turns green for St. Patrick's Day in Fountain Hills, AZ 12 Mar 2011

The Examiner Drive to the end of the rainbow and an amazingly tall fountain erupting every hour and turning bright green on St. Patrick’s Day every year. For an event to remember and a great celebration, meet at Fountain Park Amphitheater on St. Patrick’s Day, in Fountain Hills, Arizona. On Thursday, March 17, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. visitors from around...

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Plaza Hotel Fountain to Be Home for Ai Weiwei Sculpture 11 Mar 2011

The New York Times A place for dancing, maybe, but for art? The fountain outside the Plaza Hotel at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue will be home to 12 monumental bronze animal heads sculpted by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei starting May 2 through July 15. “It’s a busy area, so it can be seen by ordinary people, but also it’s not exactly an art center,” said Mr. Weiwei in a telephone...

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Condom-covered fountain causes fury in town of Konin 10 Mar 2011

Newsvine Fans of the inventor of...

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Fountain Valley Regional Hospital Appoints New Chief Operating Officer 10 Mar 2011

PR Newswire Download image Download image...

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Fountain of Youth through isotonics - Part 2 of 3 08 Mar 2011

The Examiner Following your first morning yoga class, held downstairs at the Fresh Start Health Retreat Center, you’ll head upstairs to the dining room, where a 2-litre bottle of isotonic drink must be consumed within a half hour. Made with warm water and Celtic sea salt, it was soothing … sort of. While drinking the solution, some members in my group who had been at the Center for 10 days...

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Robbing Us With Their Fountain Pens: North Carolina Tells Working Class People to Get Screwed 08 Mar 2011

Newsvine In her 2011 opening address to the North Carolina state legislature, Governor Bev Perdue called for a two percent reduction of the state's corporate income tax, a move that would reduce the state's tax...

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Who doesn't want a soda fountain in their own home? 08 Mar 2011

The Examiner SodaStream Makes the Unattainable Attainable So, a show of hands; how many of you think that it is even vaguely possible to make a soda -- a fountain drink -- a cola, in your own home, without purchasing a soda fountain that costs thousands? And how many think that it can be done with an appliance no larger than a tea, coffee or milkshake maker and from less than $100? Not...

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Fountain Lakes' favourite foxy ladies headed for the big screen in The Kath & Kim Filum 08 Mar 2011

The Daily Telegraph Australia FOXY moron fans can crack open the "cardy." Kath & Kim are not just back, they're headed for the big screen in The Kath & Kim Filum. And they're set to take Europe by storm in the process. A brief synopsis for the movie says...

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Need help with those New Year resolutions? Head to Fountain of Youth 07 Mar 2011

The Examiner Boston to British Columbia is a long way to travel, but the journey to wellness is worth the commute. Aside from Vancouver Island’s beauty in watching the whales and seals frolic in the sea, there’s a place where attaining inner and outer beauty is within reach. Fresh Start Health Retreat Centers is located on beautiful Oyster Bay, and might actually be the true Fountain of...

more news on: Fountain

Name	Andrea Bocelli
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 22, 1958 Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, harmonica, guitar, drums, melodica
Voice type	Tenor
Genre	Adult contemporary, classical, easy listening, Latin pop, opera, operatic pop, pop, vocal
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist
Years active	1992–present
Label	Universal, Philips, PolyGram, Decca, Sugar
Url	Andrea Bocelli

The Fountain ( death is the road to awe )

The Fountain ( death is the road to awe )

8:44

The Fountain Trailer

The Fountain Trailer

2:10

'The fountain' (trailer 1)

'The fountain' (trailer 1)

2:31

Clint Mansell - Death is the Road to Awe.

Clint Mansell - Death is the Road to Awe.

8:26

Fountain of Bellagio "Time To Say Goodbye"

Fountain of Bellagio "Time To Say Goodbye"

4:32

Dubai Fountain - "Time to Say Goodbye" - Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

Dubai Fountain - "Time to Say Goodbye" - Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

4:21

Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting

Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting

1:28

Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom

Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom

3:24

The Fountain End

The Fountain End

1:24

The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments

The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments

2:29

Burj Dubai Khalifa Fountain 'Time to Say Goodbye'

Burj Dubai Khalifa Fountain 'Time to Say Goodbye'

4:29

The Fountain Music Video

The Fountain Music Video

3:46

Awesome Water Fountain in Japan

Awesome Water Fountain in Japan

5:58

Art vs Science / MAGIC FOUNTAIN - Official Music Video

Art vs Science / MAGIC FOUNTAIN - Official Music Video

3:51

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Hey Julie - Fountains of Wayne

Hey Julie - Fountains of Wayne

2:36

Woman Falls Into Fountain at Mall While Texting and Walking

Woman Falls Into Fountain at Mall While Texting and Walking

1:28

Time Fountain - Optical Illusion

Time Fountain - Optical Illusion

1:59

japanese-mall-fountain.wmv

japanese-mall-fountain.wmv

2:21

Sara Lov - Fountain

Sara Lov - Fountain

3:54

The Fountain - last scenes - pt-br

The Fountain - last scenes - pt-br

10:17

Bellagio fountain show - My heart will go on - Celine Dion

Bellagio fountain show - My heart will go on - Celine Dion

5:07

Sigur Ros - Saeglopur (the fountain mix)

Sigur Ros - Saeglopur (the fountain mix)

6:14

The Fountain Soundtrack - 07 First Snow

The Fountain Soundtrack - 07 First Snow

3:09

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Fountain

History of fountains

Ancient Fountains

Ancient Roman fountains

Medieval fountains

Moorish fountains

Persian, Mughal and Ottoman fountains

Renaissance fountains (15th–17th centuries)

Baroque fountains (17th-18th century)

Fountains of Rome

Fountains of Versailles

Fountains of St. Petersburg

19th century fountains

Fountains of London

Fountains of Paris (1800–1900)

Fountains in the United States (1800-1900)

International Exposition fountains (1851-1937)

Fountains in the United States (1900-2000)

Contemporary Fountains (2001-2009)

Legendary fountains

Splash fountains

Drinking fountains

The technology of fountains

Water quality and legal liability issues concerning fountains

The Tallest Fountains in the World

Gallery of notable fountains around the world

Fountains in Europe

Fountains in the United States and Canada

Fountains in the Middle East

Fountains in Russia

Fountains in Africa

Fountains in Asia

Fountains in Australia

Fountains in Latin America

See also

Bibliography

References

External links

Sarah Brightman

Family and early life

1981–1989: Stage career

2000–2003: Further mainstream success

2006–2008: Diva and Symphony

2009-Present

Legal action against YouTube

Music and voice

Personal life

Awards

Stage credits

Musicals

Plays

Filmography

Selected discography

Selected albums

Cast recordings

Tours

Duets

See also

References

External links

Sara Lov

Discography

References

External links

Clint Mansell

Career

Pop career

Soundtrack composer

Film trailers

Scoring credits

References

External links

Celine Dion

Childhood and early beginnings

Popularity established: 1993–1995

Worldwide commercial success: 1996–1999

Career break: 2000–2002