New Releases: Hannah Magnelli “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” & “O Holy Night”

Hannah Magnelli is an American mezzo-soprano. “At around twelve or thirteen years old, I started to sing church music with the choir director and that started me on more classical music and musical theater.” Hannah continued singing in high school and took part in the drama club and private lessons, she also played violin. “I went to university for music and of course, when you go and major in voice, it’s always classical music as your foundation. So I was involved with that and I actually did a lot of crossover as well. During college, I started doing a lot of internships; I was with Daniel Barenboim and Western Band Orchestra for two summers. I interned with them and was with Sebastian Weigle at the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona. I just kind of continued from there studying with different teachers and going eventually, later on in my 20s, into more traditional operatic routes.”

It was COVID that made Hannah give crossover more of a serious chance. “If you listen to me, I’m a mezzo-soprano, so I have a very full operatic voice.” Hannah’s first single “Cinema Paradiso” allowed her to share the operatic part of her voice but when it came time to release music for Christmas, she went for a different sound. “I really tried to lighten it up and it wasn’t hard. I had to think a little bit to make sure I didn’t overpower it too much but it was actually a lot of fun. Kind of adding more of a poppy light, classical pop twist to it. I really like it and I see a lot of other people really enjoy it. So that makes me happy.”

The studio environment in general seemed to be a comfortable place for Hannah and she hopes to release more music soon. “For 2023 I’m still trying to figure out what I want. I definitely want to do some more recordings, record some more singles… there are some songs that I do have in mind that I definitely would like to record.” One of those songs is ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ as Hannah’s mom is from Argentina herself. “That song has a very special place. So I would really like to record that.”

Stream Hannah Magnelli on Spotify now!

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Natasha Barbieri, Editor

Editor

Creator of Classical Crossover Magazine. For Natasha music has always been closely tied to her faith. At age 18, Natasha made her opera debut playing the part of the mother in Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ with the Eastern Festival Opera. At 20, she was a winner of the 2011 Young Artist Competition at Andrews University. Natasha graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Music. Natasha has released a series of Holiday singles “A Place Called Home” (2020), “One Little Boy,” and “The Perfect Year” (2021). In 2021, she was nominated for the ‘Future Classic Women Awards’ show on Men’s & Women’s Radio Station. Natasha is the creator and editor of ‘Classical Crossover Magazine’ a venture that has allowed her to interview many of the top stars in the genre including Sarah Brightman, Celtic Woman, Mirusia, Paul Potts, and more. During the covid-19 pandemic, she created an online concert series for the magazine that has seen her perform in the same line-up as Alex Sharpe, Lucy Kay, Barbara Padilla, Classical Reflection, and more on the virtual stage. In 2022, Natasha was included on the charity album “Stars of Classical Crossover: Christmas” in benefit of the Wallace & Gromit Children’s Charity.