Italy

Laura Pausini

Laura Pausini is an Italian singer who rose to fame in 1993 with her debut single “La solitudine“, which became an Italian standard and an international hit.

Over the years, she has released fifteen studio albums, two international greatest hits albums and one compilation album for the Anglophone market only. While she primarily sings in Italian and Spanish, her versatility extends to recordings in English, French, Portuguese, and Catalan.

What draws me most to Pausini is her glorious voice—powerful yet beautiful, with a resonance that seems to project straight into my soul.

Film: ‘A Little Romance’

A Little Romance is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Laurence Olivier, Thelonious Bernard, and Diane Lane in her film debut. 

The screenplay was written by Allan Burns and George Roy Hill, based on the 1977 novel E=mc2 Mon Amour by Patrick Cauvin. 

The film follows a French boy and an American girl who meet at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte — 50 minutes south of Paris — and begin a romance that leads to a journey to Venice where they hope to seal their love forever with a kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs at sunset.

Diane Lane portrays an affluent, intelligent and charming teenager living in Paris. The scenes of Paris are glorious. Thelonious Bernard does a great job portraying the street smart French boy Diane Lane falls in love with. And Laurence Olivier adds a lot to the film.

Lara Fabian

Lara Fabian performing at the Warner Theatre, Washington, DC (2018)

Lara Fabian sings beautifully. Fabian is best known for the dance pop song “I Will Love Again,” which was released in 2000 and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fabian was born in Belgium in 1970 to a Flemish father and an Italian mother. She speaks four languages: French, Spanish, Italian and English. I especially love her French music.

In 2018, I saw her perform in Washington, DC in at the Warner Theater. Her voice knocked my socks off.

Fabian’s music is in the same genre as Laura Pausini with whom she has performed. Together they are an exceptional treat.

You can hear her passion for life — and her fluent English — in this interview.