American tenor John Riesen and Greek-British soprano Aliki join forces on a special collaboration. Adding a new twist to Andrew Llyod Webber’s loved “Music of the Night,” fans can hear the single on August 5th.
CCM: How did you first discover each other’s music?
John Riesen: During the Pandemic, I was searching for collaborators who were also taken off the stage from performance and I came across Classical Crossover Magazine and all the wonderful people there. Through CCM, I met numerous collaborators, including the wonderful Aliki. We started following one another, and became instagram friends. Over time, Aliki saw the success that I was having at streaming with my music and all the artists I work with for Emitha, promoting Classical Crossover singers on streaming, and our relationship got much closer. We’ve been working together for months and months and chatting often. A duet was a no-brainer!
Aliki: During the Pandemic, there was a wonderful opportunity for us artists to come more close together, despite the distance we had in every way. That’s how I came across Classical Crossover Magazine and so many artists, with different backgrounds out there, so that’s how I found the wonderful John Riesen. I loved the colour and power of his voice. We started following one another, and became Instagram friends. Over time, John introduced me to Emitha that promotes Classical Crossover singers with streaming, therefore we got to know each other a lot more. . We’ve been working together for months and months and chatting often. A duet was a no-brainer as John says!
CCM: Can you describe Aliki’s voice in a word or phrase?
John Riesen: Aliki’s voice is gorgeous. Easy, and shimmering with an ease and color that really are pleasing to the ears. I absolutely adore her accent, too. The first few times I heard her takes I thought to myself how cool it is that the internet allows us to record halfway around the world from one another and yet work so closely!
Aliki: Johns’s voice is passionate, vibrant, with such richness in colours, versatile and smooth. Through the pandemic and the power of the internet now its amazing how it can bring artists from all over the world no matter the distance.
CCM: Have you had any parallels in your careers?
John Riesen: Yes! We are both true operatic singers who do crossover, which isn’t always the case. We are thinking about releasing some operatic duets soon, too! We both also work with Emtiha to expand our listener base on streaming.
Aliki: I think John’s answer covers it all! Looking forward to releasing some more operatic repertoire with him too.
CCM: Can you name one thing you’ve learned from this collaboration?
John Riesen: I learned that we can collaborate with LITERALLY anyone around the world if you have the equipment, and a team ready to go. Simply amazing how pain-free it was to make this happen together.
Aliki: I learned that artists have never been closer than ever before, all around the world, and for as long as you reach out you can collaborate with anyone all over the world.
CCM: What drew you to “Music of the Night?”
John Riesen: We both have wanted to record this glorious song from Phantom of the Opera. Aliki suggested it, and I said without a second thought, “YES, PLEASE!”
Aliki: I absolutely love the “Phantom of the Opera” musical. Only recently, less than a year ago, I ever heard the magnificent version of Barbara Streisand and Michael Crawford, and I was in love with it from the first time. So after some research with different songs with John, I thought YES, this should be the one we do together, the harmonies are so beautiful and haunting.
CCM: Tell us a little bit about the way you’ve made it your own (new lyrics, harmonies, etc)?
John Riesen: We brought opera, musical theatre and crossover all together for one powerhouse experience. Aliki and I both are able to assimilate into the different styles, and it was so fun making it our own.
Aliki: John and myself are very versatile in our styles, covering opera, musical theatre and classical crossover, so we tried to bring all those elements in this glorious song and make it our own.
CCM: What is next for you?
John Riesen: Off the stage, I have several more collaborations coming out this summer, including a single on the album of Laura Auer’s next album, “Summer” that is releasing on Crossover Records on September 23. I will also be working hard with Emitha and our two record labels (Lexicon Classics and Crossover Records) to get some REMARKABLE albums released.
On the stage, I will be headed to Knoxville Opera to do another production of the American opera “Glory Denied” and then again for Lehar’s “Merry Widow”. This winter I have several Christmas concerts, and then I’ll land in Las Vegas for a murder-mystery opera called, “A Capacity for Evil” (it’s so freaking cool… don’t even get me started). Then I head to Virginia for another “Glory Denied” production and finally to Bozeman, Montana to sing the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. It’s going to be one HECK of a season for this tenor!
Aliki: Off Stage, some exciting new collaborations are in line with artists from USA and Australia, which I am looking forward too sharing with you soon.
On Stage, preparing new arrangements and repertoire for upcoming concerts in Greece, Italy and the UK.
Stream Crossover Records ‘Classical Crossover’ playlist on Spotify!
