Romina Arena is an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

popera Operatic pop or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, although that ...

operatic pop Operatic pop or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, although that ...

, pop

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

and new-age singer-songwriter.

Early life

Romina Arena was born and raised in Palermo, Sicily, to a Sicilian mother, Rita and a Roman father, Renato. By the age of four, Arena became a Mouseketeer for

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. It is currently published by Panin ...

, the Italian version of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

She also performed as a classical ballerina in the major Italian Theatres at the age of seven. Performing with other children from different parts of Europe, Arena developed knowledge of 10 languages, including Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Greek, Bulgarian and Hebrew.''ALO Magazine'' (Fall 2013/Winter 2014)
"Romina Arena, The New Italian Voice"
/ref> Arena calls herself "the voice of women with a broken heart" but is also referred to as "the voice of women who never give up"Pugliese, Roberto (12 February 2013)

ColonneSonore.net When Arena was a teenager after leaving Disney behind and starting a solo career, she was attacked backstage of a prime time television show in Sicily. Her attacker severed her vocal cords with a pocket knife, leaving her comatose. Her physicians told her she would never sing again. However, she completely recovered over a three-year period. She fully regained her vocal abilities; a side effect of the attack was that she developed a five-octave vocal range as a result of the trauma to her

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its st ...

. After Arena's father Renato died, she left Italy for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with her mother. There she came under the wing of Sal Pacino and his wife Katherin Pacino, the father and stepmother of actor Al Pacino. She resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Career

In 2000, Arena signed a production deal with music producer

Bob Johnston Donald William 'Bob' Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel. Early days Johnston was born into a professional mus ...

to produce a full 12-track studio album. Songs included "Make You Feel My Love", written by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, "I Can't Make You Love Me", written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, and "Smile" composed by Charlie Chaplin as well as many others although the album was never released. In 2001, Arena covered the classic Japanese song, "Subaru". Originally written and recorded by

Shinji Tanimura is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Career Tanimura set up the musical group Alice together with Takao Horiuchi in 1971 and released his first extended play musical album in the following year. Alice produced its first album two years later. Du ...

, Romina recorded the song in Japanese and the song went multi-platinum and charted in the top position for a few weeks. In 2003, Microsoft used her first

Rock Opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

single "Satellite", recorded in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Project Gotham Racing 2 ''Project Gotham Racing 2'' is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released exclusively for the Xbox in November 2003. As in 2001's ''Project Gotham Racing'', the route to advancemen ...

. In 2010, she was the first recording artist to debut a live concert in the "Second Life" video game and in 2013 recorded "I Want Love" as a featured track on the soundtrack for one of the most successful video game franchises in the history of the business, "The Best of

Silent Hill is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, '' Silent Hill'', ''Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...

" released October 29 on

Perseverance Records Perseverance Records is a record label which releases film scores on CD and online. Releases are usually accompanied by extensive booklets. Extras, such as audio interviews with composers, are also sometimes included. Discography * *''No Pass ...

. According to her interviews and press releases, Arena has had several number-one hits in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Australia and Japan, selling over 4 million records worldwide over the lifetime of her career. Arena developed a style that is a blend of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

. In 2012, she released the album ''Morricone.Uncovered'' in which she performs film music by Ennio Morricone to which she had set her own lyrics. According to the ''

Malibu Times ''The Malibu Times'' is the local newspaper in Malibu, California. History The newspaper was founded in 1946 by Reeves Templeman. His wife Reta edited it with him. In November 1987, Arnold and Karen York purchased The Malibu Times from the Tem ...

'', Morricone said "I decided to work with her because of her hard work and incredible successes achieved. But most importantly, I consider her the most dominant voice I have heard in my life. I do not allow just any artist to write lyrics to my movie scores. But for her, I make the exception." In an article written by journalist Robert Pugliese, "Arena uses her exquisite operatic (diaphragm and chest) but is sufficiently flexible to expand in Pop and Classical genre (for these singers, has coined the neologism "popera") “What is striking in the color of Arena’s voice is that even in the high register and sovracuto - a rare use of falsetto - still maintains a serious center of gravity, dark, full-bodied that accentuates her dramatic vocal delivery. In addition to phrasing, incredibly sharp, marked and a mastery of the breath which results also in the expressive essential resource." In 2015, Arena signed to Lakeshore Records for a studio album to coincide with her book ''Where Did They Film That Italy''. The album, titled ''Where Did They Film That Italy – The Music Journey'', was released in June 2016 as a companion to the travel guide and features Arena performing award-winning songs from movies filmed exclusively in Italy. Romina has performed live for world figures including President Bill Clinton at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, Pope John Paul II at The Vatican, and Italian greats Luciano Pavarotti,

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fr ...

, and performed with

Alessandro Safina Alessandro Safina () is an Italian operatic pop tenor. Born in Siena, Italy, Safina has sought to combine his interests in opera and modern pop music. Music education Safina began to study music when he was nine years old and attended a music ...

in Las Vegas.Fink, Jerry (2008)
"Top 'popera' names in Vegas lights"
'' Las Vegas Sun'' According to her interviews and press releases, she has also worked with and/or performed live with Lou Rawls, Brian Wilson of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (and four of its sequels), ''The Karate Kid'' (and all of its sequels), '' For Your Eyes Only'', ''Dynasty'' (and its ...

Al Martino Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop croone ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...

, Eliot Sloan from

Blessid Union of Souls Blessid Union of Souls (sometimes abbreviated to Blessid Union or BUOS) is an American alternative rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, that was formed in 1990 by friends Jeff Pence and Eliot Sloan. The band's first studio album, '' Home'', had som ...

Eric Rigler Eric Rigler is an American player of the Uilleann pipes, Great Highland Bagpipes, and tin whistle. He performs as a solo artist and with the band Bad Haggis, and has been featured on a number of movie soundtracks. He has been described as "th ...

(pipes player from the famous music soundtracks of the movies Braveheart and Titanic 1997 film)''

'' (26 September 2012)
"A long road realized"
/ref> According to one press release, she also headlined on the

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

stage at

The Colosseum at Caesars Palace The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a theater located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theater is the main entertainment venue for Caesars Palace. Deemed the ''Home of the Greatest Entertainers in the World'', the theater has hosted ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Besides touring the United States, Arena has performed in several countries worldwide including

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, Casablanca, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Japan, Australia,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and Fiji. Romina Arena has starred and produced national TV specials with PBS, ABC-Disney, and ESPN and has written music for soundtracks in film and television. Her song Every Day Is Christmas Day was written and released for the Hallmark movie, ''A Christmas To Remember''. Her live TV specials include an national PBS concert special appearing as the lead female singer-songwriter along with pianist Jim Wilson, etc. live at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts in Amarillo Texas. Romina's ''ABC-Disney's Holiday Movie Skating Spectacular'' was hosted by

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

Brian Boitano Brian Anthony Boitano (born October 22, 1963) is an American figure skater from Sunnyvale, California. He is the 1988 Olympic champion, the 1986 and 1988 World Champion, and the 1985–1988 U.S. National Champion. He turned professional foll ...

, and World Champion Kimmie Meissner alongside a cast of various Olympic figure skating stars performing on ice to holiday music performed live by Romina and special guests, The Four Phantoms, the show airing twice in North America on ABC reaching over 50 million households worldwide, in an additional 77 countries around the world on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

Discography

* 1984 to 1993 – From the age of 4 to 13 years old Arena was signed to Disney Italy's Mickey Mouse Club and the companies "Prima Ribalta", "Shasa Digital Sound" and released three compilations and singles – Italy * 1994 "Una Vita Senza Vita" from San Remo Nuovi Talenti (New Talent) Festival Compilation – Italy (appeared as Romina Notarbartolo) * 1994 "You're The Only One" Peter Ciani Music – Australia (Single) * 1994: "Smile" released by Danilo Sulis Recordings – Sicily, Italy (Single) * 1994 "As Beautiful as You" CP Productions/ BMG – Germany * 1995 "As Beautiful as You" CP Productions/ BMG – Australia * 1998: "Fateci Santi" for The Vatican & Pope John Paul the second, produced & released by Beppe CAntarelli – compilation album * 2000 "Unreleased Album Project" produced by

– US * 2001 "Subaru" Design House/

Toshiba-EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

– Japan * 2003 "Romina Arena" for Miller's Gin – Miller Spirits – US & UK (Premium) * 2003 "Satellite" Soundtrack from Xbox Video Game

, Microsoft Game Studios – US/Italy/International * 2004 "Romina Arena" American Entertainment Records– US * 2006 You're Gonna Hear from Me Outback Records – US * 2006 "Cuerpo Sin Alma" (Spanish) Outback Records – US * 2008 "Believe" NMG Records (Single) * 2009 "A Joyful Christmas" NMG Records * 2010 "Romanza" (The Love Collection, Limited Edition) – NMG Records * 2010 "

How Do You Keep the Music Playing? "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" is a song composed by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman for the 1982 film '' Best Friends'', where it was introduced by James Ingram and Patti Austin. The Austin/Ingram version became a ...

" NMG/Macs Records – Italy/US * 2010 Romina Arena first artist to debut live concert in US "Second Life" video game * 2011 "A Mother's Prayer" NMG Records (Single) * 2011 "

Arthur's Theme "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is a song performed and co-written by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, which was the main theme for the 1981 film ''Arthur'' starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The song won the Oscar f ...

" (The Best That You Can Do) NMG Records (Single) * 2011 "Life" released September 6, 2011 – NMG Records * 2012 "Morricone.Uncovered" released September 18, 2012

* 2012 "Un Sogno Che Sognai" "

I Dreamed a Dream "I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the 1980 musical ''Les Misérables''. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyric ...

" from ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' released December 4, 2012

(Single) * 2013 "Romanza" (The Love Collection, Limited Edition) Re-release with new bonus tracks January 8, 2013 – NMG Records * 2013 "Subaru" "スバル" " Romina Sings Japanese" released January 8, 2013 – NMG Records * 2013 "I Want Love" from the album "The Best of Silent Hill" released October 29 –

* 2014 "Corazon Italiano" released June, NMG Records (Single) * 2014 "Annie's Song" released November 4, PoperaStar Records (Single) * 2015 "A Mother's Heart" April 28, PoperaStar Records * 2016 "Where Did They Film That Italy – The Music Journey" based on the book from the same title – Lakeshore Records released June 24 * 2019 "Baby Mine" performed in tribute to Disney's Dumbo – Poperastar Records (Single) * 2019 "A Beautiful Surprise" released November 9, 2019 – Poperastar Records (Album) * 2020 "Holding You" English version, released February 6, 2020 – Poperastar Records (Single) * 2020 "Verte Amor" Spanish version, released February 6, 2020 – Poperastar Records (Single) *2021 "Cinematica: Vol. 1" English-Italian-Spanish tribute to the greatest movie soundtracks of all time – Poperastar Records (Album)

Books

* ''Where Did They Film That Italy'' (travel guide). Fresno: Linden/ Quill Driver Books, 2016. ,

Awards

In 2010, Arena received several awards. She was one of the seven recipients of the Tricolor Globe Award from the organization Italian Women in the World, one of the five recipients of the CSNA Award (Confederation of the Sicilians in North America) for promoting Sicilian culture worldwide, and one of several recipients of the Golden Orb award for her philanthropic contributions to the Arts Olympus project in Long Beach, California.Van Dyke, Jonathan (1 June 2010)
"New Art Initiative On Queen"
''Long Beach Gazette''. Retrieved 3 July 2016. In 2010, Romina Arena received the Global Citizen Humanitarian Award for her support to the children of Haiti, presented by Jim Luce of the New York Times/ Orphans International in collaboration with the United Nations and Honorary Member HRH Prince Albert of Monaco. In 2012, Arena was one of the 20 recipients of the Premio Sicilla for being an "Ambassador of bel canto in the world". In 2020, Romina Arena received the prestigious “Filming Italy Los Angeles" Spotlight Award presented by Variety Magazine and Filming Italy LA for achievement in the music industry and cinema soundtrack, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture and the Italian Embassy of Los Angeles In 2021, Romina Arena was named the "Official Ambassador of Italian Excellence In The World" by the President of M.I.R.E. (Movement of Italians Residents Abroad) representing Italy and major Italian cultural events, awards, consumer experiences around the world

Charity work

Arena has worked with several non-profit organizations by appearing at fundraising events, including the American Red Cross The Arts Olympus, and Every Woman,Every Woman (October 2010)
"Romina Arena Dinner Tickets Registration
(archived from the original)

References

External links

Romina Arena Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arena, Romina 1980 births Living people American women singer-songwriters Ballad musicians French-language singers of the United States Italian emigrants to the United States Italian women singer-songwriters Italian television personalities Japanese-language singers Singers from Los Angeles Spanish-language singers of the United States Musicians from Palermo Torch singers EMI Records artists Italian women writers Italian writers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers People from Palermo 20th-century Italian women singers 21st-century Italian women singers Singer-songwriters from California